![]() ![]() The building is less than one block west of the headquarters of the United Nations, and surrounded by the Tudor City development. The building and its atrium were made New York City designated landmarks in 1997. The Ford Foundation Building has been critically acclaimed for its design, both after its completion and after the renovation. Between 20, the Ford Foundation Building underwent a major renovation and restoration project. The Ford Foundation Building was announced in 1963 and completed in 1968 on the former site of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled. The building was commissioned for the Ford Foundation, then the largest private foundation in the United States, after Henry Heald became foundation president. Most offices in the building are north and west of the atrium and are visible from other offices in the building. The atrium contains landscaping from Dan Kiley and includes plants, shrubs, trees, and vines. ![]() A second entrance on 42nd Street leads to a large public atrium, the first such atrium in an office building in Manhattan. The main entrance is set along 43rd Street. The building consists of a glass-and-steel cube held up by piers made of concrete and clad with Dakota granite. Designed by architect Kevin Roche and engineering partner John Dinkeloo in the late modernist style, the building was one of the first that Roche-Dinkeloo produced after they became heads of Eero Saarinen's firm. It is a spectacular site and experience.The Ford Foundation Building (also known as 321 East 42nd Street, 320 East 43rd Street, or the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice) is a 12-story office building in East Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The Ford Foundation building and atrium are open to the public, so definitely put this destination on your list for the next time you visit New York. Part of the renovation included reinforcing the seams to stop leaking and removal of grime that had collected on the building over the past 50 years.Īs you look up from the atrium, you can see plants on the deck areas of the third, fourth, fifth, and eleventh floors, taking the planting palette into the upper tiers of the atrium. The obstacles they confronted in restoring the garden were enormous and included working with existing narrow doors to bring in 50 foot trees with large root balls and experimenting with beneficial bugs and bats to create an environment where the plants could thrive. ![]() They did a fantastic job under difficult circumstances one would expect in working with a landmark protected property. In October 2016, The Ford Foundation undertook a significant 2 year restoration and renovation with San Francisco-based Gensler and Coconut Grove, Florida landscape design firm Raymond Jungles. You can see through the windowed entrance on 43rd straight through to the greenery in the garden on the 42nd street side which is lovely to see! There is a 13 foot grade difference between 42nd and 43rd streets, so Dan Kiley created three levels of garden terraces connected by pathways and stairs, with a reflecting pool at the lowest level. The atrium’s garden is adjacent to the Tudor City garden so one experiences a seamless flow of green space between these two areas. The atrium in housed within those walls, creating a 160 foot tall space with light flowing in from all directions. The exterior of the building is composed of Corten steel, grey-pink granite and endless glass panels that span twelve stories of office space used by The Ford Foundation and other organizations similarly dedicated to social justice causes. In the mid-1990s this building and its atrium were named a New York City Historical Landmark. This gorgeous property is the result of a 5 year collaboration between architects Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo of Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo & Associates and landscape architect Dan Kiley between 1963-1968. Last week, a group of us from the Garden Conservancy visited the Ford Foundation building and atrium, located at 320 E. ![]()
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