[Portable Sony DVD Architect Pro 6.0 Build 237
Rapheal Charlton
Additionally, I take along the Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA, FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM for architectural shots when a T/S is not necessary. The FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS is perfect for out the window view images and scene-setting images of the surrounding environment or for photographing people in an architectural environment when I need to add a little bokeh to the mix. And finally, the FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS [tack sharp wide open at f/2.8,] with very pleasing bokeh, is stellar for architectural and design detail shots.
Camera Settings I shoot in RAW mode, compressed. Below are screen shots. They are shown in the order the icons are listed when depressing the Menu button on the top left, back of the camera. Similar settings can be used on the α7S II, and α6300 which I also use for my real estate photography. The exact position of menu items varies on the different camera models.
Single Shot for architectural settings, interior and exteriors. There is no need to over shoot at a higher frame rate. Drive mode can be accessed one of two ways: Camera icon > 2 > Scroll down to Drive Mode, or through the Fn button on the back of the camera.
Camera icon > 2 > Scroll down to Drive Mode, then click the Center Button to choose Drive Mode, then use the Outer Dial to toggle left, right, up or down. Similarly, the Fn button can also be used to access bracketing through Drive Modes. See the upper left box of my Function Menu Set above.
Airborne in a Helicopter: Continuous High Drive Mode. This setting allows me to rapidly acquire multiple frames. When photographing from a helicopter there are several factors that contribute to blur. A) Vibration: The rotor is always spinning. B) You are always moving.
A large entrance arch at the base of the building faces east toward Madison Avenue, flanked by arcades with smaller flat arches. A pedestrian atrium, running through the middle of the city block between 55th and 56th Streets, was also included in the design; a plaza was built in its place in the 2020s. The presence of the atrium enabled the building to rise higher without the use of setbacks because of a provision in the city's zoning codes. The ground-level lobby is surrounded by retail spaces, which were originally a public arcade. The office stories are accessed from a sky lobby above the base. Atop the building is a broken pediment with a circular opening. Opinion of the building has been mixed ever since its design was first announced in March 1978.
The AT&T Building at 550 Madison Avenue was intended to replace 195 Broadway, the company's previous headquarters in Lower Manhattan. Following the breakup of the Bell System in 1982, near the building's completion, AT&T spun off its subsidiary companies. As a result, AT&T never occupied the entire building as it had originally intended. Sony leased the building in 1991, substantially renovated the base and interior, and acquired the structure from AT&T in 2002. Sony sold the building to the Chetrit Group in 2013 and leased back its offices there for three years. The Olayan Group purchased 550 Madison Avenue in 2016 with plans to renovate it, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building's exterior as a landmark in 2018. Olayan redeveloped the building in the late 2010s and early 2020s.
550 Madison Avenue is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The rectangular land lot is bounded by Madison Avenue to the east, 56th Street to the north, and 55th Street to the south. The lot covers approximately 36,800 square feet (3,420 m2),[2][3] with a frontage of 200 feet (61 m) on Madison Avenue and 189 feet (58 m) on both 55th and 56th Streets. The building is on the same city block as the Corning Glass Building to the west. Other nearby buildings include St. Regis New York and 689 Fifth Avenue to the southwest, the Minnie E. Young House to the south, the New York Friars Club and Park Avenue Tower to the east, 432 Park Avenue to the northeast, 590 Madison Avenue to the north, and Trump Tower and the Tiffany & Co. flagship store to the northwest.[2]
The site was occupied by a stream before being developed in the 1800s.[4] The AT&T Building directly replaced fifteen smaller structures, including several four- and five-story residences dating from the late 19th century, which were converted into commercial stores in the mid-20th century.[5] This stretch of Madison Avenue in Midtown was a prominent retail corridor during the 20th century, but new office buildings were developed on the avenue in the two decades after World War II ended.[6] The site at 550 Madison Avenue was described by New York magazine as "unusually human" compared to Midtown's other office developments due to the neighborhood's relatively low height.[5][7]
