The only high rise and the final project designed by Eero Saarinen, the 38-story CBS headquarters in midtown Manhattan was described by its architect as “the simplest skyscraper statement in New York.” The Harbor Group, Vocon, and MdeAS Architects are offering a tour of this landmark space highlighting their recent renovation and updates. Completed in 1964, the building’s façade of angled dark-gray granite piers alternating with dark-tinted glass contrasted strongly with the curtain-wall office tower neighbors rising around it.

Known as Black Rock, it served as the headquarters of the media enterprise until the early 1990s when other tenants were brought in to occupy 20 floors. In 2021, Harbor Group International acquired the building and Vocon and MdeAS Architects were challenged with updating the building’s plaza, ground floor, and lower level to appeal to tenants operating in a new era of work, while respecting its midcentury origins.

The design team deferred to Saarinen on the exterior, designated a New York City landmark in 1997, as well as its interior, which he designed with his frequent collaborator and longtime friend, Florence Knoll, focusing on clean lines and clear geometries. Designers cut a rectangular opening in the floor and designed a sleek metal and stone stair to a lower level. Formerly the CBS mailroom, the space now serves tenants with amenities including a food and beverage bar, lounge, event space, conference room, fitness center, and locker room. The stair hovers above a shallow pool, echoing the form of one that Saarinen designed for the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.

Speakers
Jeanne Chiang, Assoc. AIA, LEED Green Associate, Project Technical Designer, Vocon
Stephanie Cuevas Baez, Senior Designer at MdeAS Architects
Tricia Ebne, AIA, LEED AP, Director, MdeAS Architects
Sofia Juperius, Design Director, Vocon
Cordelia Meserow, Vice President of Asset Management, Harbor Group International
William Vasquez, Senior General Manager Construction and Commercial Management, Harbor Group Management Co., LLC.

Full speaker bios can be found on the registration page. Organized by AIANY Interiors Committee.
1 LU / 1 HSW

Tuesday November 19, 5:00 – 6:30 pm
51 West 52nd Street, New York
Register