Me climbing the Steinway tower in VR
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It will be absolutely CRIMINAL if this doesn’t win the Emporis Skyscraper Award!
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Someone should shoot a time lapse to show how the changing sunlight interacts with those torqued panels in the crown. I imagine it’s pretty magical.
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This weekend was my first time in the area since the crown is practically complete and wow it makes quite a difference to the overall effect of the building in-person. The verticality of the building is enhanced almost twice as much by the crown’s completion. It really soars into the sky and is a gorgeous piece of art and engineering. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
These pics don’t do it justice at all.
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@streetscaper Photos by you and @baronson are always a delight to see. Such spectacular shots of this building.
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From Sunday:
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Holy smokes! What a shot 
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Love the time of day you took these.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CFYXz2EHtcu/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFucPFsnmr-/
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Beautiful, love the hardware on the doors. This building is a work of art inside and out.
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Good article, thanks. I like the way the original interior design and the architecture reflect as similar design aesthetic; there is something visually cohesive between the original ‘Steinway’ facade at the base, and the tower above.
Also, good to see some threads on the forum showing the ‘interior design’ once the building is completed: featuring the interiors seems like a good way to give these threads a second life after the building is fully completed - and all is said and done regarding the exterior Architectural design.
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Just when I think this building can’t get any more gorgeous and perfect, I see a new photo and detail and it gets even better. Unbelievable
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Yes gorgeous building: but. I recall that the terra-cotta on the Woolworth building did not hold up well; started chipping, and cracking extensively after only 40 years. I think the term is ‘spalling’ where a porous material, such as terra-cotta, absorbs water from rain and other forms of atmospheric moisture and when it freezes in winter it causes chipping, cracking and surface ‘blisters’.
They have patched the damaged terra-cotta several times over the years; but the patches look quite obvious and unsightly.
I will assume this new modern version of terra-cotta blocks will not deteriorate in the same manner, or over such a short period of time: how they did that with this terra-cotta I don’t know - if they have done it at all to treat this delicate material.
There are also questions regarding the use of bronze; which turns very dark brown, and becomes pitted over time - particularly in the pollution filled air in NYC.
These materials probably have some sort of protective coatings so they were able to stay true to the use of classic NYC architecture and use precious stone and metal despite their delicacy in standing up to the ravages of time, and the harsh polluting fumes in the air.
OH, and while on this little critique - how are they able to clean those narrow glass panes of glass on the exterior, the surfaces of the glass are behind the bronze filigree directly on top of the glass.
This tower is a never ending source of fascination.
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If I recall there was a video or an article somewhere mentioning that the bronze cladding was untreated because they wanted it to naturally patina and age over time. I cant find the pieces but if anyone could check and find out it would be an interesting finding and make this an extremely interesting building to watch over the decades.
I wonder though given the harsh weather conditions how they’ve treated the terra cotta and bronze to age gracefully and not fail in big chunks.
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