550 Madison Avenue was designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee of Johnson/Burgee Architects.[8] Johnson had been an influential figure in modernist architecture during the late 20th century, having helped design the Seagram Building nearby in the 1950s, but he reverted to more classical motifs for 550 Madison Avenue's design.[9][10][11] The building was among Johnson and Burgee's most influential works and, according to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), is sometimes described as the world's first postmodern skyscraper.[12] Alan Ritchie of Johnson/Burgee was named as design manager,[13][14] while Simmons Architects was the associate architect.[14][15]
Engineers and contractors involved in the building's construction included structural engineer Leslie E. Robertson of Robertson & Fowler Associates; associate engineer Leroy Callender; foundation engineer Mueser, Rutledge, Johnston & DeSimone; mechanical engineer Cosentini Associates; and interior designer ISD Inc.[14][16] Frank Briscoe was the construction manager, while William Crow Construction and HRH Construction were the general contractors.[4][14][17] 550 Madison Avenue's developer, telecommunications firm AT&T Corp., had requested that the building use material sourced exclusively from the United States.[18]
The primary portion of the building is the 37-story office tower along Madison Avenue, on the eastern section of the land lot. The tower is 647 feet (197 m) tall, as measured from sidewalk level to the highest point of the tower's broken pediment. There are no setbacks.[8][19] Unlike other postmodernist structures with irregular ground-level plans, 550 Madison Avenue was designed as a rectangle at ground level, similar to older International Style buildings.[9] The tower stories have a footprint measuring 200 by 90 feet (61 by 27 m).[20][a]
There was also a three- and four-story annex at the western end of the site.[19][22][23] At the time of 550 Madison Avenue's construction, there was a lease on the adjacent Corning Glass Building that limited the height of any structures near that building to 60 feet (18 m) in height.[11] This restriction included the westernmost lots of the AT&T site,[24] so the roof of the annex was exactly 60 feet tall.[22] Following an early-2020s renovation, the annex was demolished and replaced with a single-story annex.[25]
550 Madison's articulation is inspired by that of classical buildings, with three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column: a base, shaft, and capital.[6][11] The facade is clad with 60,000 pieces of roughly textured pink Stony Creek granite, weighing up to 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) each, supplied by Castellucci & Sons from its Connecticut quarry.[18][26][27] More than 13,000 short tons (12,000 long tons; 12,000 t) of granite is used, representing over 160,000 cubic feet (4,500 m3) of the material.[11] The stonework cost $25 million in total[27][28][29] and required an additional 6,000 short tons (5,400 long tons; 5,400 t) of steel to support it.[30] Varying reasons are given for the use of granite. Johnson considered pink granite as "simply the best" type of stone,[11][18] and Ritchie said the Stony Creek pink granite had "more character" than granite from other sources.[18] Burgee said the pink color was chosen to contrast with 590 Madison Avenue, the gray-green granite structure built simultaneously by IBM to the north.[31]
The granite facade helped to reduce energy consumption compared to the glass curtain walls used on many of the city's contemporary skyscrapers.[18][32] In 2020[update], during the building's renovation, it received an "A" grade on a citywide energy-efficiency ranking system.[33][34] About one-third of the facade is clad in glass. When the plans were announced in 1978, Johnson claimed that the glass on the facade would make 550 Madison Avenue the city's "most energy-efficient structure".[18][35] The windows are recessed into granite surrounds that are up to 10 inches (250 mm) deep.[11] The architects had wanted deeper windows, but the high cost of the granite made this infeasible. Additionally, the round mullions of the original design were given a more rectangular shape, and the window arrangement was dictated by the interior use.[36] The building also includes more than 1,000 pieces of brass manufactured by the Chicago Extruded Metals Company.[27]
The main entrance is on Madison Avenue and consists of an archway measuring 116 feet (35 m) high by 50 feet (15 m) wide, with a recess 20 feet (6.1 m) deep. Within the archway is a 70-foot (21 m) arched window,[37] topped by a circular oculus with a 20-foot (6.1 m) radius.[19][38][39] Both windows have glazed glass panels and vertical and horizontal bronze mullions. These windows are surrounded by stonework with rhombus tiles. The side walls of the arch have smaller round arches and rectangular stonework, while the top of the arch contains recessed rectangular lights.[19] According to architectural writer Paul Goldberger, the arch may have been influenced by the Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua.[40][41][42] AT&T said the arch was supposed to make the building appear dominant and give it "a sense of dignity".[37] To the left and right of the main entrance arch are three flat-arched openings, measuring 60 feet (18 m) tall by 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, with voussoirs at their tops.[43]
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