20 Times Square Skyscraper New York, Manhattan Building, Architecture Photos

20 Times Square Skyscraper Building

Manhattan Landmark Tower, NYC, United States of America – design by PBDW, Architects

Oct 11, 2019

20 Times Square New York City

Design: PBDW

Location: corner of Seventh Avenue & West 47th Street, Manhattan, NYC, USA

20 Times Square Skyscraper Building, New York City

Designing the new face of the world’s most famous urban intersection

The architects at PBDW designed 20 Times Square – the first major skyscraper development in 30 years at the apex of New York’s most famous commercial and tourist destination – to be more than a strobing commercial castle.

Their task was to bring new order to the area’s seemingly structural chaos. Make the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 47th Street – which already attracts more than 130 million annual visitors – more open and welcoming.

Completed less than six months ago, 20 Times Square Open is a dynamic multi-use shopping, entertainment and luxury hotel gateway and has become the new face of Times Square 3.0.

It’s also a source of immense pride for Matthew Mueller, the lead architect from PBDW, the venerable New York City architectural firm previously known for their sophisticated design palette for institutional and cultural clients.

The $1.5 billion project is home to the 452-room Marriot Edition Hotel, and also features a rooftop beer garden, a cabaret theater, various other lounges, restaurants, and clubs with panoramic terraces and patios all openly positioned towards the icon street below overlooking Duffy Square.

Times Square’s largest LED sign -18,000 square feet and 120-feet-high – is embedded into the structural-steel podium portion of the new development created from the existing Cecil B. DeMille building that was partially demolished.

The new construction was threaded between and around the DeMille building (the former home of the infamous Unique Recording Studios).

Only 25 percent of that building was saved but as such, the design team encountered extensive structural and architectural challenges as it was lifted two stories higher to form the new podium.

To increase the potential size of the new 20 Times Square from its original limitations, PBDW made use of unique air rights zoning regulations in place to protect Times Square’s historic theaters.

Transfers from two nearby theaters – the Booth at 222 W. 45th St. and the Schoenfeld at 236 W. 45th St. – added an additional 44,988 square feet of floor area to the project.

The project sits across the street from the $3 billion TSX hotel and entertainment complex now under construction of which PBDW is also a concept consultant.