The Chrysler Building (1930)
Viewed from The Empire State Building
At 1,046 feet (319 m), it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework, and was the world's tallest building for 11 months after its completion in 1930.Originally a project of real estate developer and former New York State Senator William H. Reynolds, the building was constructed by Walter Chrysler, the head of the Chrysler Corporation. The construction of the Chrysler Building, an early skyscraper, was characterized by a competition with 40 Wall Street and the Empire State Building to become the world's tallest building. Although the Chrysler Building was built and designed specifically for the car manufacturer, the corporation did not pay for its construction and never owned it; Walter Chrysler decided to fund the entire cost personally so his children could inherit it. An annex was completed in 1952, and the building was sold by the Chrysler family the next year, with numerous subsequent owners.
When the Chrysler Building opened, there were mixed reviews of the building's design, ranging from views of it as inane and unoriginal to the idea that it was modernist and iconic. Perceptions of the building have slowly evolved into its now being seen as a paragon of the Art Deco architectural style.
The Chrysler Building is considered a leading example of Art Deco architecture.It is constructed of a steel frame in-filled with masonry, with areas of decorative metal cladding. Approximately fifty metal ornaments protrude at the building's corners on five floors reminiscent of gargoyles on Gothic cathedrals.
The Chrysler Building uses bright "Nirosta" stainless steel extensively in its design, an austenitic alloy developed in Germany by Krupp (a German acronym for nichtrostender Stahl, meaning "non-rusting steel"). It was the first use of this "18-8 stainless steel" in an American project, composed of 18% chromium and 8% nickel.Nirosta was used in the exterior ornaments, the window frames, the crown, and the needle.The steel was an integral part of Van Alen's design, as E.E. Thum explains: "The use of permanently bright metal was of greatest aid in the carrying of rising lines and the diminishing circular forms in the roof treatment, so as to accentuate the gradual upward swing until it literally dissolves into the sky...."
The Chrysler Building is renowned for, and recognized by, its terraced crown, which is an extension of the main tower.Composed of seven radiating terraced arches, Van Alen's design of the crown is a cruciform groin vault of seven concentric members with transitioning setbacks, mounted one behind another. The entire crown is clad with Nirosta steel, ribbed and riveted in a radiating sunburst pattern with many triangular vaulted windows, reminiscent of the spokes of a wheel. The windows are repeated, in smaller form, on the terraced crown's seven narrow setbacks. Due to the curved shape of the dome, the Nirosta sheets had to be measured on site, so most of the work was carried out in workshops on the building's 67th and 75th floors. According to Robinson, the terraced crown "continue[s] the wedding-cake layering of the building itself.
The Chrysler Building (1930)
Viewed from The Empire State Building
At 1,046 feet (319 m), it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework, and was the world's tallest building for 11 months after its completion in 1930.Originally a project of real estate developer and former New York State Senator William H. Reynolds, the building was constructed by Walter Chrysler, the head of the Chrysler Corporation. The construction of the Chrysler Building, an early skyscraper, was characterized by a competition with 40 Wall Street and the Empire State Building to become the world's tallest building. Although the Chrysler Building was built and designed specifically for the car manufacturer, the corporation did not pay for its construction and never owned it; Walter Chrysler decided to fund the entire cost personally so his children could inherit it. An annex was completed in 1952, and the building was sold by the Chrysler family the next year, with numerous subsequent owners.
When the Chrysler Building opened, there were mixed reviews of the building's design, ranging from views of it as inane and unoriginal to the idea that it was modernist and iconic. Perceptions of the building have slowly evolved into its now being seen as a paragon of the Art Deco architectural style.
The Chrysler Building is considered a leading example of Art Deco architecture.It is constructed of a steel frame in-filled with masonry, with areas of decorative metal cladding. Approximately fifty metal ornaments protrude at the building's corners on five floors reminiscent of gargoyles on Gothic cathedrals.
The Chrysler Building uses bright "Nirosta" stainless steel extensively in its design, an austenitic alloy developed in Germany by Krupp (a German acronym for nichtrostender Stahl, meaning "non-rusting steel"). It was the first use of this "18-8 stainless steel" in an American project, composed of 18% chromium and 8% nickel.Nirosta was used in the exterior ornaments, the window frames, the crown, and the needle.The steel was an integral part of Van Alen's design, as E.E. Thum explains: "The use of permanently bright metal was of greatest aid in the carrying of rising lines and the diminishing circular forms in the roof treatment, so as to accentuate the gradual upward swing until it literally dissolves into the sky...."
The Chrysler Building is renowned for, and recognized by, its terraced crown, which is an extension of the main tower.Composed of seven radiating terraced arches, Van Alen's design of the crown is a cruciform groin vault of seven concentric members with transitioning setbacks, mounted one behind another. The entire crown is clad with Nirosta steel, ribbed and riveted in a radiating sunburst pattern with many triangular vaulted windows, reminiscent of the spokes of a wheel. The windows are repeated, in smaller form, on the terraced crown's seven narrow setbacks. Due to the curved shape of the dome, the Nirosta sheets had to be measured on site, so most of the work was carried out in workshops on the building's 67th and 75th floors. According to Robinson, the terraced crown "continue[s] the wedding-cake layering of the building itself.