Seagram Building, High-rise office building on Park Avenue, Manhattan, United States
The Seagram Building is a high-rise office tower on Park Avenue in Manhattan, standing 157 meters tall with 38 floors. Its facade combines bronze-tinted glass panels with vertical bronze mullions that run along the entire exterior.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson completed the tower in 1958 as the headquarters for the Seagram distillery company following International Style principles. Its design set a new standard for commercial architecture in New York.
The ground-level open space includes seating areas and water features that serve as a public meeting point in midtown. Office workers and passersby use the plaza for lunch breaks or as a shortcut through the block.
Office spaces feature floor-to-ceiling windows with gray topaz glass that reduces sunlight and heat. The public plaza remains open throughout the day and offers a view of the full facade.
The exterior metal beams carry no structural load and were added to reveal the internal steel frame. This solution emerged from fire safety codes that required the load-bearing elements to be covered.
Location: Manhattan
Inception: 1958
Architects: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson
Creator: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Official opening: 1958
Architectural style: International Style
Floors above the ground: 38
Height: 157 m
Website: http://375parkavenue.com
GPS coordinates: 40.75844,-73.97214
Latest update: December 4, 2025 19:03
Philip Johnson designed buildings that brought together modernism and classical references, shaping how architecture developed through the 20th century. His work includes glass pavilions, office towers, public spaces, and cultural institutions. His designs show an interest in clean lines, reflective surfaces, and the relationship between interior spaces and their surroundings. The collection features the Glass House in New Canaan, a transparent residence set within the landscape, the Seagram Building in New York, a bronze tower on Park Avenue, and the Puerta de Europa in Madrid, two leaning towers along Paseo de la Castellana. Other examples include the AT&T Building with its distinctive pediment, PPG Place in Pittsburgh with its glass towers inspired by Gothic forms, the IDS Center in Minneapolis, and Pennzoil Place in Houston. The collection also covers the Fort Worth Water Gardens, an urban park with pools and cascades, the Crystal Cathedral in California, a glass and steel worship space, along with the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth and the Kreeger Museum in Washington. These places show different sides of Johnson's practice and his ability to adapt buildings to urban and natural settings.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe shaped 20th-century architecture. His buildings stand in European and North American cities and show his approach: clear geometry, steel and glass combined with open floor plans. Each project follows the principle of reducing to the essential and defining space through structure. In the United States, he designed the Farnsworth House in Illinois, a residence with glass walls set in a wooded area. In Chicago, he created several buildings, including Crown Hall on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus and the residential high-rises on Lake Shore Drive. In New York, he developed the Seagram Building together with Philip Johnson, an office tower made of bronze and glass. Additional projects took him to Washington, Baltimore, Detroit, Montreal, and Toronto. In Europe, he built villas, museums, and exhibition structures. The Barcelona Pavilion was a temporary structure for the 1929 World's Fair, later reconstructed. Villa Tugendhat in Brno is now a World Heritage site. In Berlin, he built the New National Gallery, a museum with a large glass roof. In Krefeld, he designed Haus Lange and Haus Esters for private clients.
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