It's kind of gross when you think about it, even though it wasn't necessarily a BAD experience. All that outgassing from new paint and carpeting. Breathing air out of ducts that were last cleaned who-knows-when. Sure, the HVAC was always circulating, but it felt like being in some artificial climate the entire time you were there. Regulating air pressure is critical in super tall buildings. In our building at least, there wasn't even a vent you could open to get some tiny bit of fresh air. But the absolute worst part about it? You cannot open a god damned window. The water in the toilets would surge up and down during storms, and you could sometimes hear the building creak, all of which was mildly amusing. There was a lovely plaza outside at ground level full of trees, benches and such. Our lobby was jaw-droppingly beautiful, and we were connected to an ant-farm kind of tunnel system with all kinds of restaurants, coffee shops and stores. Overall, the building was nice, and the office was adequate but aging. My view was phenomenal, and we never had elevator issues when I was there. I was only on the 37th floor, but the building was 70-something stories. Residents at 432 Park complained of creaking, banging and clicking noises in their apartments, and a trash chute “that sounds like a bomb” when garbage is tossed, according to notes from a 2019 owners’ meeting.I worked for a few years in a genuine early '70s sky scraper (Aon Center-formerly Standard Oil Building-in Chicago). He has heard metal partitions between walls groan as buildings sway, and the ghostly whistle of rushing air in doorways and elevator shafts. One of the most common complaints in supertall buildings is noise, said Luke Leung, a director at the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Wind sway can cause the cables in the elevator shaft to slap around and lead to slowdowns or shutdowns, according to an engineer who asked not to be named, because he has worked on other towers in New York with similar issues. A management email explained that “a high-wind condition” stopped an elevator and caused a resident to be “entrapped” on the evening of Oct. Many of the mechanical issues cited at 432 Park are occurring at other supertall residential towers, according to several engineers who have worked on the buildings.Īll buildings sway in the wind, but at exceptional heights, those forces are stronger. “They’re still billing it as God’s gift to the world, and it’s not.” “I was convinced it would be the best building in New York,” said Sarina Abramovich, one of the earliest residents of 432 Park. Engineers privy to some of the disputes say many of the same issues are occurring quietly in other new towers. Less than a decade after a spate of record-breaking condo towers reached new heights in New York, the first reports of defects and complaints are beginning to emerge, raising concerns that some of the construction methods and materials used have not lived up to the engineering breakthroughs that only recently enabled 1,000-foot-high trophy apartments. The Downside to Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, BreaksĤ32 Park, one of the wealthiest addresses in the world, faces some significant design problems, and other luxury high-rises may share its fate.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |