New York 1939-1940 - Trylon and Perisphere :: Architecture History

New York 1939-1940 - Trylon and PerisphereAs the 1939 New York Worlds Fair was divided into many a(prenominal) diametric thematic zones, its planners wanted a central symbol for this event. The original idea was to have a theme center, with twin 250 feet towers and a semicircular hall to uncover dioramas. Wallace K. Harrison, a prominent New York architect of the Harrison Fouilhoux firm, was selected to design the theme center in November 1936. Harrison wanted a design that would represent a new architecture concept. In his own words, we found ourselves constantly referring to the domes and campaniles of Venice, perhaps because the flat country and water of the Fair grounds are very like that of the site of Venice and in addition the sky color of New York is practically the same. (Newhouse,82) The idea of a large dome was a starting point for all further designs, and many different ideas were initially developed. There were plans to use a sphere that was susp overthrowed by steel cables, giving it a light, airy feel as fountainhead as a large balloon, anchored by steel cables and accessible by elevator. A spherical design was not a new idea, however. An earlier ideal of such a design was proposed by Etienne-Louis Boulle in his project for Newtons Cenotaph in 1783, featuring a huge sphere at the center. In the end a design that featured a sphere 200 feet in diameter raised on pillars was selected. Despite its huge dimensions, with a 200-foot diameter, it was hard to obtain the exact scale of the sphere. Harrison and his design team finally came up with the idea of using a tall spike to frame the sphere, but there was gloss over the problem of placing the two in relation with each other. They found inspiration from drawings by a Soviet constructivist architect named Jacob Tchernikhov, which represented two large spheres committed to a tall spike by way of a ramp.The final design had emerged. It included the Perisphere, a 200 foot spherical exhibit building , the Trylon, a 700 foot tall three sided obelisk, and the Helicline , a 950 foot circular ramp which connected the two and allowed visitors to exit. However the final dimensions of the building was reduced from the original set to a 180 foot sphere and a 610 foot spike due to budget limitations, which threw off the carefully calculated proportions. The Perisphere was elevated from the ground by five steel pillars, and rested over a large reflecting pool.