Hearst Magazine Building, NY

A detailed study on the Hearst Building, New York by Sir Norman Foster essentially with respect to its high tech architecture feature. The structural arrangement and its sustainable design set it apart. It was one of the first of its kind when it was built.

1. Hearst Magazine Building, New York, 2003-2006
•Sneha Nagarajan (10110058)
•Rose Ranjan (10110050)
B. Arch. IV

2. Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006
It is the world headquarters of the Hearst magazine Corporation

4. Description
It is the world headquarters
of the Hearst magazine
Corporation
•Architect - Joseph Urban,
Tower - Sir Norman Foster
•Location - 951-969 Eighth Ave
at W47 , near Columbus
Circle.
•Date - 1928, tower 2006.
•Construction – stone
•Type - Office Building
Hearst Magazine Building2003 - 2006
Height (architectural)---181.97 m
Floors (above ground)---46
Floors (below ground)---1
Construction start---2003
Construction end---2006
Floor-to-floor-height---4.11 m
Elevators---21

5. History – A blend of classicism and
modernism
Hearst Magazine Building2003 - 2006
•The former six-story headquarters building
was commissioned by the founder, William
Randolph Hearst and awarded to the architect
Joseph Urban.
•The building was completed in 1928 at a cost
of $2 million and contained 40,000 sq. ft.
•Originally built as the base for a proposed
skyscraper, the construction of the tower was
postponed due to the Great Depression.
•The new tower addition was completed
nearly eighty years later
• A new modernist skyscraper got proposed on
the same site in year 2000
The base for the
originally proposed
skyscraper.

6. Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006 Late Modernism period
• Idea of the Tower:
– Foster thought of the historic cast-concrete exterior of the Hearst Building as the
facade of a town square.
– Not enough height between the original floors to create the kind of offices that he
thought were needed for a company to function effectively today.
– Using the original building would give Hearst "very poky offices," he said, "with
very low ceilings”.
– Decided to move the office space up into the tower.
– Gut the original interior to create a soaring
lobby with a waterfall, a restaurant
for the company's 2,000 employees and
communal areas for meetings and
receptions.

7. Hearst Magazine Building2003 - 2006
History – A blend of
classicism and
modernism
Great Court at the British
Museum
London, UK, 1994-2000
Reichstag, New German Parliament
Berlin, Germany, 1992-1999Inspiration

8. Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006 Late Modernism period
Win-Win Situation
•As it is situated above the subway, the project also had
to go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
In the end, in exchange for improvements to the subway
station—including a new entrance, installing three
elevators and adding moving stairwells—Hearst was
given a bonus of six floors to add onto the tower.

9. Under Construction
Diagrid
bracing being
installed
No vertical
structural
frames. Gives
corner view.
This is the first such case in any North
American steel-framed skyscraper.

10. Features
•Late modernist concept of Space,
geometry and light
•Neutral grid
•Structure is used as an ornament
•Foster’s design preserves the forty
six-story façade of the landmark
•From its hollowed-out core rises a
geodesic-like office tower featuring
triangular steel bracing from the
10th floor up.
• It will have no vertical columns
around the perimeter, creating
corner views that are not possible
in a typically framed building.
Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006

11. The Gherkin,
London
40 floors
10,000 tonnes steel
The Petronas Towers,
Malaysia
88 floors
36,910 tonnes steel
The Willis Tower,
Chicago
108 floors
76,000 tonnes steel
Empire State
Building, NY
102 floors
60,000 tonnes steel

12. Structural steel tonnage: 10,480
21 percent less steel (9,500 metric tons) than a
conventional building of its size 90% of which
comes from recycled material.

13. Features
Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006 Late Modernism period
•Diagrid form termed as the
‘birds’ mouths.’ They open up
most of the floors and allow a
much more panoramic view
Triangular bracing on the
perimeter of a skyscraper is not
new. It has been done before,
most notably for the John
Hancock Building in Chicago.
Hancock Centre, Chicago , 1969
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Each of the four-story triangles on
the facade is 54 feet (16.5 meters)
tall.

14. Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006
This triangular structural framing is very similar to The Hall Of Nations by Raj Rewal,
built 25 years BEFORE this structure!
Hall Of Nations, Pragati Maidan (1971-1972)
v/s
Hearst Tower, Manhattan (2003-2006)

15. Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006 Late Modernism period
Diagrid Pattern: More about the Structure
"The triangular frames carry the gravity load
and has inherent strength and resistance to
the lateral loads, seismic and wind
The triangles are so efficient in terms of
bearing both the gravity and lateral loads, the
building use 21 percent less steel (9,500
metric tons) than a conventional building of its
size.
Lateral load
Gravity load

16. Concrete reinforced steel super-columns up to tenth floor

17. Hearst Tower: Green Building
First green building
completed in New
York City

18. An innovative type of glass wraps around
the exterior of the building. The glass has
a special “low-E” coating that allows for
internal spaces to be flooded with natural
light while keeping out the invisible solar
radiation that causes heat.
The Hearst Tower seems to have perfect
thermal comfort all year round due to its
complex (and incidental) heating systems.
THERMAL COMFORT

