LEGO 21023 Instructions

Flatiron Building

New York City, NY, USA

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Flatiron Building

Sitting on the intersection where Fifth Avenue and Broadway cross, the
Flatiron Building (originally named the Fuller Building) remains one of
New York City’s most popular and memorable structures. Today it is
difficult to imagine the controversy this architectural landmark created
on its completion in 1902.

[ I found myself agape, admiring a sky-scraper...

ploughing up through the traffic of Broadway
and Fifth Avenue in the afternoon light. ]

H. G. Wells, 1906

© Per Tropp-Christiansen

2

The Architect

Born in New York and raised in Chicago, Daniel H. Burnham would
become one of the founding fathers of the first Chicago School of
architects. Together with his then-partner John W. Root, Burnham built
one of the first American skyscrapers, the 21-story Masonic Temple
Building in Chicago in 1892, and planned the architectural layout of the
largest World Fair ever held at that time in 1893.

Burnham’s architecture mixed elements of Modernism with a more
neoclassical style. Many of his buildings, including the Flatiron Building,
followed the convention of the classical column: three distinct parts
made up of a base, a middle section, and an ornate cornice at the top.

Burnham’s early sketches for the
Flatiron Building included a clock
face and a far more elaborate
crown at the top of the building,
but he was persuaded to remove
both by his former partner John W.
Root. Although Burnham retained
overall control of the project,
he engaged the architect F. P.
Dinkelberg (1859–1935) to carry
out most of the supervising work
during the actual construction.

After the Flatiron Building, Burnham
would continue to work on a
series of impressive architectural
projects, including a number of
major planning tasks for the cities of San Francisco, Washington, D.C.,
and Manila in the Philippines. At the time of his death in 1912, his D. H.
Burnham & Co. architectural firm was the largest in the world.

Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846 – 1912)

© Wikipedia

3

History

As the city of New York expanded northward during the second half of
the 19th century, small plots of land in between or on the edge of new
buildings remained undeveloped. One of the most well known of these
was the narrow triangular site at 23rd Street, between Fifth Avenue and
Broadway. The “Flat Iron,” as it quickly became known, changed owners
many times, but wouldn’t be developed until the Chicago-based Fuller
Company bought the site in 1901.

The Fuller Company, a major Chicago-based contracting firm

specializing in the construction of skyscrapers, planned to build a
new showcase headquarter on the site. The founder of the company,
George A. Fuller, had died the year before, and the new building would
be named the Fuller Building in his honor.

The Fuller Company engaged Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham

to design the building and, utilizing the Fuller Company’s expertise
with steel frame construction, he proposed a 20-story structure that
would reach a height of 285 ft. (86.9 m). A penthouse would be added
in 1905, increasing the building’s height to 307 ft. (93 m). The building’s
Broadway front would be 190 ft. (60 m) wide, the Fifth Avenue
front 173 ft. (52.7 m) wide, and the
22nd Street side just short of 87 ft.
(26.5 m) wide. At the “point” of the
triangle the building would only be

6.5 ft. (2 m) wide and would form a
25-degree acute angle.

Burnham saw the building as a
vertical Renaissance palazzo with
Beaux-Arts, or neoclassical, styling.
Visually the building would be divided
into three distinct sections. It would
consist of a richly decorated, three­story limestone façade at the bottom
and a broad, repetitive midsection in
a light tan monochrome terra-cotta.

The structure would then be topped

off with a crowning cornice that would
run the entire length of the building.

© GettyImages

4

With its steel skeleton structure, the construction of the building was
carried out rapidly and without major incident. While other New York
skyscrapers at the time were often thin towers rising from pedestal-like
blocks, the Flatiron was a single massive structure. This radical design,
combined with its great height and unusual shape, created a great deal
of debate as the building neared completion in 1902.

Many New Yorkers believed the structure would be unstable and would
fall over at the first gust of wind. The building had even been nicknamed

“Burnham’s Folly” and bets were placed on how far the debris would

reach when it blew over. Strong winds came and went, and the Flatiron
Building withstood them—as it continues to do today, over a century
later. It is proof that the structure was not only a strong architectural
idea, but a groundbreaking engineering marvel as well.

© GettyImages

5

6

© Per Tropp-Christiansen

6

The Building Today

Although never the tallest building in New York, or even the first building
in the country with a triangular ground plan, the Flatiron Building
remains an iconic symbol of the city of New York. Its enduring popularity
with tourists, artists, and photographers also makes it one of the most
photographed buildings in the world.

