International Flavors & Fragrances World Headquarters (New York City, New York)

USA / New Jersey / West New York / New York City, New York / West 57th Street, 521
 office building  Add category

10-story building originally completed in 1927. It was completely re-clad on the south facade in 1995 to a design by Der Scutt. It has a curtain wall of bronze-tinted glass and dark-grey aluminum in a grid of squares, interrupted by left of center by a different grid overlaid with circles (in two columns). A tall parapet at the top continues the curtain wall, but with a grid of smaller squares and a horizontal row of open circles (four to the west of the middle section, and seven to the east). The ground floor is clad in brown granite in a grid of smaller squares. Some of the squares are window openings near the west end. Below the two vertical columns of circles there are two loading docks, flanked by a pair of bronze-and-glass doors still following the grid pattern. Farther to the east is another door and smaller window, and another loading dock. At the east end is the main entrance, with bronze-and-glass double-doors and sidelights below a bronze-and-glass canopy.

The east facade continues the square-and-circle theme of the curtain wall, with three bays of circles, before setting back to a wide but shallow mid-block light well. The front side of the west elevation is exposed by the setback of the neighboring building, and also continues the curtain wall, with a single circle at the top.

The original facade remains on the north at 58th Street, clad in red brick and beige-painted limestone. It is seven bays wide, with 4-pane windows in the middle and narrow paired windows in the end bays. The east end bay has a secondary entrance with glass double-doors at the ground floor, while the west end bay has a service entrance. There are double-height loading docks at the next two bays from the east, and a ground-floor loading dock at the next bay from the west. The three bays next to the west end bay have infill of glass blocks at the 2nd floor, pierced by smaller window panes in metal frames.

At the upper floors the piers are stone, and there are horizontal stone bands across the top of each floor. The piers framing the end bays are brick, and project slightly. The east elevation at the north end is a plain wall of parged brick, with a lone window opening at the 6th floor. The west elevation is also brick, parged up to the 4th floor, where the outline of a former adjoining building can be seen. The newer adjoining hotel is set back, revealing the front edge. There are a few windows on the top floors, closer to the middle.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   40°46'11"N   73°59'22"W
This article was last modified 4 years ago