Yeah, it’s hard to tell from the earthcam view because we can see all the anchor embeds in the slabs, but it’s hard to discern what is an anchor and what is the actual clip, the camera would have to be like 8K quality to see the difference, but your update has confirmed now that the clips are starting to be installed past the tabletop floor.
I mean for being with company, those shots are still damn good!
Is it considered bad form to keep 4 people waiting on a corner after a long work day? I mean it was another 10-15 minutes before our reservation. Maybe I should have gone for that lens change
I thought I recalled seeing something more substantial a few weeks ago but after looking through my catalogue apparently not.
@TKDV…can you describe the sundry parts used to anchor and attach a facade panel to a typical floor slab? From my 08/23 photo I see what appears to be a thin metal (L? C?) bracket on the slab. Would that be followed by a cleat on the floor which gets attached to a clip the backside of the facade?
See! The anchors are deceiving 
As for what we are seeing, I wouldn’t say it’s unusual that we are seeing the anchor point/piece as being flush with the finished floor slab but to the project’s I’ve seen it’s slightly rare, but this building will probably have finished floor that are raised from the floor slab so it would be covered. It’s actually a very simple system of really just 3 parts, the anchor, clip(cleat), and façade panel.
The anchor panel in this case seems to be flush with the floor and a cover piece attached to it, (this is the shiny metal piece we are seeing). It’s visibly fastened to the steel angle dam that is holding back the concrete. More typically the anchor point would be embedded into the concrete or be built as a part of the steel angle dam. Since we can’t really get any good close up photos of an anchor point from above, it’s assumed that the clip is just fastened to the anchor and the concrete, this clip will have vertical and horizontal tolerance for the façade panels. At that point the panels just hook on like a picture frame hanging on a wall.
This is a really nice example of a typical façade anchor point at One Vanderbilt, in the case of 270, this entire assembly would just be flush and pushed above the slab instead of inset as it is (normally) in One Vanderbilt. We can clearly see the anchor piece, the clip (the flat white plate), and the hook on the back of the panel. There’s also a nice short clip of one of the panels being installed.
Source
Ah, I think that is what I was expecting to see. Thanks for the excellent primer TKDV!
No problem, 
I agree, even though the anchor seats have been visible, I was also expecting to see inset sills for the anchors and clips. But considering the whole building is owned by a single tenant, it’s imaginable that JPMC had planned for every floor to have raised finished floors, so insetting the anchor sills would’ve just been an extra unneeded step.
Ah, more anchor deception! On the trading floors we could not see the anchors because they are flush with the finished concrete floor, but on the upper levels above the first mechanical and outrigger level, we can see the individual inset housings for each one. Those floors have not yet gotten their floors poured so they may disappear, but it may be that only the trading floors will have raised finished floors.
If this is the case, once the clips reach the upper levels, it should be easier to tell when they are installed, just as it is now fully clear that they have been installed on the 2nd floor thanks to your great clear photos!
Yeah! I’m just surprised by how wide the anchor spaces are, the floor on the bottom of the image is a transitional floor from the mech floor to the office floors (like a sky lobby) which is why the anchor points look different than the floor above it, as the louvered panels will be hanging off of it.
lol - I was hoping you’d clear up that little bit of mystery.
This is my favorite part… when it starts popping up above the buildings around it and you can see it from farther away.
Agreed…but the street level presence is what makes this building so exceptional. I"m sure it will look even better when it’s done but the raw steel is so awe inspiring, I just love it. I really want to capture it in all its 20th century glory before they go ahead and gild it.
Fireproofing also really helps to show the structure and all the details more.
That’s true but with the proper combination of exposure and development time a traditional silver based photograph can transform that pretty dramatically. I am really going to kick myself for not dragging out the large format field camera on this one.
Instead I broke down and bought a pricey new tripod and a nodal slide so I can do some serious stitched panos on this. After pixel peeping I’m realizing that the tripod I’ve been using really does not cut the mustard with a 100MP sensor - no point in having all those pixels if they are not tack sharp. Photographically speaking, I’m not sure how the fireproofing is going to translate for me. Besides, I really like all the iron workers markings on the raw steel.
I’m guessing the second setback will shoot up faster than the first level of floors
Actually, it’s quite likely that, overall, it will take the same amount of time for this section as it did the first after the tabletop floor was built.
Do you have the link to the picture ?
