Seagram Building as a Skyscraper - Essay Example

The Seagram Building Introduction New York has a particular fondness for sky scrapers since it has always been in love with the idea of creating very tall buildings that constantly trump one another in terms of beauty, function and most importantly, height. The Seagram Building is one such sky scraper and even though it does not claim to be the highest or even the most functional building, it certainly holds a high level of beauty and charm which is important for New York and is also important for all students of architecture as well as design (Muschamp, 1999). The Building itself is located at 375 Park Avenue which is between the 52nd Street and the 53rd Street in Manhattan. The design of the building was given by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe who came to America from Germany (Whiffen and Koeper, 1984). The mythic ideals of German efficiency and clean cut German design are certainly evident from the way the building is structured yet the overall mix of the façade of the building does not make it stick out like a sore thumb amongst the other buildings which surround it. The design also takes its cues from the American architect Philip Johnson who worked on the building from the time it was started in 1954 to the time it was completed in 1958. The building contains 38 floors and the exterior represents a fine example of post modern architecture that focuses on corporate seriousness and hints of gothic styling (Muschamp, 1999). The initial purpose of the building was to serve as corporate headquarters and the primary offices for Seagram’s & Sons but with time other offices and companies have established their bases in the building as well. While it would be interesting to study how the tenants of the building have changed with time, for our purposes, it is perhaps more important to study the architecture and the art of the building. The Architecture The building faces Park Avenue over a broad plaza of Vermont granite which is lined by water pools on both sides that have ledges of marble that has been given an antique look (Whiffen and Koeper, 1984). The architecture of the tower itself is based on the steel structure that holds the building together with walls of pink-gray glass that give the building a distinctive look. The second element, which helps in creating the now classic look for the building, come from the bronze that has been used to make the various spandrels and I-beams which are visible on the exterior of the building (Muschamp, 1999). Discussing the building in the context of its surroundings Speyer (1968) says that: “The inescapable drama of the Seagram Building in a city already dramatic with crowded skyscrapers lies in its unbroken height of bronze and dark glass juxtaposed to a granite-paved plaza below. The sitting of the building on Park Avenue, an indulgence in open space unprecedented in midtown Manhattan real estate, has given that building an aura of special domain (Speyer, 1968, Pg. 30)”. It is easy to imagine how imposing the building would have looked when it was first completed in 1958 not because of its height or stature but simply due to the monolithic shape it had been given by the architects. Walking inside the building shows a continuation of the overall vision where external features of the same building are repeated in glass and bronze to make a distinctive look for the interior of Seagram (Muschamp, 1999). This makes it difficult to classify Seagram architectural style as classical or gothic and there are arguments to support both sides of the debate. Classical or Gothic For example, there are obvious classical cues to the building which include the symmetrical shape of its massing on the raised plaza in front of the building (Saunders, 1990). Additionally, the trinity like division of the entire tower into base, shaft and capital is also a classical element along with the regularity of its various columns that create a pattern across the façade of the building. Of course the antique associations of bronze and marble also help the building go towards a classical look (Muschamp, 1999). However, upon a closer examination, it is also possible to see the gothic look of the building and the most obvious sign of that is the soaring height of more than five hundred feet. At the same time, the dark look, a slight transparency of curtain walls and the vertical sensation given by the I beams also adds to the Gothicism of the building. Muschamp (1999) notes that the glass structure of the Seagram building became the prelude to modern gothic architecture which is often seen in other buildings created after the Seagram building across the world. In fact, the building had a tremendous impact on the field of architecture and its design has been copied in many different American buildings across major cities in the nation. For example, a characteristic trait of the building is the expression of the structure which can be seen from an external viewpoint (Muschamp, 1999). This cue was taken up in other buildings by architects who liked the Seagram building enough to consider that their creations structural elements should also be visible. Construction and