712 Fifth Avenue Building
- Architects
- Kohn Pedersen Fox SLCE Architects
- Year
- 1991
- Style
- Gothic Revival
- City
- Manhattan, NY
712 Fifth Avenue is a 650-foot skyscraper at 56th Street and Fifth Avenue, designed by SLCE Architects and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and constructed from 1987 to 1990. Its base incorporates the preserved facades of two earlier landmarks: the Coty Building at 714 Fifth Avenue, built in 1871, and the Rizzoli Bookstore building at 712 Fifth Avenue, built in 1908.
the building
Old facades, new tower. The Coty and Rizzoli facades are preserved at the base, and an imitation facade was built at 716 Fifth Avenue to complete the grouping. Behind them sit a storefront and an atrium.
Tower materials. The tower stories are clad in white marble, gray limestone, and green and black granite, with each floor averaging 7,500 square feet of office space.
the style
The tower's Gothic Revival cues nod to the landmarked Coty and Rizzoli buildings preserved at its base, a juxtaposition of old and new that critics such as Paul Goldberger and Christopher Gray both praised and criticized.
More on Gothic Revivalthe architect
Designed jointly by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and SLCE Architects.
significance
Both the Coty Building and the Rizzoli Bookstore building incorporated into its base are individually designated New York City landmarks.
nearby
- 12 West 56th Street
- Bonwit Teller Building
- University Club
- 13 West 54th Street House
- St. Regis Hotel
- 689 Fifth Avenue