Topping out at 1396 feet, 432 Park Avenue, New York, New York, is the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere. While 432 Park Avenue is second in overall height to One World Trade Center, it is the tallest building in New York City when measured from roof top height. The structure is reinforced cast-in-place concrete. Architecturally exposed white concrete columns and a central shear wall core support the building. Other than its height this building is unique due to its slenderness ratio of 15:1.

To provide required concrete performance for this state-of-the-art structural engineering design, 14,000 psi concrete was specified for the foundation and part of the superstructure.  High-performance concrete criteria included heat reduction in the mass concrete placements, high strength for structural performance, superior rheology for pumping concrete, and a reduced environmental footprint to achieve sustainable design objectives. A high performance concrete mixture, with a cementitious material content of 55% slag cement, 30% portland cement, 11% fly ash and 4% silica fume, was developed to meet demanding specification and construction requirements. Laboratory strengths of over 18,000 psi were achieved with this mix. This high performance concrete design represents a new era of building design where optimizing the use of SCMs can enable the construction of tall slender buildings in large cities with scarce and valuable lot space.

Project credits: McGraw Hudson, Owner; SLCE Architects, Architect; WSP Global, Engineer; Lend Lease, Contractor; Jenna Concrete, Concrete (foundation), Ferrara Brothers Concrete, Concrete (superstructure); LafargeHolcim, Slag Cement.