Postwar Park Ave Modernism and the Market

After a short history of the introduction of the International Style office buildings on Park Avenue after WWII by Carol Willis, Managing Partner of MdeAS Architects, Dan Shannon, will explain the major issues postwar glass boxes have faced and how their owners seek to update their aging curtain walls, lobbies, and mechanical systems to compete in the current market. Over the past 35 years, MdeAS has rejuvenated a large portfolio of postwar buildings on the Park Avenue corridor, including 90 Park Avenue for Vornado Realty Trust; 100 Park Avenue for SL Green; 200 Park Avenue for Tishman Speyer and Irvine Company; 237 Park Avenue for RXR; and 430 Park Avenue for Midwood Investment & Development. Shannon will discuss the economic influence on the tower as a typology, as well as how some emerging modernists held to traditional elements while others became fully modern.