539
Global
Height rank

Comcast Building

New York City
Height
1
Architectural:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."
259.1 m / 850 ft
2
Occupied:
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
252.4 m / 828 ft
1 2 Comcast Building
  Floors
Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).
70
Height 259.1 m / 850 ft
Floors 70
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Comcast Building

Other Names
Other names the building has commonly been known as, including former names, common informal names, local names, etc.

30 Rockefeller Plaza, 30 Rock, The Slab, GE Building, RCA Building

Name of Complex
A complex is a group of buildings which are designed and built as pieces of a greater development.

Rockefeller Center

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed

Completion

1933

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

United States

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

New York City

Address

30 Rockefeller Plaza

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

Office

Structural Material
All-Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered an “all-steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

All-Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars and/or steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

All-Timber
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from timber. An all-timber structure may include the use of localized non-timber connections between timber elements. Note that a building of timber construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of timber beams is still considered an “all-timber” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. all-steel, all-concrete, all-timber), one on top of the other. For example, a Steel Over Concrete indicates an all-steel structural system located on top of an all-concrete structural system, with the opposite true of Concrete Over Steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used within a composite building’s primary structural elements.

All-Steel

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

259.1 m / 850 ft

Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
252.4 m / 828 ft
Observatory
256 m / 840 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

70

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

60

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

7.1 m/s

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

195,095 m² / 2,099,985 ft²

Rankings

  • By Location
#
539
Tallest in the World
#
73
Tallest in North America
#
65
Tallest in United States
#
31
Tallest in New York City

Construction Schedule

1931

Construction Start

1933

Completed

Owner
Current
Tishman Speyer Properties
Developer
Rockefeller Group
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Elevator
Schindler
Façade Maintenance Equipment
CoxGomyl
Owner
Current
Tishman Speyer Properties
Developer
Rockefeller Group
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray; Raymond Hood; Reinhard & Hofmeister
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Edwards & Hjorth; H.G. Balcom & Associates
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Elevator
Schindler
Façade Maintenance Equipment
CoxGomyl
Fire Proofing
Grace Construction Products

Retrofit Companies Involved

Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
Roofing
Vidaris, Inc.

CTBUH Initiatives

Rockefeller Center Historical Building and Urban Habitat Tour

28 October 2015 - Event

Panel Handles Mean, Green Questions at Architect @ Work in China

3 July 2015 - Event

See more

Videos

18 October 2016 | New York City

CTBUH Video Interview – James Parakh

James Parakh of the City of Toronto Planning Department is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. James discusses the design elements...

See more

About Comcast Building

30 Rockefeller Center is an American Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. The observation deck on 30 Rockefeller Center is built to resemble the deck of an ocean liner offering one of the best panoramic city views. It is the longtime home to NBC Studios originating as radio studios and since be converted to television studios.

Videos

Filter by

18 October 2016 | New York City

CTBUH Video Interview – James Parakh

James Parakh of the City of Toronto Planning Department is interviewed by Chris Bentley during the 2016 CTBUH China Conference. James discusses the design elements...

18 October 2016 | New York City

The Space Between: Urban Spaces Surrounding Tall Buildings

This presentation was intended to introduce the upcoming CTBUH technical guide titled "The Space Between," which investigates the importance of publicly accessible spaces surrounding tall...

18 September 2014 | New York City

Urban Density and the Porous High Rise: The Integration of the Tall Building in the City

September 18, 2014. Shanghai, China. James von Klemperer from Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC presents at the 2014 Shanghai Conference closing plenary on "Urban Density...

CTBUH Initiatives

Filter by

28 October 2015

Rockefeller Center Historical Building and Urban Habitat Tour

CTBUH 2015 delegates toured the Rockefeller Center which the tour predominantly focused on discovering what happens “backstage” at one of the most famous tall building complexes.

3 July 2015

Panel Handles Mean, Green Questions at Architect @ Work in China

As part of its role as a strategic partner of the Architect @ Work China Conference in Shanghai, CTBUH hosted a panel discussion entitled “Greening the Vertical Habitat.”

21 November 2014

New York Conference Inaugural Steering Committee Meeting

Plans for the 2015 Conference in New York are now well underway, beginning with an initial meeting of the Steering Committee at the Bank of America Tower Nov. 18.