Sony Building

In 1992, Sony submitted plans that required approval by the New York City
Planning Commission, in which it would take some of the open space in
the building's atrium that had been used to obtain approval for additional
floors on top of the building, and convert those areas into retail space. In
exchange, the company would expand the glass-enclosed pedestrian
walkway with the addition of planters and public seating. Sony expected
that the proposed conversion of the 8,727 square feet (810.8 m
2
) of public
space could be converted into stores that could be leased at rates that The
New York Timesestimated could approach $200 per square foot. The
company noted that the space was underutilized as a public amenity
because it was "dark, windy and noisy" and that its conversion to
commercial space would provide "retail continuity" with the remainder of
Madison Avenue.
[11]

By 1996, Sony had consolidated most of the operations for its Sony Music
Entertainment division at 550 Madison Avenue, for which The New York
Times noted that "such high-profile and elaborate space is appropriate and
necessary." That same year, Sony acquired additional space across the
street at 555 Madison Avenue, a 445,000 square feet (41,300 m
2
) building
built in the 1960s that underwent renovations of its lobby, windows,
bathrooms and other common spaces in conjunction with Sony's lease.
Sony signed leases through 2013 on an additional 90,000 square feet
(8,400 m
2
) on the sixth through ninth floors of the building, on top of an
initial rental of 90,000 square feet (8,400 m
2
) of space on the second
through fifth floors of the building that it had made in 1995. Rents on the
floors had averaged about $34 per square foot at the time. Sony connected
the two buildings using fiber optic cables that were run under Madison
Avenue and installed microwave communications equipment on the top of
the 555 building. Sony made these moves, which included early
termination of leases on space in the surrounding area at 711 Fifth
Avenue on the 43rd floor at 9 West 57th Street, as part of an effort to
lower occupancy costs by bringing its businesses closer together.
[12]

A cash-strapped AT&T sold the building to Sony in 2002 for $236 million, or
$315 per square foot.
[13]

On February 27, 2010, the ice that accumulated from the Third North
American blizzard of 2010 fell from an upper floor breaking the glass
ceiling of the atrium and injuring at least 15 inside who were at
a Purim celebration.
[14][15]

In January 2013, it was announced that The Chetrit Group would buy 550
Madison Avenue from a cash-strapped Sony for $1.1 billion; the sale is
expected to close in March, after which Sony intends to lease the building
for a three-year period.
[1][16]

The Sony Building (formerly AT&T building) in
New York City, 1984, byPhilip Johnson,
illustrating a "Postmodern" spin with the
inclusion of a classical broken pediment on the
top which diverged from the boxy functional
office towers common in Modern Architecture.
Architectural historian Vincent Scully called it
"the biggest small building of the second half
of the twentieth century.
[3]

The five room house stands only about 30 feet
(9 m) tall at the top of the chimney, but has a
monumental front facade, an effect achieved
by intentionally manipulating the architectural
elements that indicate a building's scale.
[2]
A
non-structural applique arch and "hole in the
wall" windows,
The Vanna Venturi House, one of the first
prominent works of the postmodern
architecture movement, is located in the
neighborhood of Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. It was designed by
architect Robert Venturi for his mother Vanna
Venturi, and constructed between 1962 -1964.
the pitched roof rather than flat roof, the
emphasis on the central hearth and chimney, a
closed ground floor "set firmly on the ground"
rather than the Modernist columns and glass
walls which open up the ground floor.
[13]
On
the front elevation the broken pediment or
gable and a purely ornamental applique arch
reflect a return toMannerist architecture and a
rejection of Modernism.
About historical references, the Swiss
architectural theorist Stanislaus von
Moos
[20]
regards the monumental facade as a
recall to Michelangelo's Porta Pia, the back
wall to Palladio's Nymphaeum at Villa
Barbaro and the broken pediments to the
facade of Moretti's Il Girasole house (building
also cited by Venturi's in Complexity and
Contradiction in architecture).
[21]

The architecture is based on a "futuristic
farm" (the clock tower is the windmill, the
main building on the top-right corner is the
farmhouse, the cylindrical council chamber is
the silo, and the pentagonal building on the
bottom left is the barn)
it connects with its local context and historical
architectural ideas, yet is decidedly
untraditional in design.
A pyramid shaped atrium brings natural light into
the Great Hall
he complex is home to:
Mississauga City Council chambers located in
the cylindrical structure
wedding chapel (2nd floor)
Conservatory - enter from Great Hall
Great Hall - four storey open space with
marble walls and glass pyramid atrium
mayor and councillor offices
city offices
Tower Banquet - banquet facilities on the 12
floor of the main wing (with the clock tower)
Great Stairs - connects the Great Hall to the
main wing
The Mississauga Civic Centre is city hall of the
city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The
37,280 square metre complex is a prominent
example of Postmodern architecture in
Canada, finished in 1987 by Jones and
Kirkland. It stands at 92 metres or 302 feet.
designed by award winning architect Philip
Johnson
It has three segmented tower setbacks, each
with " a steeply pitched gabled roofline that is
topped off with spires".
[

Bank of America Center (Houston)
At 56 stories the Bank of America Center is
the 55th tallest building in the United States
Roof 780 feet (240 m)
Architect
Philip Johnson
John Burgee
The building is famous for its postmodern
architectural design topped with Flemish-
inspired neo-gothic spires which blend
architecturally with the city's historic
skyline.
[5]
It is constructed mainly of granite.
Sometimes called a "twin gothic structure", for
its pairs of spires, it is oriented North-South
and East-West (as named on a plaque along
the Windsor waterfront park). One Detroit
Center won the Award of Excellence for its
design in 1996.
Floor count
43
2 below ground
Floor area 1,674,700 sq ft (155,580 m
2
)
One Detroit Center
architects Frank Gehry and V. Milunic
The "Dancing House" was inspired by Ginger
Rogers and Fred Astaire
the Dancing House has two central bodies. The
first is a tower of glass that is close to half
height and is supported by curved pillars, the
second runs parallel to the river, which is
characterized by the moldings that follow a
wavy motion and distributed through the
windows so the non-aligned .
Also the winding moldings on the facade make
it more confusing perspective, diminishing the
contrast with the buildings that surround it.


The building, which stretches over an area of
5,400 m2, has been constructed of steel, glass
and precast concrete Clad revoked.
The dome is made of metal tubes and covered
with a mesh of stainless steel.


Construction is from 99 concrete panels each
of different shape and dimension, each
therefore requiring a unique wooden form.
The construction of the building in what is
described as a deconstructionist style
McCormick Tribune Campus Center
Architect Rem Koolhaas
Design of the building began in 1997 during an
international architectural design
competition hosted by the school. Finalists
included Peter Eisenman, Helmut Jahn, Zaha
Hadid, Kazuyo Sejima, and the winner, Rem
Koolhaas.
A major design challenge was the noise of the
public transit tracks passing over the lot. The
solution was to enclose a 530-foot (160 m)
section of the tracks in a stainless steel tube
passing over the building. The tube's