The Kips Bay Towers (KBT) in Midtown Manhattan were an architectural landmark long before a 55 kW solar power system was installed on the roof in December 2008, making it the largest residential solar array in Manhattan. The KBT is one of the few residential projects designed by the famous modernist architect, I.M. Pei.
I.M. Pei
Its construction was also unique.
When first built, it was the largest cast-in-place concrete building in the world. Given its prominent place in architectural history, the KBT is a perfect match for a technology that is also forward-looking.
Other early work by I.M. Pei include:
- 1951 – Roosevelt Field Mall, in Garden City, New York, USA
- 1954–1959 — Mile High Center, in Denver, Colorado, USA
- 1960– Erieview Plan Cleveland, Ohio
- 1961–1967 — National Center for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 1961 — Kips Bay Plaza, in New York City, USA [1]
- 1961 — Government Center Master Plan, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- 1962 — Place Ville-Marie, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- 1962 — Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawaii, USA, Official web page
- 1962 — Hale Manoa Dormitory, East West Center, University of Hawaii, USA
- 1963 — Luce Memorial Chapel, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
- 1963 — Society Hill Towers – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Unofficial website
- 1964 — Green Building, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 1964 — S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University — Syracuse, New York
- 1966–1968 — Sculpture Wing of the Des Moines Art Center in Des Moines, Iowa
For a list of I.M. Pei’s other projects, click here.
Solar Power Takes Manhattan: The Movie
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[...] thank environmental author Osha Gray Davidson for sharing the above video with me on his website, The Phoenix Sun. The video is a brief case study about The Kips Bay Towers in Midtown Manhattan, which recently [...]
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[...] and environmental author, Osha Gray Davidson, just shared the video above with me on his website, The Phoenix Sun. I know this sounds corny, but watching this video moved me. I think it’s represents a [...]
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[...] Solar Power Takes Manhattan | The Phoenix Sun [...]
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[...] Solar Power Takes Manhattan | The Phoenix Sun [...]
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Osha Davidson, Osha Davidson. Osha Davidson said: Just in time for the Oscars: Solar Power Takes Manhattan, the movie. http://bit.ly/7yRS2Q #solar #news #video #energy #NY #eco #architecture [...]
Hi that is a very fascinating view, It does give one food for thought, I am very delighted I stumbled on your blog, i was using Stumbleupon at the time, anyway i don
Osah, I LOVE this, as a city boy who grew up not far from there. In fact, my solar roots started with the CitiCorp building on 53rd St. and Lexiington Ave. That iconic sky scraper, the building with the sharp triangular roof, was built for solar, but never got off the ground due to ….politics mostly. In any case, when it was announced and I thought there was going to be solar there, I was inspired. I thought, why can’t every building in New York be powered by the sun? I subscribed the next day to Solar Today magazine, intending to be a solar engineer to further that goal. Sadly, my mistake was taking calculus in high school. Hated it. Years later, I realized I didn’t have to be an engineer to support solar and could use my communication skills, and …here I am.
Forgive me, but I’m going to steal this video for SolarPowerRocks.com, but I will credit thePhoenixSun for inspiration.
Thanks, man. This is such a trip for me back to my roots. You have no idea.