CITY OF GLASS MIRRORS EDGE FREE

One Vanderbilt and Summit together cost more than $3 billion to build. They all had one thing in common: вЂњThey are passive places, viewing platforms on a roof.вЂќ One Vanderbilt needed to stand out from the competition. So SchifferвЂ™s team toured decks around the world, from DubaiвЂ™s Burj Khalifa to TokyoвЂ™s Skytree to One World Observatory. вЂњWe knew there was pent-up demand for additional decks in the city,вЂќ he says. That may not seem like a big number, but Schiffer notes that many observation decks, including the Empire State Building and Top of the Rock, are at capacity. Why build another one?Д«ased on research done by SL Green, 14% of tourists in New York City go to observation decks. At Hudson Yards, Edge is the highest outdoor observation deck. One World Observatory, at the top of One World Trade Center, is the cityвЂ™s highest observation deck. Except New York City already has a host of those, many of them dripping with superlatives. The вЂњsomething specialвЂќ quickly grew into the start of an observation deck.

вЂњThatвЂ™s when we realized we wanted to have something special,вЂќ says Rob Schiffer, managing director at SL Green Realty, ManhattanвЂ™s largest office landlord, and the developer of One Vanderbilt. Seventeen years in the making, the building changed directions around 2012, when the Greater East Midtown area was rezoned to allow taller office buildings. One Vanderbilt wasnвЂ™t always meant to have an observation deck on top. In that respect, Summit is just the latest architectural spectacle abusing our Instagram obsession to create more value.

CITY OF GLASS MIRRORS EDGE FREE

And if something looks good on Instagram-be it a maximalist furniture storeВ or a museum designed for selfies-it provides free marketing, which leads to more ticket sales, which generates more revenue. New York City is quite literally at your feet, so why would the developers invest in all the gimmicks and distractions? Turns out, a dazzling observation deck makes the building more attractive to tenants. And there are two glass boxes for those who want to step out from the envelope of the building and watch yellow cabs stuck in traffic 1,000 feet below. A cocktail bar serves Danny Meyer delicacies. An external glass elevator takes you up to the equivalent of the 105th floor, and back down. ThereвЂ™s also a space filled with helium balloons. Said room, however, is clad in 2,500 mirrors, floor and ceiling included. On the 91st and 92nd floors, a 20-foot-tall room with views of lower Manhattan (and the Empire State Building only 10 blocks away) is at the heart of the experience. Summit spans 64,000 feet at the top of One Vanderbilt, the cityвЂ™s fourth-tallest skyscraper, located in midtown Manhattan.

City of glass mirrors edge