19. •The floor of the atrium is paved
with heat conductive limestone.
•Polyethylene tubing is embedded
under the floor and filled with
circulating water for cooling in the
summer and heating in the winter.
•The base of the tower is mainly
composed of a cast stone
material, which naturally has
thermal mass that helps keep the
interior temperatures constant,
regardless of what happens to the
outside temperatures throughout
the day.
•In a nutshell, the system is
composed of various parts that
control the interior air quality and
temperature through convection
and radiation methods, while
keeping unwanted exterior air
under control by controlling
conduction routes. As an
example of passive design, one of
the things this building executes
well is proper building insulation.

20. •The so called “diagrid frame”
that holds up the tower is
assembled in a way that stops
thermal bridges from occurring.
•The recycled steel columns are
sprayed with an insulating
material, and then surrounded by
heavy duty stainless steel
sheets.
•In addition, according to the
detail images below,
wherever floor plates or steel
beams meet, insulation is laid
down to prevent these points
from becoming thermal bridges
as well.
•Along with the glass coating, the
envelope of the buildings
becomes very thermally efficient.

21. We have seen how the heat flow system of the Hearst Tower atrium is composed of various heating and cooling radiation elements,
as well as of elements that minimize unwanted thermal bridging and solar radiation. However, perhaps the most important element
to this system is the sculptural piece called “Ice Falls”. It’s a three story waterfall that runs from the third floor level to the lobby on
the entry level. Originally intended as a sculptural piece, this waterfall affects the flow of heat and air in the system by
either humidifying or cooling the air. This occurs by altering the temperature of the water which in turn affects whether the off steam
will want to capture warm air, or release it through water’s convection properties. Then the warmer or cooler air (again depending on
the season) mixes with the fresh air that is forced into the space from the outside by HVAC systems, which are located about 10 feet
above floor level (depicted in the sectional diagram below by the blue arrows).

22. It’s one of the few instances in the city where one is able to experience an interior open
atrium of approximately 10 floors, filled with natural light from huge clerestory style
windows and full skylight windows.

23. Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006 Late Modernism period
•Rain collected on the roof is stored in a tank in the basement for use in the
cooling system, to irrigate plants and for the water sculpture in the main
lobby.
• No use of materials, coatings and adhesives that emit volatile organic
compounds — known as V.O.C.'s

24. • Light and motion sensors are installed as well, to turn off lights when
people are absent or when there is enough natural light coming the glass
outer wall that artificial lighting is not needed.
• Earned a gold designation from the USGBC LEED certification program.
Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006 Late Modernism period

25. Entering from the existing arch it opens
up and what one see is
• three escalators in front to the third floor
level.
•Those escalators are set into a sloping
water sculpture, which will cascade down
past one as goes up.
Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006 Late Modernism period

26. Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006
Hearst Tower Reference screenshot from
GRAND THEFT AUTO(video game)

27. What sets it apart?

28. What’s most impressive about the Hearst Tower is the degree to which it justifies the
economic sensibilities of environmental awareness. Everything in its design is done to
maximize efficiency, but it is also designed to improve productivity, eliminate costs and
even improve the aesthetics of a workspace. This is not just about the Earth, the
company has said – it’s also good business!

29. The Tower is more
than just a sight to
behold – it’s proof
of what’s possible
and, given the
parade of similar
green-friendly
projects now
underway, a
benchmark of
what’s to come.
Zigging and zagging up the Manhattan skyline,
an organic gem blooms in a sea of simple,
sterile facades that almost seem archaic in
comparison.
Its unexpected fusion of a modern
skyscraper with an original 1928 base
exemplifies the way in which every aspect
of its construction has been conceived with
the environment in mind.

30. •Consuming much less energy than an average office building, this is the first office building in New York City
to achieve the US Green Buildings Council's "Gold Rating" for Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED).
•Hearst Tower garnered the coveted Emporis Skyscraper Award 2006 and for the first time in the award's
history, the accolade went for a second time to London's Foster + Partners, winner of the Emporis Skyscraper
Award 2003 for 30 St Mary Axe.
•Hearst Tower was a runner-up for the Royal Institute of British Architects' Lubetkin Prize, 2007. Now in its
second year, the award (named in honour of architect and founder of Tecton, Berthold Lubetkin) recognises
the most outstanding architectural work constructed outside the European Union by a member of the RIBA.
•On 10th October 2007 the building was honoured with a British Construction Industry Award. Now in its
twentieth year, the BCIA is Britain's foremost civil engineering and building award and is bestowed on projects
outside Britain for which either the primary designer or main contractor is a UK-based British company.
•The building won the prestigious 2008 International Highrise Award.
Awards

31. Hearst Magazine Building2000 - 2006
THANK YOU!