65 Inspirational Stories
The Spiral aims to be smart, green, and offer an enviable quality of life
The New York City skyline is one of the most famous in the world. And it’s about to change with a new skyscraper illuminating the night sky: The Spiral, a premier office building featuring intelligent building technology, with Bosch subsidiary Climatec supplying its building management system.
Are we really talking about a skyscraper? We are – albeit a very special one. The towering building, which is currently under construction on the far west side of Midtown Manhattan, represents a new generation of skyscrapers. Developed by international real estate owner, operator and developer Tishman Speyer, The Spiral is a 65-story office building with a surface area of around 265,000 square meters (2.85 million square feet).
Its extraordinary interior and exterior architecture, its environmentally friendly design, and its smart technology mean The Spiral embodies the future of the sustainable, interconnected and comfortable workplace.
And this is exactly how Bosch’s subsidiary Climatec has played a major role.
Higher comfort due to gardens in the skies
Soaring around 300 meters (1,031 feet) high, The Spiral will be the latest and one of the most iconic super-tall office buildings in New York.
The name of the skyscraper is, of course, no accident. The architects from the BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and Tishman Speyer drew inspiration from Manhattan’s classic ‘step-back architecture’ when planning the structure.
The Spiral will feature a cascading series of landscaped terraces and hanging gardens as its signature element. The terraces will ascend, one per office floor, in a spiraling motion to create a unique, continuous green pathway that wraps around the façade of the tower.
The design ensures that each tenant on every office floor will have plenty of space to take a breather and share their ideas outdoors on the terraces located on each floor. The hanging gardens, which form a helix around the building are still visible from far away, make The Spiral even greener.
The focus of the interior design encourages communication and working in comfort. The open-plan offices allow future tenants to use the space available the way they require, and offer plenty of room for meetings and similar spaces.“
The Spiral is located adjacent to New York’s Hudson Yards, a new mixed-used district located by the Hudson River on the west side of Manhattan. One of the largest and most expensive privately funded construction projects in US history, it is home to 15 luxury skyscrapers for offices and apartments – some of which were designed by ‘starchitects’ – as well as parks, hotels, a subway station of its own, a school, and all sorts of other infrastructure that will help the district make New York more dynamic, and attract new talent to Manhattan. Construction on Hudson Yards started in 2012, and the district was officially opened in March 2019. However, some buildings are still under construction.
With competition for tenants at an all-time high, our smart building technology will make our partner’s portfolio even stronger
Intelligent, integrated solution for innovative building management
Climatec’s technology plays a major role in the inner workings of The Spiral. Its system integration and building automation experts are equipping The Spiral with a central, high-end building automation system that is, in a sense, the beating heart of the skyscraper. This system allows all the different components to be integrated and managed, including building comfort and security solutions. For example, a building operator can configure systems individually or create impact across several systems at once, including optimizing energy performance or tenant access needs.
Moreover, the Climatec solution also helps look after all the greenery that flanks The Spiral. It monitors the building’s irrigation system, which ensures the plants receive the right amount of water at the right times. The lighting and energy management systems can also be integrated into the automation system. The latter enables Tishman Speyer to monitor the total energy consumed in the building and ensure the CO2 emissions adhered to guidelines enacted by the City of New York.
The building automation system is part of a converged network – a large-scale network that merges numerous, previously decentralized, technologies. This network is used to support the IT infrastructure, as well as the individual building systems. The Climatec solution therefore provides a communication, monitoring and control platform used for integration to many other building systems, such as the electricity meters or lighting control systems. In a nutshell – intelligent interaction between the most diverse components. Should the operator wish to integrate other types of equipment or IoT-enabled functions in the future, this can be done with ease. So the prospects are excellent – for 2022, when the project is scheduled for completion, and for the years to come.
Performance built on Partnership
What distinguishes Climatec as a system integrator in this project?
“A mammoth project like this requires a huge amount of coordination on the part of us system integrators,” says Gabe Manis. And not just in relation to the technology alone. Jonathan Ambjor adds: “We always do our utmost to ensure all parties are satisfied.”
How is the cooperation between Climatec and the customer structured?
The Climatec team believes it is important to perform its tasks in close consultation with the client – in this case Tishman Speyer. “We want to be seen as more than just a vendor”, says Ambjor. “We want to be considered partners.” And it was exactly this mindset that helped Climatec rise above the competition during the bidding phase. Another advantage offered by the Bosch subsidiary: “We are empowered to make decisions based on our proven track record and local expertise while having the support and backing of a global technology leader,” says Gabe Manis.
Why is the project “The Spiral” so special for Climatec?
“Every day when I drive home from work to my family, I see the building in the skyline and feel honored that our organization has the opportunity to play a role in this iconic project”, says Jonathan Ambjor.
Working together for green buildings
Find out how our smart solutions and customized services are promoting sustainable buildings, climate neutrality, and environmental awareness.
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In collaboration with our subsidiaries, Bosch Building Automation GmbH and Climatec, we develop, supply and install integrated, state-of-the-art building automation solutions from A to Z in Europe and the USA. You too can benefit from our comprehensive competence and experience, 360° approach to every project, and strong partners. We’ve proven our capabilities with a long roster of successfully implemented projects.