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Architecture & Engineering


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July 13, 2026

New York construction scare highlights the challenges of converting offices into housing

  • Engineers say it highlights the complexity of adaptive reuse projects, but not a flaw in the concept itself.
    • By R.J. RICO, JESSICA HILL and PHILIP MARCELO
    Associated Press

    AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis [enlarge]
    The buckling of two steel columns at the former Pfizer headquarters in Manhattan has raised questions about one of the nation’s largest office-to-apartment conversions. The building is seen here last Tuesday.

    NEW YORK — When two steel columns buckled last week inside the former Pfizer headquarters in midtown Manhattan, the scare prompted evacuations and halted work on one of the nation's largest office-to-apartment conversions.


     
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