One Madison Avenue, one of New York City’s iconic structures, has undergone a major transformation, marking it as one of the most significant adaptive reuse projects of the 21st century. Originally constructed in 1893 by the renowned architectural firm Napoleon Le Brun & Sons, One Madison Avenue was once among the largest office buildings in the city, spanning an entire block between Park and Madison Avenues, from East 23rd to East 24th Streets.
Historical Overview
The original building housed Home Life Building (later known as the Metropolitan Life Building), dating back to the 1890s. It occupied almost the full block, with a church located at the corner of Madison Avenue on 24th Street. In 1909, the church was taken down, and the clock tower at 5 Madison Avenue was constructed expanding Metropolitan Life’s space; it was the tallest building in the world at the time of its completion. Fast forward to the 1950s, Met Life expanded again, building 11 Madison, another full-block office building, connected via skybridge over 24th Street to connect with One and 5 Madison. This complex served as the headquarters for Met Life until 2005.
Redevelopment
This current redevelopment of One Madison Avenue designed by architects KPF, added floors and re-skinned the podium to match the new architectural style. The project removed the top seven floors of the original 16-story structure, added a new 18-story tower above the ninth floor, and enclosed the tower with an energy-efficient curtain wall. The tower is set back to the northeast corner of the podium, allowing for large terraces at the 10th and 11th floors overlooking Madison Square Park.
The project also featured an extensive reconfiguration of the historic limestone-clad podium façade, where a new high-performance curtain wall replaced the old aluminum windows and limestone panels. The restoration of the podium, a key element in preserving the building’s historic character, presented its own set of challenges. The architectural design required maintaining much of the limestone façade while introducing full-height glazing. GMS conducted extensive field tests to assess the load-bearing capacity of the existing masonry, ultimately saving much of the original construction and reducing costs. Through a combination of probes, tests, and innovative solutions, GMS was able to devise a methodology for selective stone removal and replacement, preserving the podium’s architectural integrity while integrating modern elements.
Features: Glazing and Curtain Walls
One of the standout features of the adaptive reuse is the floor-to-ceiling glazing on the 10th and 11th floors with panels spanning nearly 19 feet. Achieving this without mullions was a technical triumph, but it required the use of heat-strengthened glass due to thermal stress considerations. Working with Sedak, a leading glass manufacturer, GMS ensured minimal distortion and quench marks. The final assembly is a 2’’ thick triple laminated monolithic lite set in a shoe at top and bottom.
The new tower construction required detailed engineering solutions to ensure alignment and flexibility, particularly for the fin feature at the tower’s core. Additionally, the north face of the core was clad in a stone-faced curtain wall, with hidden fasteners engineered in Germany and adapted by GMS to meet New York City Building Codes.
Challenges
Another challenge that GMS faced was the removal of the Art Deco bridge connecting One Madison to 11 Madison over 24th Street. This required restoring and sealing the exterior walls of both buildings.
The mechanical systems for 5 Madison were housed within One Madison. Once the upper floors of One Madison were reconfigured, portions of 5 Madison’s wall became exterior walls and its mechanical systems were exposed. To address this, space for 5 Madison’s MEP systems were allocated within the new tower at One Madison and a limestone screen wall was constructed to cover the unenclosed building and protect the ductwork which intertwined between the two buildings. After some exposure to New York City’s weather, it is hoped that the screen wall will blend into the background.
GMS played a key role in designing the below-grade waterproofing systems and designed the new roofing systems for both the existing and the new roofs. The roofing of the 27th-floor amenity level posed challenges due to the evolving design during construction, requiring careful coordination with fabricators to modify curtain wall panels and seamlessly integrate with the new space.
Landmark in Adaptive Reuse
This innovative design has merged the building’s historical significance with modern functionality, cementing One Madison Avenue’s legacy in the architectural and business landscape of New York City. The completed project stands as a landmark in the city’s ongoing evolution, blending old and new in one of our most iconic neighborhoods.
https://www.kpf.com/project/one-madison-avenue