Which tops out faster, a steel core or a concrete core? A race between two buildings on a similar construction timeline in New York City showed a clear winner: the steel core. 66 Hudson Boulevard, also known as The Spiral, reached its 66-story 1,041-ft pinnacle on January 26, three weeks before its concrete-core neighbor, 50 Hudson Yards, topped out.
Construction on 66 Hudson Boulevard started at the same time as the adjacent 50 Hudson Yards tower, which is a 58-story, 1,011-ft tower supported by a concrete core. The two towers have been close in height throughout construction, with each team hoping to beat the other. In late 2020, the domestic steel team working on 66 Hudson pulled ahead, resulting in the all-steel building topping out faster than its shorter neighbor, which finally topped out on February 12. AISC-certified full-member fabricator Banker Steel fabricated 31,500 tons of structural steel for The Spiral.
When completed next year, the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed superstructure will occupy a full block between West 34th and 35th Streets and encompass 2.8 million sq. ft of office and ground-floor retail space. Owner Tishman Speyer announced nearly three years ago that biopharmaceutical company Pfizer signed a 20-year lease to move its global headquarters to the building.