MoMA's 53 West 53
When admiring the skyline of Manhattan, a handful of buildings tend to stand out from the others such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. Towering 1,050 feet over the Museum of Modern Art, 53 West 53 is the latest addition to the skyline to capture the attention of sightseers. Coated with a coating containing Kynar 500® PVDF.
As the building reaches a unique spire, its elegant silhouette tapers as its peak soars. With several diagonal metal beams streaking across the glass façade, the building reflects the creativity and inspiration. With more than 500,000 square-feet across 77 stories, the tower houses 162 high-end condominium residences.
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, 53 West 53 is now the seventh tallest building in the city. The building's multiple tapered surfaces create a unique silhouette—a nod to the classic towers that shaped the New York skyline and an architype for skyscrapers of the future. The tower draws its shape from the desire for more daylight in the streets. The narrow triangular top section is putting its unusually thin silhouette to good purposes. The striking gray metal exterior has a noticeable difference as it emerges over the surrounding buildings.
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, 53 West 53 is now the seventh tallest building in the city. The building's multiple tapered surfaces create a unique silhouette—a nod to the classic towers that shaped the New York skyline and an architype for skyscrapers of the future. The tower draws its shape from the desire for more daylight in the streets. The narrow triangular top section is putting its unusually thin silhouette to good purposes. The striking gray metal exterior has a noticeable difference as it emerges over the surrounding buildings.
At the 60th floor, the building splits into three different apexes with gradient color finishes. With a total 14 different coats of gold, the shortest apex gradually becomes more and more gold as it scales the remaining floors. Reaching the highest point of the skyscraper, the middle apex climbs with 16 shades of black. Completing the combination of 44 colors, the third apex is comprised of 14 shades of silver.
Tasked with this difficult color request, Texas Finishing selected Sherwin-Williams’ Fluropon® extrusion coating containing Kynar 500® PVDF to formulate the broad array of colors. Texas Finishing utilized Sherwin-Williams’ mix-and-match system to develop the gradients that the architect was envisioning. Texas Finishing and Baker Metals then worked side-by-side with Mr. Nouvel to ensure each shade captured what they had envisioned.
Tasked with this difficult color request, Texas Finishing selected Sherwin-Williams’ Fluropon® extrusion coating containing Kynar 500® PVDF to formulate the broad array of colors. Texas Finishing utilized Sherwin-Williams’ mix-and-match system to develop the gradients that the architect was envisioning. Texas Finishing and Baker Metals then worked side-by-side with Mr. Nouvel to ensure each shade captured what they had envisioned.
In my 35 years of metal construction, we have never used this amount of colors for one project, the entire team worked tirelessly to test every color to ensure each was exactly what Mr. Nouvel had conceptualized.
The task
It took 400 semi-truck loads to deliver the thousands of aluminum panels sprayed with Fluropon® in varying colors from Texas to New York. Known for its durability, the Fluropon® coatings formulated with Kynar 500® PVDF resin will uphold its integrity for years to come.
“We often call these types of buildings, monumental in our business,” said Jeff Alexander, VP of Sales for Sherwin-Williams Coil and Extrusion Coatings. “In this particular project that is an understatement. Not only is the building monumental, but the effort to meet the architect’s vision while delivering on what Texas Finishing needed, was a monumental task. Our color and coating selection proved to be up to the task and it’s a certainly a signature building that brings even more vibrancy to the famed New York skyline.”