Seagram Building

This is the Seagram Building. It was designed by the famous architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in collaboration with Philip Johnson. It is the true Modernistic skyscraper. It is a simple, non-decorative skyscraper. Some people would call it a minimalist skyscraper. 

It is 516 ft. with 38 stories. It was completed in 1958. When Ludwig designed the building he wanted to show the structure on the outside of the building. In the original plan he wanted the steel frame forming a major part of the facade. But code dictated that the steel be covered by a fire resistant material. So he covered it with concrete, and then covered the concreted with non-load bearing bronze colored I-beams. 

When built, this skyscraper was at the time the most expensive skyscraper to build mostly because of the exquisite interior. He made the facade seem more regular by designing window shades that could only be drawn to three positions: up, down, and in the middle. This made the building stand apart from other skyscrapers whose shades are at all different positions and makes the windows seem irregular.

While the skyscraper is tall, it is not as imposing as other towers of the day. That is because the tower is set back from the sidewalk, forming a public plaza that integrates the sidewalk that is quite popular to this day. 

The is the epitome of Internationalist skyscrapers.