Flatiron Building, New York- Architecture & Construction

The Flatiron or Fuller building is considered the tall wedge skyscraper of New York City. This is one of the early unusual-looking steel skyscrapers, constructed by the architect, Daniel Hudson Burnham, and structural engineers Purdy and Henderson in 1901-1902.

The Flatiron Building, New York City, USA

The fuller building with a height of 93m and 22-story is not the tallest building in the city. But its unique architecture was added to the National Register of Historic places in 1979 and designated as a National Historic landmark in 1989.

The building resembles a cast-iron clothes iron, hence it was named Flatiron.

Architecture of Flatiron Building

Location 

Fifth Avenue between West/East 22nd Street and West/East 23rd Street 

Year Built 

1902 

Renovations 

Elevators - 1999; Windows - 2004; Roof - 2005 

Building Size

255,000 SF 

Floors 

22, plus penthouse, mezzanine, 3 below-grad

The Flatiron architecture combines the elements of French and Italian Renaissance architecture. The whole building is a conception of a Greek column, the base, the main body, and the capital. It resembles a column of antiquity. Capital is the topmost member of a column

Types of Capitals in Architecture
Image Credits: Britannica

The Flatiron appears heavy and solid. It has a firm base and becomes slender when it moves towards the capital.

The distinctive shape of the building was planned to fill the wedge-shaped property located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. 

The Flatiron Building Specifications

The flatiron building measures only 2m across its narrow end. The Broadway front is 190 feet wide, the Fifth Avenue front is 173 feet wide and the 22nd street side is just short of 87 feet wide.

Plan of The Flatiron Building

The Flatiron building forms a metal skeleton made of 3,500 tons of steel. The steel frame is conjugated with limestone and terracotta walls hung onto the framework. Steel beams are used for the skeleton and concrete masonry is also used. 

Facade for Flatiron

The façade is clad with limestone in some panels, motifs to decorate the outer skin, and the walls are overlapped with a ripple. On the tip of the building, where the triangular cantilever ledge arises, pale bricks are used. The window openings are coated with copper. 

The triangular framework was designed especially to cope with the wind action. It was made narrow to permit less volume of air to resist.

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