The New York Times Building
New York, New York

Designated a landmark in 2001, the New York Times Building on 43rd Street was vacated when the newspaper moved to a new skyscraper in 2007. Gabellini Sheppard was commissioned to redesign the ground floor for retail use, expand the lobby for new Class-A office space above, and restore the 43rd Street fade, inaugurating a new chapter in the history of this 1913 New York Times landmark.

The lobby is enhanced for both greater presence and increased functionality, expanded to 4,000 square feet with two additional high-speed elevators. The elevators, formerly located on a dead-end corridor, are now incorporated within a ring of continuous circulation that passes from the entry, through the security gates, to the elevators and back. The lobby materials palette is designed to bring the exterior "outside-in," and incorporates limestone, Botticino marble, bronze, stainless-steel mesh, and a dramatic lighting concept.

Facade renovations convert the off-center, three-bay entry built in 1947 into a four-bay entry that restores the original symmetry of the main elevation. Where the ground floor previously displayed utilitarian metal loading bay doors, the architects designed storefronts of glass and bronze based on the building's original street-level appearance. The retail master plan can adapt to a variety of tenant configurations, from small 650-sq-ft boutiques to 100,000-sq-ft big-box retailers, while signage options for potential commercial tenants echo the historical illuminated signs throughout Times Square and the city.