Hearst Tower

Norman Foster & Partners – Hearst Tower Manhattan, New York-USA, 2003-2006

The Hearst Tower is located at Columbus Circle, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
It is the world headquarters of Hearst Communications, which hosts the most numerous publications and media communication companies under one roof.
The tower, designed by architect Norman Foster, structurally designed by WSP’s Cantor Seinuk and built by Turner Construction, is 46 stories high, 182 meters high with 80,000 square meters of office space. The rare triangular structural pattern, also known as the diagrid, required 9,500 tons of structural steel, about 20% less than a conventional steel frame. Hearst Tower was the first skyscraper built in New York City after 11 September 2001. The building received the 2006 Emporis Skyscraper Award, citing it as the best skyscraper in the world completed that year.

Hearst Tower is also the first “green” office skyscraper completed in New York, with a series of environmental considerations integrated into the plan. The atrium floor is paved with thermally conductive limestone. The polyethylene pipe is embedded under the floor and filled with circulating water for cooling in summer and heating in winter. Rain collected on the roof is stored in a tank in the basement for use in the cooling system, to irrigate the plants and to water sculpture in the main hall. 85% of the building’s structural steel contains recycled material.
Overall, the building was designed to use 26% less energy than the minimum requirements for the city of New York and was awarded a gold designation by the LEED certification program of the United States Green Building Council, becoming the first LEED Gold skyscraper in New York City.
The atrium features escalators that span a 3-story water sculpture entitled Icefall, a large waterfall built with thousands of glass panels, which cools and humidifies the air in the lobby. The water element is completed by a 21-meter-high fresco called Riverlines by artist Richard Long.