693 Fifth Avenue (New York City, New York)

 office building, high-rise, 1992_construction, commercial building, postmodern (architecture)

295-foot, 20-story postmodern office building completed in 1992. Designed by Phillip Johnson/John Burgee Architects for Japanese retailer Takashimaya, it served as the company's flagship store and was called the Takashimaya Building until it was sold in 2010. The slender tower's front facade has a 7-story base that was radically remodeled in 2014 to a design by David Chipperfield. It is now clad in a sleek Modernist curtain wall of reflective glass (on the top five floors) and thin black metal framing with narrow panes instead of Johnson's Postmodernist design. The glass is clearer on the lower levels and reveals the stone structure behind it, however the upper levels remain true to the original design. There are glass double-doors at both ends of the ground floor. The retail space is now occupied by Valentino.

The upper floors, set back above the base, retain their original facade design. Three bays of 2-story, multi-pane, windows (bowed out at the center bay) are framed by black and red granite columns (paired between the bays) and surrounded by limestone rustication. Banded limestone end piers frame the facade. The tower rises to a pediment-topped penthouse at the center bay, above an arcade of red granite columns at the final full floor. The upper floors of the north and south side elevations have similar multi-pane windows at the front edge, and a row of small, square windows running along the top floor.

The interior was renovated in 2014 by David Chipperfeld Architects for Valentino S.p.A under landlord Savitt Partners. At the entrance, a double-height space houses a monolithic staircase made of palladiana stone. this feature connects all of the store’s levels, taking customers on an ascending tour and allowing them to observe and experience the entrance space that includes a series of single shelves. At ground floor level, a completely new accessories concept is adopted, with terrazzo perimeter walls on which brass and oak shelves are attached for product display. a new range of timber display furniture sits in conjunction with long marble volumes that act both as plinths and furniture. the level above follows an enfilade of rooms, each with different architectural characteristics that separate the different types of merchandise. the sequential spaces offer a distinct atmosphere generated by a custom palette of colors, textures, and lights. Additionally, a clock designed by David Chipperfield and John Morgan has been installed onto the façade of the former Valentino’s flagship store which was manufactured by GB Milano. In 2023, Burberry moved into this space.

The building is currently owned by Financière Marc de Lacharrière.