Structure The Segram building is not a radical departure in terms of how it was built since all sky scrapers of the time were built on a steel frame and were covered in glass. However, the regulatory demands of the time meant that all buildings had to be covered in concrete or some other material. Mies wanted to do exactly the opposite since he wanted the structural underpinnings of the building to be visible from the exterior and this meant being creative about how the building was going to be seen (Muschamp, 1999). Mies covered the structure with another material which simply outshines steel when it comes to being viewed. He used bronze toned I-beams which do not form a part of the structural support for the building itself but let the viewers see how the building is being held up. For the common viewer, it seems like the building is being held up by bronze beams which are simply bronze coverings on the outside and steel I-beams on the inside (Muschamp, 1999). The Most Important Building In this respect, Mies becomes an architectural genius since he was the first to come up with such an approach. The method of construction for building uses concrete and steel like any other building of the time but the covering and the way in which the steel of the building is expressed on the outside as bronze is something that has become an icon for American architecture (Saunders, 1990). The mixture of architectural styles as well as the affect the affect the Seagram building has had on the art of creating sky scrapers has led many people to consider it the most important building in modern times. Herber Muschamp, is the chief architecture critic for The New York Times and he says that: “For much of the past thousand years, the pendulum of Western architectural taste has swung between two esthetic poles: Gothic and classical, they eventually came to be called. Because it fuses elements of both positions in a supremely elegant whole, the Seagram Building is my choice as the millenniums most important building (Muschamp, 1999, Pg. 1)”. Considering that the building has edged out other architectural marvels such as the Eiffel tower, the Chrysler building, the Empire State building, The CN Tower, the Drake Hotel and even the Taj Mahal (all of which were built in the last millennium) it certainly is a sobering thought and only adds to the respect that other architects have for Meis and Johnson. New York as well as America can take pride in the fact that this building remains as a part of their landscape and as an icon for modern architecture. The Interior The title of the most important building for the millennium does not come with a very low price tag since when the building was completed; it became the world’s most expensive sky scraper (Wikipedia, 2007). The exterior of the building was only part of the equation since the use of expensive high quality materials as well as lavish interior decorations made with solid bronze, travertine and museum quality marble meant that the Seagram was a work of art inside and out (Whiffen and Koeper, 1984). An interesting feature of the Seagram building which certainly goes to show the attention to detail considered by the architect concerns the window blinds of the building. Mies wanted to have a high level of regularity in the outside appearance of the building and he did not like the fact that tenants could change the height of window blinds and thus create irregularities in his creation. He wanted uniformity for the most part therefore he had blinds installed in the building which could only be opened or closed or half open (Wikipedia, 2007). While this did not create the perfect regularity that Mies wanted, it helped in creating a more uniform look on the exterior as well as the interior (Wikipedia, 2007). While office space and other parts of the building remain functional and attractive for those who are the tenants of the building, the majority of the people as well as the visitors to the location become intimately familiar with the two restaurants that are a part of the Seagram building. The Restaurants The interior boasts two restaurants of which the more famous one is the Four Seasons restaurant to which entrance can be gained from the 52nd Street. The design of the restaurant was left to Philip Johnson, who also became a regular patron of the place. The fame of the restaurant spread due to its beautifully designed interior and the celebrity status given to it as it still remains one of the cities most expensive eating places. Undoubtedly, it also added significantly to the overall allure of the Seagram building as the restaurant totally occupies the retail frontage that faces the avenue (Horsley, 2007). The entry to the Four Seasons restaurant is taken from a large, travertine dominated lobby with an attached coatroom. It has a broad staircase that takes hungry customers to its southern dining room and bar in the base wing of the building. The walls of this spacious room are covered with French walnut panels of extravagantly high quality that focus on the luxurious image of the restaurant. Another dining balcony is at the eastern end and it also has a private dining room for customers. The room is has a heavy looking