PEI COBB FREED & PARTNERS
INNOVATIVE RESTORATION REPOSITIONING OF FORMER TIME & LIFE BUILDING SHOWS SUSTAINABILITY IS KEY TO MARKET SUCCESS At 1271 Avenue of the Americas, Modernization and New EnergySaving Facade Yield Fully Leased Tower The launch of the television series Mad Men, set in the Time & Life Building in Midtown Manhattan, introduced the iconic 1959 tower to a new generation. But despite its growing fame, the aging tower struggled to compete in New York’s commercial real estate market: with an inefficient building envelope, outdated mechanical systems, and a timeworn lobby, it was no match for recently built, state-of-the-art towers. Then, in 2014—as Mad Men entered its final season—the primary tenant announced it was relocating to a new building. That’s when owner-developer Rockefeller Group turned to the architecture firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, with a vision for a transformational reinvention The Pei Cobb Freed team made a thorough study of existing
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conditions, seeking to understand decades of alterations, and researched the original architects’ intentions. Synthesizing this information with their knowledge of best practices in sustainability and workplace design, the team developed an innovative plan for restoration, improvement, and modernization. The ensuing repositioning of the building—now known as 1271 Avenue of the Americas—brought it from vacant to 99 percent leased, even before construction was complete. This success speaks to the benefit of strategic interventions that preserve rather than demolish, serving not only building owners and users but the public and planet, while meeting the demands of the 21stcentury workforce. Facade replacement was the most significant of the repositioning’s five interdependent components. A clever inversion of the
