Featured Article Summary #77

Lever House is an office building in New York City that was constructed in the 1950s. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft and Natalie de Blois in a modern architectural style. The building was originally used as the headquarters for soap company Lever Brothers. Lever House was the second building in the city to have a glass curtain wall. It has 21 office stories and a courtyard and public space on the ground floor. The building changed the landscape of the area by introducing International-style office buildings. It was almost demolished in the 1980s but was saved and designated as a historic landmark. Lever House is located on Park Avenue between 53rd and 54th Street in New York City. The site was originally part of a farm, but by the late 19th century, it was developed with row houses. In the 1930s, most of the row houses were demolished and replaced with the Normandie Theater and a one-story building. Two row houses at 62 and 64 East 54th Street were the only ones that remained. Lever House was designed in the International Style and is part of a group of buildings on Park Avenue. It incorporates ideas from Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. The building was constructed by several companies and is named after the Lever Brothers Company. It is 307 ft tall with 21 office stories. The ground level of Lever House has an outdoor plaza with a rectangular garden in the center. The second story appears to be floating above the ground due to the columns set back from the lot boundary, and there is an opening in the center overlooking the garden. The rest of the building is a rectangular slab, positioned to allow natural light and comply with zoning regulations, resulting in a smaller floor area ratio compared to other skyscrapers in the city. The ground floor of Lever House has glass and marble walls, with entrances and a garage located in specific areas of the building. The upper floors have curtain walls made of heat-absorbing glass and stainless steel, with the majority of the building being made of glass.