The Citibank Building is an iconic structure in New York City's Midtown Manhattan.
Located at 153 East 53rd Street, it stands 699 feet tall and has 59 floors.
As one of the city's tallest buildings when completed in 1990, it was designed by César Pelli and features a sleek, modern design.
The building's exterior is made of glass, aluminum, and granite, giving it a sleek and sophisticated look.
Architecture and Design
The Citigroup Center's architecture is a remarkable feat of engineering and design. The building was designed by architect Hugh Stubbins, along with associate architects Emery Roth & Sons, for the First National City Bank (later Citibank).
The tower was designed by Hugh Stubbins, with associate architects Emery Roth & Sons. The building's primary structure was led by Hugh A. Stubbins & Associates, with Peter Woytuk being the architect most involved in the design.
The Citigroup Center is 59 stories high, with its roof about 915 ft (279 m) above ground level. This made it the seventh-tallest building in the world at the time of completion.
The building's design involved a team of experts, including Edward Larrabee Barnes as the consulting architect, and LeMessurier Associates and James Ruderman as the structural engineers.
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Structural Features
The Citibank building's structural features are quite impressive. The tower stories are made of trussed-tube construction, measuring 157 by 157 ft (48 by 48 m) each.
Each story has a total area of 24,600 sq ft (2,290 m), which is a significant amount of space. The building's steel content is also noteworthy, with 24,000 short tons (21,000 long tons; 22,000 t) of steel used in its construction.
The ninth story, which contains mechanical space, has a trussed frame similar to those used in cantilever bridges. This design helps to transfer wind loads downward into the stilts.
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Roof
The Citigroup Center's roof is a notable feature, standing 160 ft above the top story at a 45-degree angle. It faces south, a deliberate design choice made to accommodate solar collectors.
The original plan was to have the roof face west and include several terraces. However, the architects decided to rotate the roof southward, which had a significant impact on the building's design.
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The Citigroup Center was the first postmodern skyscraper in New York City to feature an entirely decorative roof. This design choice was intentional, meant to break away from the uniformity of flat-topped towers that were common in the city at the time.
In 1983, solar panels were added to the roof, thanks to a four-year test sponsored by Consolidated Edison and Citibank.
Structural Features
The Citigroup Center is made of a whopping 24,000 short tons of steel, which is two-fifths of the amount used in the Empire State Building. This massive steel structure is what holds the tower together.
The tower stories are built using trussed-tube construction, which measures 157 by 157 feet, or 24,600 square feet in total. This unique construction method provides a solid foundation for the building.
The elevator shafts and emergency stairs are cleverly embedded in a service core at the center of each story. This core is about 68 by 68 feet, leaving just enough space for the floor around it.
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The ninth story, the lowest level above the stilts, contains a trussed frame similar to those used in cantilever bridges. This ingenious design helps transfer wind loads downward into the stilts.
The chevrons in the Citigroup Center are not visible from the exterior, unlike structures like Chicago's John Hancock Center. This was a deliberate design choice, contrasting with the exposed diagonal beams of other buildings.
After the Citicorp Center engineering crisis of 1978, workers installed 2-inch-thick steel plates over each joint to strengthen the structure. This added layer of protection was a crucial safety measure.
Interior and Layout
The Citibank building is a massive structure with a lot to offer in terms of office space. It contains approximately 1.3×10^ sq ft of rentable space, which is a staggering amount.
The building's interior is divided into different sections, including an office annex to the east that covers about 270,000 sq ft of space. This annex provides additional office space for tenants.
The Department of City Planning estimates the building's gross floor area to be around 1,654,020 sq ft, while The Skyscraper Center puts it at 1,578,883 sq ft. Despite the slight discrepancy, it's clear that the Citibank building is an enormous structure with a lot of space to offer.
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Plaza
The plaza at the Citigroup Center is a large, 6,000 sq ft (560 m) outdoor space that's 12 ft (3.7 m) beneath street level.
It was designed by landscape architect Sasaki Associates and built along with the Citigroup Center, with the goal of creating a welcoming and accessible public space.
The plaza is accessed by a diagonally-oriented stairway extending northeast from the corner of Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street.
On the south side of the plaza is an entrance to the Lexington Avenue/51st Street subway station, which replaced two previous subway entrances on the sidewalk.
The north side of the plaza contains the entrance to St. Peter's Church.
The plaza's presence allowed the tower to be designed with a maximum floor area ratio of 18:1, higher than the 15:1 ratio specified for the area.
The plaza was initially designed with brown brick floor pavers, which were used for the interior shopping concourse and sidewalks as well.
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Interior
The interior of this tower is quite impressive, with approximately 1.3×10^ sq ft (120,000 m) of rentable space available.
The office annex to the east contains about 270,000 sq ft (25,000 m) of space, which is a significant addition to the overall floor area.
The Department of City Planning reports a gross floor area of 1,654,020 sq ft (153,663 m), while The Skyscraper Center estimates it at 1,578,883 sq ft (146,683.0 m), showing a slight discrepancy between the two sources.
To put that into perspective, the total floor area is roughly the size of a large shopping mall or a small office complex.
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Background and History
The Citibank building, located at 601 Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, has a rich history dating back to 1977 when it was dedicated as the Citicorp Center. It was designed by architect Hugh Stubbins as the headquarters for First National City Bank, later known as Citibank.
The building's design was a collaborative effort between Stubbins, Emery Roth & Sons, and structural engineers LeMessurier Associates and James Ruderman. Bethlehem Steel was the steel subcontractor responsible for the building's construction.
The building's unique design features four stilts positioned underneath the centers of each of the tower's edges to avoid the nearby St. Peter's Lutheran Church. This design modification was made to accommodate the church's presence.
The stilts support the tower, and load-bearing braces in the form of inverted chevrons were stacked above the stilts inside each face of the building to distribute tension loads created by the wind from the upper stories down to the stilts.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to the Citicorp building?
The Citicorp building was temporarily strengthened due to a design flaw making it vulnerable to collapse in high winds. It was later renamed 601 Lexington Avenue after being acquired by Boston Properties.
What is happening to the Citi building in Canary Wharf?
A refurbishment project is underway in Canary Wharf to enhance the public realm, creating a new route between Canada Square and Jubilee Park. The project started in July 2023 and is expected to be completed by 2025.
Where is Citibank headquarters located?
Citibank's global headquarters is located at 388 Greenwich Street in Manhattan, New York City.
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