Foster + Partners in New York

Foster + Partners has released conceptual designs for a new 40-story office tower at 425 Park Avenue in New York City. Image: dbox/ Foster + Partners

London-based Foster + Partners has won the competition for a new office tower at 425 Park Avenue in New York City. The 40-story tower will feature a predominantly glass facade punctuated by light-colored vertical and steel horizontal structural elements. At the ground level, the building's lower floors are pulled back from Park Avenue to form a sheltered entry plaza.

The building's profile tapers twice as it rises, dividing the tower into three vertical zones. These two upper-level tapered areas are visually punctuated, as multistory diagonal structural elements and outdoor terraces surround special lobby levels.

The building is being developed by a joint partnership of L&L Holding Company and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LBHI).

The conceptual design by Foster + Partners will serve as the framework for a two-year collaborative process with L&L Holding’s project team to create a fully formed architectural and construction plan for the 425 Park Avenue tower. L&L Holding anticipates construction will begin in 2015 with completion by the end of 2017.