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Seagram Building
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===Facade=== [[File:Park Av May 2022 44.jpg|thumb|alt=View from Park Avenue toward the northwestern corner of the lobby|View of the columns at the lobby's northwestern corner]] The northern, southern, and western ends of the slab overhang the plaza and are supported by bronze-clad columns at their perimeters, forming an [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]] in front of the entrance.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=September 7, 1958 |title=New Skyscrapers Are Reviving Classical Street Arcade: Purpose Unchanged, but Styling Reflects Modern Design |page=R1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|114464589}} }}</ref> Each column measures {{convert|3|by|3|ft}} across and two stories tall.<ref name="Mertins p. 345">{{harvnb|Mertins|2014|ps=.|p=345}}</ref> The arcade's ceiling contains recessed light fixtures within a ceramic tile surface.<ref name="NPS p. 3" /> The first-story walls behind the arcade contain full-height glass panes. Above the arcade, on the western side of the building, is a [[Marquee (structure)|marquee]] made of [[Muntz metal]], with recessed lighting.<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 4" /> The bases of the wings on 52nd and 53rd Streets, beneath the first story, are clad in granite and contain entrances to the restaurant and bar spaces inside.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The eastern portions of both wings contain garage doors, while the eastern wall of the 53rd Street wing is faced in brick.<ref name="NPS pp. 4-5" /> The eastern section of the 52nd Street wing has an entrance that leads to the Grill and Pool restaurant while bypassing the main lobby.<ref name="NYCL (Four Seasons) p. 9; NPS p. 8">{{harvnb|Breiner|Urbanelli|1989|p=9}}; {{harvnb|Higgins & Quasebarth|2006|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> A similar entrance exists on the 53rd Street wing to the Brasserie restaurant.<ref name="NPS p. 8">{{harvnb|Higgins & Quasebarth|2006|ps=.|p=8}}</ref> The curtain wall begins above the lower stories<ref name="Murray p. 37">{{harvnb|Murray|2009|ps=.|p=37}}</ref> and is composed of [[curtain wall (architecture)|non-structural glass walls]], which are colored amber-gray.<ref name="Mertins p. 348" /> The glass panels cover about {{Convert|122000|ft2}}<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="nyt19560722">{{Cite news |date=July 22, 1956 |title=Synthetic Hurricane Winds Used To Test Strength of Structure |pages=1β2 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=subscription |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1956/07/22/306653952.pdf |access-date=March 16, 2021}}</ref> and are designed to be heat- and glare-resistant.<ref name="AF (1958) p. 72" /><ref name="Murray p. 36">{{harvnb|Murray|2009|ps=.|p=36}}</ref> Because the windows are sealed permanently, and the tower rises with no setbacks, the Seagram Building's [[Window cleaner|window washing]] team could not use standard window-washing equipment. Therefore, a custom-made pneumatic scaffold was installed, with a {{Convert|27|ft|4=-wide|adj=mid}} deck that covers six columns of windows at a time.<ref name="nyht19590607">{{cite news |date=June 7, 1959 |title=Tower Gives Endless Job To Cleaners: Seagram Crew Is Always Busy |page=8C |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1323087206}} }}</ref> Behind each window, Mies sought to avoid irregularity when [[window blind]]s were drawn. As a result, the building uses window blinds with slats angled in 45-degree positions, allowing the blinds to be set in three positions: fully open, halfway open, or fully closed.<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 9">{{harvnb|Breiner|1989b|p=7}}; {{harvnb|Higgins & Quasebarth|2006|ps=.|p=9}}</ref><ref name="AF (1958) p. 73">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1958|ps=.|p=73}}</ref> [[File:Seagram Building (6268045534).jpg|thumb|alt=Refer to caption|upright=0.9|The main slab viewed from across Park Avenue and 52nd Street]] The facade used {{convert|1600|ST|LT t|sp=us}} of bronze,<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 2, 1956 |title=New Skyscraper on Park Avenue To Be First Sheathed in Bronze; 38-Story House of Seagram Will Use 3,200,000 Pounds of Alloy in Outer Walls Colored for Weathering |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/03/02/archives/new-skyscraper-on-park-avenue-to-be-first-sheathed-in-bronze.html |access-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-date=October 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022020328/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/03/02/archives/new-skyscraper-on-park-avenue-to-be-first-sheathed-in-bronze.html |url-status=live}}</ref> manufactured by the [[General Bronze Corporation]] at its plant in [[Garden City, New York]].<ref name=nyt19571110/><ref>{{cite news |date=September 15, 1957 |title=Metals From One Firm Vary 3 Tower Facades |page=2C |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1336066498}} }}<br />{{cite magazine |date=July 1956 |title=News Bulletins |url=https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1956-07.pdf |journal=Progressive Architecture |volume=37 |issue=7 |pages=75 |access-date=March 16, 2021 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807201536/https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1956-07.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Murray p. 31">{{harvnb|Murray|2009|ps=.|p=31}}</ref> The glass panes are set within vertical bronze [[mullion]]s made from {{Convert|4.5|by|6|in|adj=on}} [[extrusion]]s of [[I-beam]]s.<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Murray p. 36" /> The bronze mullions separate the facade into {{Convert|30|ft|4=-wide|adj=mid}} [[bay (architecture)|bay]]s, or vertical spaces between columns; each bay contains five windows per floor.<ref name="Mumford p. 20" /> The tops and bottoms of the mullions are tapered, exposing their cross-sections.<ref name="Mertins p. 348" /> The Seagram Building's mullions are only for aesthetics and are thus susceptible to thermal expansion and contraction.<ref name="Mertins p. 348" /><ref name="Murray pp. 36-37">{{harvnb|Murray|2009|ps=.|pp=36β37}}</ref> At the building's completion, General Bronze said the facade would need to be cleaned twice a year with soap, water, and lemon oil to prevent discoloration;<ref>{{cite news |date=March 9, 1958 |title=Bronze Building to Get 2 Beauty Baths a Year |page=R4 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|114458597}}}}</ref> this work could be performed using the window-washing scaffold.<ref name="nyt19610319" /> [[Spandrel]]s, made of Muntz metal, separate the windows on each story horizontally, which gives them an appearance similar to that of copper.<ref name="AF (1958) p. 72" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Mertins p. 348" /> A sample facade section, tested in a [[wind tunnel]] in 1956, was resistant to winds of up to {{Convert|100|mph}}.<ref name="nyt19560722" /> The design of the slab's facade is carried onto the wings and "bustle".<ref name="NYCL p. 7; NPS p. 4" /> The "spine" on the eastern side of the slab is clad with serpentine marble panels instead of glass because of the presence of [[shear wall]]s made from [[concrete]].<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Mertins pp. 348-349">{{harvnb|Mertins|2014|ps=.|pp=348β349}}</ref> The curtain-wall facade cost {{Convert|18|$/ft2}}, equivalent to {{Convert|{{formatnum:{{inflation|value=18|index=US-GDP|start_year=1958}}}}|$/ft2}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}.<ref name="AF (1958) p. 72" /> Above the 38th story is a triple-height mechanical story with a [[louver]]ed screen.<ref name="NPS p. 4" />
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