Lipstick Building
Encyclopedia
The Lipstick Building is a 453 foot (138 meters) tall skyscraper
located at 885 Third Avenue, between East 53rd Street
and 54th Street
, across from the Citigroup Center
in Manhattan
, New York City
, United States
. It was completed in 1986
and has 34 floors. The building was designed by John Burgee
Architects with Philip Johnson
. The building receives its name from its shape and color, which resemble a tube of lipstick
.
At three levels, blocks of the building recede as part of Manhattan's zoning regulation in which the building is required to recede within its spatial envelope, to increase the availability of light to street level. The result is a form that looks as though it could retract telescopically. The shape, which is unusual in comparison to surrounding buildings, uses less space at the base than a regular skyscraper of quadrilateral
footprint would use. This provides more room for the high numbers of pedestrians who travel via Third Avenue.
At the base, the building stands on columns which act as an entrance for a vast post-modern hall. They are two stories high and separate the street from the nine-meter high lobby. Because the elevators and emergency staircases are located to the rear of the building, this area is "hollow".
The exterior of the building is a continuous wall of red enameled Imperial granite
and steel. The ribbon
windows are surrounded by gray frames. In between each floor is a small line of red which is taken from the red color of lipstick. The curvature of the building allows light to reflect off the surface at different places.
The company that owned the building filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
.
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities leased the 17th through 19th floors. Madoff operated his $65 billion Ponzi scheme
, which came unraveled in 2008, from the 17th floor, which was occupied by no more than 24 employees.
On 15 July 2011, the New York Times blog "City Room" reported that a very unusual conceptual art exhibit called "14 & 15" had been installed at the Lipstick Building. Occupying the 14th and 15th floors of the building through 31 October 2011, the exhibit presented creative reactions to a typical American office space and the possible lives of the people who once worked there. Participating artists not only brought in their own works and materials - as was the norm in any art gallery in the United States - they also used the extant structures and forgotten possessions of the last tenants to expound the workplace. The firm Latham & Watkins
had to give its blessing to the exhibit because one of the firm's receptionists organized the exhibit and the firm controlled the "gallery" space. Moreover, renovations were already planned for the 14th & 15th floors when the exhibit was conceived. Construction for new tenants on the eponymous floors was to begin immediately after the exhibit closed.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
located at 885 Third Avenue, between East 53rd Street
53rd Street (Manhattan)
53rd Street is a midtown cross street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, that contains buildings such as the Citicorp Building. It is 1.83 miles long. The street runs westbound from Sutton Place across most of the island's width, ending at DeWitt Clinton Park at Eleventh Avenue...
and 54th Street
54th Street (Manhattan)
54th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-West Side Highway:*The route begins at the West Side Highway . Opposite the intersection is the New York Passenger Ship Terminal and the Hudson River...
, across from the Citigroup Center
Citigroup Center
The Citigroup Center is one of the ten tallest skyscrapers in New York City, United States, located at 53rd Street between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue in midtown Manhattan...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was completed in 1986
1986 in architecture
The year 1986 in architecture involved some significant events.-Buildings:* Rialto Towers in Melbourne, Australia is completed.* Temasek Tower in Singapore is completed.* The AXA Center in New York, United States, is completed....
and has 34 floors. The building was designed by John Burgee
John Burgee
__notoc__John Burgee is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects. Their landmark collaborations together included Pennzoil Place in Houston...
Architects with Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
. The building receives its name from its shape and color, which resemble a tube of lipstick
Lipstick
Lipstick is a cosmetic product containing pigments, oils, waxes, and emollients that applies color, texture, and protection to the lips. Many varieties of lipstick are known. As with most other types of makeup, lipstick is typically, but not exclusively, worn by women...
.
At three levels, blocks of the building recede as part of Manhattan's zoning regulation in which the building is required to recede within its spatial envelope, to increase the availability of light to street level. The result is a form that looks as though it could retract telescopically. The shape, which is unusual in comparison to surrounding buildings, uses less space at the base than a regular skyscraper of quadrilateral
Quadrilateral
In Euclidean plane geometry, a quadrilateral is a polygon with four sides and four vertices or corners. Sometimes, the term quadrangle is used, by analogy with triangle, and sometimes tetragon for consistency with pentagon , hexagon and so on...
footprint would use. This provides more room for the high numbers of pedestrians who travel via Third Avenue.
At the base, the building stands on columns which act as an entrance for a vast post-modern hall. They are two stories high and separate the street from the nine-meter high lobby. Because the elevators and emergency staircases are located to the rear of the building, this area is "hollow".
The exterior of the building is a continuous wall of red enameled Imperial granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and steel. The ribbon
Ribbon
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, most commonly silk, are often used in connection with clothing, but are also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes...
windows are surrounded by gray frames. In between each floor is a small line of red which is taken from the red color of lipstick. The curvature of the building allows light to reflect off the surface at different places.
The company that owned the building filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
Notable tenants
The largest tenant of the Lipstick Building is the law firm Latham & WatkinsLatham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins LLP is a global law firm, one of the largest in the world. Latham currently employs approximately 2,000 attorneys in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was started in Los Angeles in 1934 and has extensive Californian roots, but its largest office is now...
.
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities leased the 17th through 19th floors. Madoff operated his $65 billion Ponzi scheme
Madoff investment scandal
The Madoff investment scandal broke in December 2008 when former NASDAQ chairman Bernard Madoff admitted that the wealth management arm of his business was an elaborate Ponzi scheme....
, which came unraveled in 2008, from the 17th floor, which was occupied by no more than 24 employees.
On 15 July 2011, the New York Times blog "City Room" reported that a very unusual conceptual art exhibit called "14 & 15" had been installed at the Lipstick Building. Occupying the 14th and 15th floors of the building through 31 October 2011, the exhibit presented creative reactions to a typical American office space and the possible lives of the people who once worked there. Participating artists not only brought in their own works and materials - as was the norm in any art gallery in the United States - they also used the extant structures and forgotten possessions of the last tenants to expound the workplace. The firm Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins LLP is a global law firm, one of the largest in the world. Latham currently employs approximately 2,000 attorneys in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was started in Los Angeles in 1934 and has extensive Californian roots, but its largest office is now...
had to give its blessing to the exhibit because one of the firm's receptionists organized the exhibit and the firm controlled the "gallery" space. Moreover, renovations were already planned for the 14th & 15th floors when the exhibit was conceived. Construction for new tenants on the eponymous floors was to begin immediately after the exhibit closed.
External links
- Emporis.com - Building ID 114943
- Image from ground level