W. R. Grace Building (New York City, New York)

 office building, skyscraper, 1974_construction, International style architecture

630-foot, 50-story International-style office building completed in 1974. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Gordon Bunshaft) for the W.R. Grace Company, its north and south faces slope inward from the base. This is similar to another of Bunshaft's creations, the Solow Building, which is no coincidence, as he had used the initial, rejected façade design for that building in his design for the Grace Building. The building's plaza on the 43rd Street side extends to the Sixth Avenue corner. It, as well as the sidewalk on the 42nd Street side of the building, is clad in the same white travertine as used on the building's facades.

The main facades have a grid-like pattern of white travertine filling the space between the darkened windows and defining the structural arrangement. There are seven bays on the main north and south facades, and three on the west and east facades. On the ground floor the bays are recessed behind the piers, which continue their angled trajectory out and downward to the ground. There are entrances to the underground parking garage in the two eastern bays on 43rd Street. On the south facade the windows on the 2nd floor are double height, while on the north facade, they are replaced with recessed, inward-angled openings. The facades flatten out at above the level of the 12th floor, continuing straight up to the roof line from there.

The main building entrance is at 41 West 42nd Street but because the 'Grace Plaza' on the West 43 Street side of the building extends on its western end as far as the side walk at the intersection of 43rd Street and the Avenue of the Americas, it gives the whole plot its address at 1114 Sixth Avenue. On the east end, a narrow, recessed band of dark glass connects to the adjoining building, ending above the 16th floor. Part of the ground floor on 42nd Street is occupied by Sweetgreen restaurant, Joe & The Juice, IDB Bank, and Gabriel Kreuther restaurant.