PPG Place
| One PPG Place | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | 600 PPG Place Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 40°26′23″N 80°00′12″W / 40.4398°N 80.0032°WCoordinates: 40°26′23″N 80°00′12″W / 40.4398°N 80.0032°W |
| Construction started | January 28, 1981 |
| Completed | April 11, 1984 |
| Cost |
US$200 million ($496.3 million today) |
| Owner | Highwoods Properties |
| Management | Highwoods Properties |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 193.55 m (635.0 ft) |
| Roof | 166 m (545 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 40 |
| Floor area | 2,000,000 sq ft (190,000 m2) |
| Lifts/elevators | 23 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect |
Philip Johnson John Burgee |
| Developer | Johnson/Burgee Architects |
| Structural engineer | Leslie E. Robertson & Associates, R.L.L.P. |
| Main contractor | Mellon Stuart Construction and Blount Brothers Construction, Joint Venture |
| Other information | |
| Parking | 700 |
| References | |
PPG Place is a complex in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, consisting of six buildings within three city blocks and five and a half acres. Named for its anchor tenant, PPG Industries, who initiated the project for its headquarters, the buildings are all of matching glass design consisting of 19,750 pieces of glass. The complex centers on One PPG Place, a 40-story office building. Groundbreaking ceremonies occurred on January 28, 1981. The complex buildings opened between 1983 and 1984, and a dedication ceremony took place on April 11, 1984. Total cost of construction was $200 million ($496.3 million today). The buildings were sold by The Hillman Company to Highwoods Properties in 2011.
The project was started by PPG Industries (formerly Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company) to serve as the company's headquarters, after being based in Downtown Pittsburgh since 1895. The company contracted the project to architect Philip Johnson and his partner John Burgee. Designed in the neogothic style but with modern innovations, the complex had many inspirations, including London's Victoria Tower, and H.H. Richardson's Allegheny County Courthouse and Charles Klauder's Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh. Before the building was constructed, an 8-foot-tall, 600 pound model was pieced together in Tarentum, Pennsylvania by Renato "Reno" Chieruzzi in the basement of his home. Glass for the model was cut at the Ford City PPG works.
During demolition and preparation of the site, a team of University of Pittsburgh anthropologists collected over 10,000 artifacts dating to the 18th century in what was the Kings Garden and Kings Orchard about 1,000 feet from the gate to Fort Pitt, as well as many medical instruments denoting facilities in the area. The team also discovered several stone-lined wells and cisterns dating to around 1800 that were subsequently filled with refuse and artifacts in the early 1800s as the early settlement expanded and the wells went dry. The site was the home of the 4 story Guskey's Department Store for much of the 20th century.
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