The famous building has appeared in countless movies, TV series, and
comics. It was home to Peter Parker’s Daily Bugle in the Spiderman
movies, and was even accidently destroyed by the U.S. Army in the
1998 film Godzilla.

The building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1966, added
to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and became a National
Historic Landmark in 1989. Valued today at $190 million, the Flatiron
Building continues to function as a popular retail and office space,
and is home to a large number of U.S. and international companies. In
2009, Sorgente Group of America acquired the majority stake of the
Flatiron Building. Sorgente Group of America is the American Holding
of Sorgente Group, an Italian real estate investment company.

[ ... appeared to be moving toward me like the

bow of a monster ocean steamer—a picture
of a new America still in the making. ]

PhotographerAlfredStieglitz

7

Facts about Flatiron Building

Location: ........................................ New York City, USA

Architect: ...................................... D. H. Burnham & Co: Daniel H. Burnham

Style: .............................................. Renaissance Revival with Beaux-Arts styling

Materials: .................................... Steel frame structure, façade of limestone and

terra-cotta

Height: .......................................... 1902: 285 ft. (86.9 m). Today: 307 ft. (93 m).

Weight: ......................................... 3,680 tons (3,338.5 metric tons)

Opened: ...................................... 1902

© Shutterstock

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Due to the site’s resemblance

to a clothes iron it was

called the “Flat Iron” long

before the building itself

was constructed.

©Shutterstock

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The steel for the building’s

skeleton frame came

from the American

Bridge Company mills in

Pennsylvania, U.S.

©Veronica Mainetti

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During the peak

construction of the steel

frame, builders were

adding a new story

every day.

©Veronica Mainetti

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Six Otis Company hydraulic

elevators were installed

in the building, powered by

water pressure and pistons

that activated a system

of ropes and pulleys.

©Wikipedia

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©Veronica Mainetti

The windows are

deliberately small in size

to ensure the building

appears even more

substantial.

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The façade includes

many Italian and French
Renaissance motifs, such
as Greek faces and terra-

cotta fl owers.

©Veronica Mainetti

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The upper fl oor originally

housed a restaurant and

an observation deck,

both now closed.

©Veronica Mainetti

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LEGO®Architecture
–ThenandNow

There has always been a natural connection between the LEGO®

brick and the world of architecture. Fans who build with LEGO
elements instinctively develop an interest in the form and function
of the structures they create. At the same time, many architects
have discovered that LEGO bricks are the perfect way of physically
expressing their creative ideas.

This connection was confirmed in the early 1960s with the launch of

the LEGO “Scale Model” line. It matched the spirit of the age where
modern architects were redefining how houses look and people
were taking an active interest in the design of their new homes.

These sets were designed to be different from the normal, brightly

colored LEGO boxes; they also included a book on architecture as
a source of inspiration.

82

21050
LEGO Architecture Studio

Decades later, architect and LEGO fan Adam Reed Tucker revived
the idea of expressing architecture using LEGO bricks and in
partnership with the LEGO Group, launched the LEGO Architecture
line that we know today. His first models, and the original sets in
the current LEGO Architecture series, were interpretations of
famous skyscrapers from his hometown of Chicago. Since then
LEGO Architecture has developed and evolved, first with well-known
buildings from other cities in the United States, and now with iconic
structures from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The introduction of our LEGO Architecture Studio set echoes the

ambitions of the earlier LEGO “Scale Model” line and widens the
potential of the LEGO Architecture series. Now you can enjoy
building and learning about specific landmark buildings, or create
exciting architectural models from your own fantasy. An inspiring
270-page book, featuring a number of renowned architects from
around the world, guides you through the principles of architecture
and encourages you in your own creative building.

83

Celebratetheworldofarchitecture andcollectallthemodels

21017
Imperial Hotel

21014
Villa Savoye

21006
The White House

21013
Big Ben

21022
Lincoln Memorial

21018
United Nations Headquarters

84

andcollectallthemodels

21011
Brandenburg Gate

21015
The Leaning Tower
of Pisa

21019
Eiffel Tower

21020
Trevi Fountain

21003
Seattle
Space Needle

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References

Text credits:

The Flatiron Building: The New York Landmark And The Incomparable City That
Arose With It, Alice Sparberg Alexiou, Thomas Dunne Books, 2010.

Photo credits:

Shutterstock.com
Wikipedia.org
Veronica Mainetti, Sorgente Group of America
Per Tropp-Christiansen
Gettyimages.com

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