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Site
A prominent through-block site between 57th and 58th Streets, Madison and Park Avenues in midtown Manhattan

Index to Projects in New York

New York, New York

Gross Floor Area
532,000 s/f

Client
EIE Regent Avenue Corporation, a subsidiary of EIE International, Tokyo, Japan

Time Frame
Planning:
   mid 1988–
Construction:
   mid 1990–
Completion:
   May 1993

Four Seasons Hotel

New York, New York
Completed 1993

 

Lead Designers:
 

 

 

I. M. Pei
Peter Aaron

 

High-rise luxury hotel
 

Click on image to enlarge

The Four Seasons Hotel was designed to possess a classic elegance that transcends both time and fashion. The 54-story tower occupies a through-block site in an exclusive part of midtown, and responds to local zoning codes with setbacks up to its cruciform crown. Clad in fine French Magny limestone, the tower becomes one with New York, which remains a masonry city despite its many glass skyscrapers. At night, the hotel has a unique skyline presence, as finely wrought lanterns at each setback add a festive note distinct from midtown office buildings.

The design evokes the grand tradition of a former time when going to a hotel was a memorable occasion. Emphasis is not on workaday efficiency — checking in and out quickly — but on celebrating the luxury hotel experience with apartment-sized guestrooms and public interiors designed around personal service and discreet ceremony.

Surrounding the grand foyer is a terraced salon-like environment that invites New Yorkers and international travelers alike to socialize over tea, drinks or light dining. Conveying an air of both grandeur and intimacy, it provides a public place to see and be seen in, a gracious stage for urban theater.

 

Major Components

372 guest accommodations: 309 standard rooms (600 s/f) and 58 suites including 4,000 s/f Presidential Suite; Grand Foyer; 3,300 s/f Lobby Lounge; 3,400 s/f bar & grill; 5,500 s/f retail; 1,700 s/f prefunction space; 7 conference/meeting rooms (400-1,600 s/f); health club facilities

 

Awards

1994

Building Stone Institute: Annual Tucker Award

 

1993

East Side Association: Annual Award

 

1993

Concrete Industry Association: Award of Merit


 

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners services

Architectural Design; coordination with associate architect on construction documents and construction administration

 

Associate Architect

Frank Williams & Associates, New York, NY

 

Structural

Robert Rosenwasser Associates, P.C., New York, NY  

 

Mechanical / Electrical

Jaros Baum & Bolles, New York, NY  

 

Interiors

Chhada Siembieda & Partners, Long Beach, CA, and
Betty Garber Design, Consultant, Beverly Hills, CA

 

 

Photo credits

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