The little problems of the big 432 Park Avenue building

Stephanos Chen, on the New York Times, wrote a piece about the several problems of 432 Park, “one of the wealthiest addresses in the world.” The 427-meter tower¹ has been facing many technical difficulties, including water damage and numerous mechanical issues. Regardless of the somewhat satisfying billionaires-being-uncomfortable voyeurism, and the obvious implications on the city skyline,² urbanism, design, and architecture, this part in particular got my attention:

One of the most common complaints in supertall buildings is noise, said Luke Leung, a director at the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. He has heard metal partitions between walls groan as buildings sway, and the ghostly whistle of rushing air in doorways and elevator shafts.

Residents at 432 Park complained of creaking, banging and clicking noises in their apartments, and a trash chute “that sounds like a bomb” when garbage is tossed, according to notes from a 2019 owners’ meeting.

Anyone else having strong Poltergeist III vibes or is it just me?

The New York Times – among other websites – really need a toggle to switch from imperial units to the metric system. Maybe it should be a browser native feature, maybe the editors should consistently make the effort to add the converted values in their writing, but it needs to be done. This is especially important when it comes to climate change coverage for instance, where the understanding of temperatures and rising-water heights needs to be 100% clear. The New York Times, along with the Washington Post, the Guardian, and other “world” publications cannot – as world publications – assume the world understands imperial units, because the world does not. ↩︎
Also from Stefanos Chen, do not miss this NYT piece on the evolution of the city’s skyline, with beautiful shots of New York from the 1920s and 1930s. ↩︎