New York, NY
Vertical Access was retained by Structure Tone, Inc. to investigate and document conditions at selected areas of the façades of the New York EDITION Hotel (formerly the MetLife Tower) as part of the city’s Façade Inspection and Safety Program. The scope of work included hands-on survey and hammer-sounding of the exterior masonry above the 35th floor and inspection of the gilded sheet metal cupola. VA also inspected the marble clock surround at the west façade between the 25th and 28th floors.
Building description
The New York EDITION Hotel is a 51-story tower originally constructed as an addition to the 11-story headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Designed by Napoleon LeBrun & Sons and completed in 1909, the MetLife Tower was the tallest building in the world until 1913. The neo-Renaissance design of the exterior is directly influenced by the Campanile of San Marco in Venice, with its slender column shaft surmounted by a multi-story loggia and pyramidal roof. The New York EDITION Hotel has a steel frame structure with masonry cladding, with most of the original marble cladding and ornament having been replaced with limestone during a 1960s modernization.
Challenges
- Gain hands-on access to all four facades between the 35th and 48th floors and sheet metal cupola above, as well as to the west façade clock surround between the 25th and 28th floors, with minimal impact on building users.
Solutions
- Using industrial rope access, Vertical Access documented cracks, spalls, and failed repairs in marble and limestone cladding.
Building owner
- Marriott International