Angles, Stresses, Strains Add Up to Beehive of Activity In New York

摘要

Building the $2.2-billion AOL Time Warner Center, a twin-towered, multiuse complex along Manhattan's Columbus Circle that redefines opulence, is like mounting two, 900-lb gorillas on a jungle gym―or worse. In this case, the gorillas are 400-ft-tall structural concrete towers containing luxury condominiums and a hotel. The jungle gym is a 350-ft-tall structural steel podium containing a high-end shopping mall, corporate headquarters for a media giant and a high-profile performing arts center for jazz. That makes the 2.8-million-sq-ft playground for the rich and famous a vertical village, where one user's ceiling is another user's floor, and where prima donnas abound.