Manhattan, NY L&L Holding Co. and its redevelopment project at 390 Madison Ave. has won another major award from the international design and architecture communities.

The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, together with the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, recently recognized 390 Madison as a winner of its 2020 American Architecture Award in the “Skyscraper/
High Rises” category. The jury, which was tasked with identifying the best new buildings by American architects as well as by international architects for buildings designed in the U.S., recognized L&L and its architect Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) for transforming an antiquated 1950’s era tower into a taller, sleeker and ultra-modern workplace.

L&L and KPF’s 390 Madison redevelopment plan redefined the possibilities in the city’s commercial real estate market. In a feat of engineering, crews removed millions of pounds of steel and concrete from the base of the building and replaced it with eight new floors at the top, bringing the original 291-ft. tall structure to its new height of 373 ft. The remassing allowed L&L to open up the building’s floorplates, create massive new column free-spans, and produce a series of light-filled, double-height floors and a triple-height amenity space. The building also features a new energy-efficient façade that replaced the original heavy, opaque blue curtain wall with transparent floor-to-ceiling glass.

This American Architecture Award is the sixth major honor that has been bestowed upon L&L and its project team for 390 Madison Ave.

The tower has also earned the 2019 Gold Distinguished Achievement Award in the “Repositioning/Redevelopment” category from Commercial Property Executive; the 2018 MIPIM Architectural Review Future Project Award in the “Best of Old and New” category; the Iconic Award from The German Design Council in 2018; a 2016 Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY); and shortlisted in the “Office – Future” category of the World Architecture Festival Awards in 2016.

“At L&L, we take great pride in our ability to conceive of and execute uniquely complex development projects that create enduring value for our tenants, investors and the surrounding communities,” said L&L Holding Chairman and CEO David Levinson. “We are grateful to KPF and our many other partners on 390 Madison for helping us transform an antiquated, commodity-style commercial buildings into Midtown East’s first truly 21st century office tower.”

In addition to garnering accolades from the international design and architecture communities, 390 Madison has proven to be a major commercial success. Upon its completion, 100 percent of its office and retail space had already been leased by JPMorgan Chase, prestige beauty company Shiseido Americas Corporation, and law firm Hogan Lovells.

Buoyed by the success of 390 Madison and its prior projects, L&L is currently undertaking a series of increasingly ambitious redevelopment projects. L&L is currently in the final stages of construction on 425 Park Avenue, which is the first full-block office tower to rise on that iconic stretch of Park Avenue in more than half a century. In the heart of Times Square, L&L is replacing an outdated tower with TSX Broadway, a $2 billion mixed-use development featuring a 669-room luxury hotel, interactive retail, a revitalized Palace Theatre and Times Square’s first permanent outdoor stage.

L&L also recently received approval to move forward with a reinvention and remassing of Terminal Warehouse, a 1.2 million square-foot West Chelsea storage facility that will be artfully transformed into a one-of-a-kind work environment for the 21st century creative economy. In South Florida, the firm is undertaking its first project outside of Manhattan in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, where it plans to create of a dynamic 800,000 square-foot, mixed-use development comprising a Class-A office tower, indoor-outdoor retail space, and a highly-amenitized luxury residential building.

For more information about the American Architecture Awards and to view the full list of 2020 winners, visit its website at https://www.americanarchitectureawards.com/