Highland Associates Plays Role in Renovations of Landmarked 510 Fifth Avenue Building

Highland Associates was recently recognized for its role in the adaptive reuse and renovation of a landmarked New York City building located on the city’s famed Fifth Avenue.  Originally designed for Manufacturers Hanover Trust in 1954, 510 Fifth Avenue has been garnering industry acknowledgements in the form of awards and publication, including the 2013 AIA NY Chapter Design Award, Oculus Merit Award and an article in Architectural Record this past June.  Highland Associates was recognized as the Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection Engineer for the renovation of the ground floor and mezzanine level for the Joe Fresh Flagship store.  

Highland Associates began its relationship with the landmarked building when it was acquired by fashion designer, Elie Tahari, who hired Highland Associates as architect and engineer, to convert the 4th floor into his new design studio. The building, originally designed by Gordon Bunschaft in 1954, stood apart from others because of its landmarked curtain wall of crystal-clear glass sheets. The goal for the 15,000-square-foot space was to design a studio based on the origins of the building. Some details were restored and others were created. The beige linen curtains that cover the glass walls and the translucent, corrugated, acrylic ceiling panels were brought back from the original design. New, off-white terrazzo is used as flooring throughout the space. An Erwin Hauer sculptural screen is the main architectural feature. The screen was derived from a 1950’s version and separates the space without dividing it.

It was important for the studio to have a lot of light and few shadows. The objective was for the space to be like a walk-in light box. To achieve this, the fitting rooms, conference rooms and offices were pushed to the perimeter behind a glass storefront system. This design allows light to travel all over the studio.

Elie Tahari’s design studio was completed in 2009 and was featured in Interior Design magazine.  Fast forward two years and Joe Fresh, Canada’s top selling fashion label, leases the ground floor to establish their Flagship.  Due to Highland’s previous experience designing the 4th floor of the iconic building, they were hired as the Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection engineers and worked in collaboration with Skidmore, Owings & Merril. Using the intimate knowledge of the systems, Highland Associates created a minimalist engineering design that complimented the minimalist architecture.   In addition to the recent industry acknowledgements, the space was featured in the October 2012 issue of Interior Design magazine.

About Highland Associates
Celebrating our 25th year in business, Highland Associates is a multi-disciplined firm specializing in Architecture, Engineering and Interior Design with offices located in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania and New York, New York.  Highland Associates offers a comprehensive list of services to satisfy the most difficult projects.  Each day, our 160+ design professionals and support staff work as a team to analyze client needs and create practical solutions to meet the functional, aesthetic and financial objective of any project. Concept-driven and problem solving, Highland Associates is an award winning design firm, guided by a design process and team approach. 

Contact Information

Lauren Suarino

Media Contact

Highland Associates

(1) 212-681-0200

lsuarino@ha-ny.com