AEWORLDMAP.COM (3,000+ posts)

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Building: Ford Foundation Headquarters
Location: New York, New York
Architect: Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates
Structural Engineer: Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates
Landscape Architect: Dan Kiley
Completed: 1968

AE Interests: The offices only take up a portion of the space on site, the remainder is used as an indoor garden atrium. Structure is a hybrid of concrete and weathered steel, with steel beams spanning 84 feet. Concrete is clad in granite, so the colors of the stone and reddish-brown steel blend in with the natural colors of the garden. Structural design was influenced by highway and bridge construction techniques, where concrete is used as a bearing element to bring forces into the ground and steel is used as a spanning element. Also one of the first office buildings to combine indoor public spaces and community atmosphere with private individual office spaces. This is achieved by orienting the office levels in a step-back formation resembling the letter “C”. Occupants can see each other across the atrium, but still have the privacy of an individual office.

Articles: [1, 2, 3]