Key facts
- Steel columns buckled on the 21st floor of a former Pfizer headquarters in Manhattan, halting an office-to-apartment conversion.
- The project involves adding stories to two buildings, one built in 1909 and another in the 1960s, to create approximately 1,600 apartments.
- Structural engineering experts believe the buckling was likely caused by the added load from the conversion's construction.
- Adaptive reuse projects are gaining popularity as a solution to housing shortages and to reduce the environmental impact of demolition.
- Officials are investigating the cause, but the incident has not fundamentally questioned the viability of office-to-housing conversions.
A structural scare at a major office-to-apartment conversion project in Manhattan has underscored the complex engineering involved in repurposing older buildings to address housing shortages. Two steel columns buckled on the 21st floor of the former Pfizer headquarters, prompting evacuations and a halt to work on the ambitious adaptive reuse project.
The conversion aims to transform two buildings, one dating back to 1909 and the other to the 1960s, into approximately 1,600 residential units. This involves adding new stories atop the older structure and redesigning and expanding the other. Experts believe the buckling was likely caused by the increased load from the new construction, a common challenge in such projects.
Structural engineers emphasize that while these conversions are complex, they do not fundamentally question the ability to execute them safely. Ben Schafer, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, noted that older buildings can be adapted to support new loads by integrating new structural systems. Emily Guglielmo, a structural engineer, added that such projects require thorough review of original documents and careful inspection to ensure structural integrity.
Beyond the engineering hurdles, adaptive reuse is also driven by sustainability concerns, as demolition and new construction contribute significantly to global carbon emissions. Reusing existing structures is often preferred from an environmental and cost perspective, especially in dense urban areas like New York where land is scarce. James LaFave, a professor at the University of Illinois, stated that steel-framed buildings from the 1960s are typically good candidates for conversion.
Despite the setback, officials and experts view office-to-housing conversions as a critical strategy for tackling the nationwide housing crisis. Joshua Harris of Fordham University's Real Estate Institute described these projects as "surgical procedures" on old buildings, acknowledging that complications can arise but emphasizing their necessity in addressing urban housing shortages.