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He has heard metal partitions between walls groan as buildings sway, and the ghostly whistle of rushing air in doorways and elevator shafts. One of the most common complaints in supertall buildings is noise, said Luke Leung, a director at the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. 432 Park, one of the wealthiest addresses in the world, faces some significant design problems Residents of the exclusive tower are now at odds with the developers, and each other, making clear that even. Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, Breaks. THE nearly 1,400-foot tower at 432 Park Avenue. Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, BreaksFebru5:31 PM Subscribe. Wind sway can cause the cables in the elevator shaft to slap around and lead to slowdowns or shutdowns, according to an engineer who asked not to be named, because he has worked on other towers in New York with similar issues. Leaks, creaks, breaks: The downside to life in a super-tall condo tower. A management email explained that “a high-wind condition” stopped an elevator and caused a resident to be “entrapped” on the evening of Oct. The Down Side to Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, Breaks 432 Park, one of the wealthiest addresses in the world, faces some significant design problems, and other luxury high-rises may share its fate. Many of the mechanical issues cited at 432 Park are occurring at other supertall residential towers, according to several engineers who have worked on the buildings.Īll buildings sway in the wind, but at exceptional heights, those forces are stronger. “They’re still billing it as God’s gift to the world, and it’s not.” “I was convinced it would be the best building in New York,” said Sarina Abramovich, one of the earliest residents of 432 Park. The 96th floor penthouse at the top of the building sold in 2016 for nearly 88 million to a company representing the Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Alhokair. Engineers privy to some of the disputes say many of the same issues are occurring quietly in other new towers. The building, a slender tower that critics have likened to a middle finger because of its contentious height, is mostly sold out, with a projected value of 3.1 billion. Less than a decade after a spate of record-breaking condo towers reached new heights in New York, the first reports of defects and complaints are beginning to emerge, raising concerns that some of the construction methods and materials used have not lived up to the engineering breakthroughs that only recently enabled 1,000-foot-high trophy apartments. The Downside to Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, BreaksĤ32 Park, one of the wealthiest addresses in the world, faces some significant design problems, and other luxury high-rises may share its fate.