01.

Building construction:
Case study(One 57)
One57, formerly known as Carnegie 57, is a 75-story, 1,005 ft supertall skyscraper at 157 West 57th
Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in the Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York
City. The building has 92 condominium units above a 210-room Park Hyatt Hotel that serves as the
flagship Hyatt property.

One57 Building Specifications Height & Floors

Official Name: One57 Architectural Height: 1,005 feet (306 meters)
Address: 157 West 57th Street, New York, NY,10019 Floors: 75 stories above ground
Developer: Extell Development Company Note: It was the first building to exceed
Architect: Christian de Portzamparc (Pritzker Prize 1,000 feet in height on Billionaires' Row and
winner) was the tallest residential tower in New York
Structural Engineer: WSP Cantor Seinuk City upon its completion in 2014.
Floor Area
Total Gross Floor Area: Approximately 860,000 square feet
(79,896 square meters)
Unit Typology (Unit Mix)
One57 is a mixed-use tower with a luxury hotel at the base and ultra-
luxury condominiums above. The unit typology is characterized by
extremely large, full-floor and multi-floor residences.
Hotel: Park Hyatt New York occupies floors 1 through 38. This includes the
hotel lobby, amenities, and 210 guest rooms.
Condominiums: 90 ultra-luxury residences occupy floors 38 through 88.
The typology breaks down as follows:
Lower Residences (Floors 38-57): Larger condominium units, but not full-
floor. These are still exceptionally spacious by normal standards.
Mid-Building Residences (Floors 58-75): Primarily full-floor residences,
each approximately 6,000 to 8,000 square feet with 3 to 5 bedrooms.
Penthouses (Floors 76-88): Massive multi-story
penthouse apartments. The most famous is the 13,554-square-foot,
four-story penthouse on the top floors, which sold for over
$100 million, setting records at the time.

A.1 The structural system of

One57
The structural system of One57 (also known as the "Billionaires' Row
Tower") is renowned in the engineering world for its innovative and unique
solutions to several extreme challenges. It's not defined by a single
element, but by a combination of sophisticated techniques.

The "Damped Outrigger" System

This is the most significant and unique aspect of One57's structure.

The Problem:
In a very slender, supertall tower like One57 (1,005 ft /
306 m), standard rigid outriggers are so stiff that they
can transfer too much force from the core to the exterior
columns during wind events.
The Solution - Dampers:
Instead of rigid connections, the engineers at WSP Cantor
Seinuk incorporated viscoelastic dampers into the
outrigger trusses. These are large, specialized shock
absorbers made of a fluid-like polymer that dissipates
The "Jumping" Crane and Top-Down Construction energy as heat.
This was a construction sequencing marvel unique to its time and
location. Hybrid Steel and Concrete Structure
The Problem: While not entirely unique, the specific application was
The site was extremely tight, with no room for a large crane at highly optimized for its mixed-use program.
street level. The developer also wanted to start selling the ultra-
luxury condos at the top floors as soon as possible
to generate cash flow.
The Solution:
The construction team built the 69-story tower
from the top down and the bottom up
simultaneously.
First, the central concrete core was built up to
the full height using a climbing system.
A massive crane was then assembled at the
top of the completed core. The Transition: The switch from a steel to
This "jumping" crane then hoisted the steel for concrete frame at different heights required
the upper hotel and penthouse floors, building careful engineering to seamlessly transfer loads
the top of the tower first. and maintain stiffness throughout the building's
Meanwhile, another crew worked from the height.
foundation upward on the lower floors.

DEEPIGA S PILLAI B-24 4YBARCH BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SEM-7

 A.1 The structural system of Caisson Foundations: The building's immense
One57 load is transferred directly to the bedrock
using large, drilled caissons. The design and
Hybrid Steel and Concrete Structure placement of these had to be meticulously
The Lower Floors (Hotel): Use a composite system of planned to avoid the subway tunnels and
steel framing with concrete slabs. This allows for other underground infrastructure.
longer spans needed for hotel ballrooms and lobbies.
Type: Drilled Socket Caissons
These are large-diameter, deep foundations
where a massive drill bores through the
overburden (soil, sand, and debris) and then
into the underlying bedrock itself. The caisson
is not just resting on the rock; it is socketed
or embedded into the rock for several feet to
create a incredibly strong, fixed connection.
Function: This socketing prevents any lateral
movement (shifting) or uplift and provides
immense end-bearing capacity to support the
skyscraper's gravity and lateral loads (like
wind).
Diameter: They were exceptionally large, with
The Middle to Upper Floors (Condominiums): Use
diameters ranging from 6 to 8 feet.
a reinforced concrete frame with post-tensioned
Depth: These caissons were drilled to extreme
slabs. Concrete provides better sound insulation
depths. They extend roughly 120 to 130 feet
(critical for luxury residences), higher mass for
below street level to reach the solid
damping, and allows for flatter ceilings without
Manhattan schist bedrock. Crucially, the final
deep beams.
15 to 20 feet of each caisson is drilled
ENTIRE SECTION IN
COMPRESSION directly into the bedrock to form the rock
socket.
Material: Once drilled, a steel rebar cage was
lowered into the hole, and it was filled with
high-strength reinforced concrete.
REACTION APPLIED

The "Cascade"
COMPRESSIVE FORCE TENSILE FORCE

STRESSING PAN PT DUCT

The facade is designed to appear as if it is
"peeling away" from the main structural mass
of the building in a series of flowing, curved
glass bays. This creates a dynamic, sculptural
effect that changes from every angle,
distinguishing it from a flat, rectilinear tower.
LIVE END SLAB REINFORCEMENT

Foundation and "Bathtub" in Challenging

Geology
One57 is built on a site known for hard, Manhattan
schist bedrock, but it's also close to a major subway
tunnel.

EAST FACADE NORTH FACADE

The facade uses a non-load bearing curtain

wall system. This means the curtain wall
modules are anchored to the building's
structural frame, typically by being attached to
the edge of the floor slabs. The curtain wall
system connects to the slabs using brackets,
anchors, and mullions, which transfer the loads
imposed by wind and temperature changes, to
the building's primary structural elements.
SECONDARY PILES PRIMARY PILES SECONDARY PILES PRIMARY PILES SECONDARY PILES
(DRILLED FIRST) (DRILLED FIRST)

Secant Pile Wall: A deep, watertight "bathtub"

retaining wall made of interlocking concrete piles WEST FACADE SOUTH FACADE

was constructed to keep water out and protect the

adjacent subway tunnels during excavation.

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