PPG Place

. 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 made, with glass 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 four-story Guskey's Department Store for much of the 20th century. The buildings are recognized by their 231 glass spires, with the largest one tall. Also notable are the surfaces of reflective insulating glass, that served to advertise the project's founder. The buildings contain over one million square feet of PPG's Solarban 550 Twindow - 19,750 pieces. The primary building, One PPG Place, is a 40-story tower, with PPG Industries occupying half of the space. The complex also contains a 14-story building, and four 6-story structures. PPG Industries also uses space in one of the other buildings. The lobby of One PPG is a -high entrance that features red glass. The building has 21 elevators, each with walls constructed of clear glass panels enclosing fractured glass. In total, the complex cost $200 million. Office space opened in August 1983, the retail shops opened in November 1984, and the complex was dedicated on April 11, 1984. ==Buildings and public spaces==

PPG Place sits on six city blocks () bound by Forbes Avenue and the Boulevard of the Allies on its north and south sides, and Stanwix Street and Wood Street to its east and west. The complex consists of six buildings, which surround an open-air plaza: • One PPG Place, a 40-floor building with a height of , and a total capacity of approximately . This is the tallest building in the complex, serving as the complex's centerpiece, and as of 2020 is the third tallest building in Pittsburgh. One PPG Place includes the Wintergarden, an event space with vaulted glass ceilings. While the Wintergarden is part of One PPG Place, it does not sit within the 40-story tower portion of the building. Instead, it is attached to the side of the tower, facing Stanwix Street. PPG Place is directly adjacent to Market Square, creating a large and popular public space in downtown Pittsburgh. PPG Place Plaza The PPG Place Plaza sits between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. The plaza features a fountain with 140 water jets and uses 280 underground lights. Opened in 2003, it was designed by WET and SWA Group landscape architecture and urban design. At the center of the fountain is a pink granite obelisk. During the winter months, the plaza is converted into an ice skating rink. The rink opened on December 10, 2001, and has become a popular seasonal attraction in downtown. A Christmas tree is in the center of the rink. At , the surface is over larger than the famous rink in New York's Rockefeller Center. ==Reception==

Upon completion of the project, architectural critics and the media called PPG Place "the crown jewel in Pittsburgh's skyline," "the towering success of downtown Pittsburgh," and "one of the most ambitious, sensitive and public spirited urban developments since Rockefeller Center." ==See also==