brass sculpture created by Richard Lippold that is behind the bar and this becomes the central attraction of the south dining room (Horsley, 2007). The Four Seasons restaurant stretches to the north of the building through a broad, high corridor which is made more beautiful by a very large theatrical hanging backdrop that has been created by Pablo Picasso. While the painting itself is rather dull in some respects since it does not show a wide range of colors, it remains impressive in its size and has become on of Picasso’s more famous works due to its location in the corridor (Horsley, 2007). It is quite interesting to note that the building remains a work of art while containing several other works of art. The north dining room also has a square reflecting pool at its center and is seen as being brighter with more landscaping than the southern dining room. The large windows in both dining rooms are accentuated with floor-to-ceiling draped curtains that compliment the glistening water of the reflecting pool in the north dining room and the glitter of the Lippold sculpture in the southern dining room. Horsley (2007) reports that for reasons best known to the celebrities themselves, the south dining room is frequented by more celebrities than the architecturally more attractive north dining room. One reason which is given for such behavior comes from Horsley (2007) who suggests that since restaurant patrons must pass through the south dining room to get to the north room, by sitting in the southern room you get to see everyone in the restaurant. This may seem strange but for the purposes of social mingling it could be an important enough reason for patron to forgo the idea of eating by a reflecting pool which creates a serene atmosphere. The restaurant has not gone under any major modifications and maintains a look which can now be considered as retro. Horsley (2007) also notes that the restaurant has always been one of New York’s most expensive as well as most appreciated eateries and the food on the menu is changed often depending on the four seasons that are experienced by the city itself. Interestingly, Mark Rothko, a famous Abstract Expressionist painter, had been asked to design murals for the restaurant, but he decided not to complete the project because he thought that it was not an appropriate setting for the art that he created. He returned the advance paid to him and kept the paintings he had made for himself. In the basement of the building there is Brasserie restaurant which has an entrance from the 53rd Street. It is quite large but smaller in comparison to the Four Seasons restaurant. The Brasserie remains open around the clock for the citizens and visitors in New York and it is also considerably less expensive than the Four Seasons. The location in the basement means that patrons have to take a small flight of stairs from the entrance down to the dining floor which allows them to take an overview of the restaurant before they are seated. In opposition to the Four Seasons, the art work of the Brasserie is dominated by Picasso’s work and the environment is bright and airy despite the location in the basement (Horsley, 2007). While the building may not be a cultural icon which is immediately recognized around the world such as the Empire State building as a symbol for New York or the Petronas Towers as a symbol for Kuala Lumpur, it remains an important landmark for the residents of the city. It has featured in TV shows such as the 60s That Girl and the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn (Wikipedia, 2007). Such instances show that the building has deep connections with the city itself as well as the imaginations of various artists that have come from the city that considers the Seagram building to be important for itself. In conclusion, as an example of modern art, as well as a symbol for modern architecture, the Seagram building is certainly and important landmark for New York as well as for America. This is also supported by the commemoration given by the city government’s Landmark Preservation Committee to give the Seagram Building a landmark status so as to protect it from drastic changes that could weaken the vision given by its original architects (Horsley, 2007). It is good to know that a lot of preservationists are working towards protecting our modern heritage and preventing future generations from losing out on the city landmarks. Word Count: 2,606 Works Cited Muschamp, H. 1999, ‘Opposites Attract: The Seagram tower’, New York Times [Online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m1/muschamp.html Horsley, C. 2007, ‘The Seagram Building’, The Midtown Book, [Online] Available at: http://www.thecityreview.com/park375.html Speyer, A. 1968, Mies van der Rohe, Hillison & Etten. Wikipeida. 2007, ‘Seagram Building’, [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seagram_Building Saunders, W. 1990, Modern Architecture, Abrams. Whiffen, M and Koeper, F. 1984, American Architecture, MIT Press. Appendix A Some Views of the Building http://www.thecityreview.com/seagram1.gif http://www.thecityreview.com/seagram4.gif http://data.greatbuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_2921866.jpg Read More