Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice

Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
42nd Street facade
Alternative namesFord Foundation Building
General information
Architectural styleLate Modernism
Address320 East 43rd Street
Town or cityManhattan, New York
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°44′59″N 73°58′16″W / 40.74972°N 73.97111°W / 40.74972; -73.97111
Construction started1964
Completed1967
InauguratedDecember 8, 1967
Renovated2016–2018
Cost$16 million
ClientFord Foundation
OwnerFord Foundation
Height174 feet (53 m)
Technical details
Structural systemconcrete and steel frame
Floor count12
Design and construction
Architect(s)Kevin Roche
Architecture firmRoche Dinkeloo
Structural engineerJohn Dinkeloo
Main contractorTurner Construction
Awards and prizesAlbert S. Bard Civic Award
Twenty-five Year Award
References
DesignatedOctober 21, 1997
Reference no.1969, 1970

The Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice (also known as 321 East 42nd Street, 320 East 43rd Street, or the Ford Foundation Building) is a 12-story office building in East Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1967, it was designed in the late modernist style by architect Kevin Roche and engineering partner John Dinkeloo of Roche-Dinkeloo. The building was commissioned as the headquarters of the Ford Foundation, the largest private foundation in the United States at the time of the edifice's construction.

The building is a glass-and-steel cube held up by piers made of concrete and clad with Dakota granite. The main entrance is along 43rd Street, and there is a secondary entrance on 42nd Street. The large public atrium inside, the first such space in an office building in Manhattan, was designed by landscape architect Dan Kiley and includes plants, shrubs, trees, and vines. Most of the building's offices are north and west of the atrium and are visible from other offices.

Commissioned after Henry Heald became the Ford Foundation's president, the structure was developed on the former site of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled. Final plans for the Ford Foundation Building were announced in September 1964, and the building was formally dedicated on December 8, 1967. The Ford Foundation Building underwent a major renovation and restoration project between 2015 and 2018, and it was renamed the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. The Ford Foundation Building has been critically acclaimed for its design, both after its completion and after the renovation, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated the building and its atrium as city landmarks.