Designed to set a new standard in high-performance buildings, for the office workers who occupy the tower and for a nation awakening to the modern imperative of sustainability, the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park is a 55-story, 2.2 million sf project that is the first commercial high-rise to achieve LEED Platinum certification. Drawing on concepts of biophilia, or people’s innate need for connection to the natural environment, the vision was to create the highest quality modern workplace by emphasizing daylight, fresh air, and an intrinsic connection to the outdoors. The building’s floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall minimizes solar heat gain through low-e glass and heat-reflecting ceramic frit while simultaneously providing exquisite views. Waterless urinals, greywater recycling, and rainwater harvesting systems save millions of gallons of potable water and reduce the building’s water consumption by nearly 50%. With an under-floor air system and 95% filtration, fresh air delivered to offices can be individually controlled and is actually cleaner when it is exhausted from the building. Recognizing its impact in the heart of a dense metropolis, thermal ice-storage tanks in the building’s cellar produce ice at night, reducing the building’s peak demand on the city’s over-taxed electric grid. In addition, an onsite 4.6 megawatt cogeneration plant provides a clean, efficient power source for nearly 70% of the building’s annual energy requirements. One Bryant Park represents a shift in thinking about modern building design, achieving at scale many of the green building movement’s most transformative ideas for water and energy conservation, material efficiency, and indoor environmental quality. It has fundamentally transformed the market for large-scale commercial developments. In the city defined by the modern skyscraper, the tower also makes a highly visible statement on regeneration, urban stewardship, and global citizenship for the twenty-first century.