252 East 57th Street

252 East 57th Street is a striking 60-story mixed-use residential tower designed by SOM on Manhattan's competitive "Billionaires' Row" corridor. The project features a unitized curtain wall system with acid-etched spandrel panels that create visual depth and reduce solar glare. The facade's most distinctive element is the stepped balcony system—curved balconies that progressively enlarge as they rise up the building, creating a dynamic visual rhythm and progressively more generous outdoor space for upper-floor residents. The growing balcony strategy required structural engineering coordination to manage cantilever loads that increase with height, while the acid-etched spandrels demanded careful quality control during fabrication to ensure consistent surface finish across thousands of panels.