Although stainless steel was discovered in 1912, it wasn’t until 17 years later that anyone decided to use it in construction.
Stainless steel was first used for the exterior of a building in 1929, when the famous Savoy Hotel in London used a small amount of metal to enhance the aesthetics of its entrance. The front of the canopy above the entrance is covered with a stainless steel plate with a large neon sign “Savoy” hanging from it. Stainless steel is also used on the facade around the entrance, making it quite beautiful.
The next and most famous use of stainless steel in buildings was the Chrysler Building, which is still widely regarded as the most prominent building in New York City. In his presentation at the symposium “Stainless Steel in Architecture” held on June 15, 2005, Finnish architect Esko Meitten cited the Chrysler Building as “one of the hallmarks of architecture.”
At the time of construction, the 77-story Chrysler Building was the tallest building in the world, and certainly one of the most decorated. Design, innovation, and the spires that protrude from the building’s walls to achieve a record height of 1,047 feet are truly an astonishing achievement. In Chapter 7, “The Chrysler Building (1930),” the author refers to the building as “The Miracle of 42nd Street.”
The most important application of stainless steel in the Chrysler Building is the tapering of the top 175-foot tower until it forms a 10-foot-tall spire at the top. The tower consists of a series of 7 arches that taper from bottom to top (Fig. 48). Inside each arch are tall triangular windows, distributed on four sides of the building. The bottom arch has 7 windows, followed by 6 until the top arch has only 1 window. The surface of each window is clad in Nirosta (18-8) stainless steel, so each arch is composed of glass and metal.
Architect Van Alen describes its building this way: “The stainless steel structural lines and metal trim are mirrored panels that reflect the ever-changing sunlight.” Indeed, his detailed description (from Chapter 7) introduces stainless steel Many functional and design advantages in terms of architecture. Stainless steel is also used throughout the three-story facade, entrance, façade decoration and lobby decoration.
Van Alene’s use of this attractive metal caught the attention of architects, but only a handful of other buildings used stainless steel during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Those buildings include the Empire State Building, which was completed a year after the Chrysler Building and set a new height record at 1,252 feet (382 meters) tall and has 85 floors of offices. This world record has been maintained for 41 years. The 200-foot (61-meter) spaceship mooring tower and five-story office block were later designed to exceed the height of the Chrysler Building.
The exterior is finished in grey limestone with vertical strips of stainless steel. Above the sixth floor there are stainless steel spandrel panels that extend upwards from the outside of each set of windows, creating a sunburst trim at the top of each floor. A stainless steel fence was installed on the viewing platform on the 85th floor in 1949. The lobby of the building is also heavily decorated with stainless steel.
Another early example of the use of stainless steel for exterior and interior finishes is the 44th floor of the Philadelphia Savings Fund Association Building, built in 1932. Extensive stainless steel is used in the building, both inside and outside of the windows in the sunroom on the 53rd floor at the entrance. Senior officials dining room on the same level, kitchen with 302 stainless steel sink, worktop and steam station. Type 302 stainless steel can also be used in interior railings, column cladding and escalators leading to banks on the second level.
Although the construction industry was sluggish during the Great Depression, the amazing benefits of using stainless steel for many interior and exterior finishes were recognized. After World War II, more buildings used stainless steel. The first significant application of a stainless steel “curtain wall” was in the 4th floor offices of the General Electric Turbine Plant Building at 273 Schenectady, New York, in 1948. The curtain wall is corrugated, 0.038″ (0.97mm) thick Type 302 stainless steel panels are spot welded to the structural steel frame.
In 1954, a skyscraper, the Mobil Oil Building on 42nd Street in New York City, was clad in stainless steel for the first time. The 42-story office building was the largest metal-clad building in the world in 1954. Except for the windows, the entire building is covered with 7000 type 302 stainless steel panels. Lobby and elevator doors also use a lot of stainless steel.
Panels for the exterior curtain wall, just over 1/32 of an inch thick, are pressed into a trihedral pattern to avoid bending and interrupting reflections. The Mobil Oil Building’s exterior has been criticized as the “Waffle Building.” However, in 2003, the Buttelike Building near Grand Central Station was named “New York’s most striking skyscraper by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.” One wash.
Cladding buildings with stainless steel has become commonplace. In 1999, the famous application of stainless steel as the largest curtain wall was the Gemini in Kuala Lumpur. The building is clad in 700,000 square feet of stainless steel. It was the tallest skyscraper in the world at the time.