M&T
Bank - Table of
Contents .............................
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Building Profile: M&T Plaza
Since
1969,
One M&T Plaza has hosted free summer lunchtime concerts
in front of its
downtown headquarters on Main Street. An array of
entertainment from
music to dance has kept the downtown workforce entertained
every summer weekday
at 12 noon. While the concert series sadly cannot take
place in person
this summer, the building can still be admired.
Explore Buffalo staff
member and docent Suzanne Ernst describes Minoru Yamasaki’s
Buffalo
commission. The skyscraper is also a stop on Explore
Buffalo’s Masters of
American Architecture walking tour, now being offered
several days a week
throughout the summer.
Minoru
Yamasaki
is considered one of the leading innovators of the
architectural style called
New Formalism. New
Formalism features the modern International Style combined
with classical elements like columns, arches and colonnades
with strong building
materials like marble, granite or man-made concrete. The
buildings are
typically seton a podium and have smooth walls and surfaces.
Usually set in a
plaza with large sculptures or fountains, the style is meant
to achieve an air
of monumentalism. Yamasaki
was
influenced by the International Style movement of the time,
which features
buildings that are very sleek looking and without ornament,
like the Central
Branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library in
Lafayette Square and the
Knox wing of the Albright Knox Gallery. (The Knox wing’s
architect, Gordon
Bunshaft, is credited with popularizing the International
Style in
America.) However, in this time, he traveled to places
like Italy, India
and Japan and found inspiration from the architecture
there. The
combination of influence from the International Style and
classical elements are
what resultedin the Yamasaki’s development of what is known
as New Formalism.
He was best
known for
designing the World Trade Center in New York City which
stood from 1973 until
September 11, 2001. As he was designing the plans for those
towers, his plans
for One M&T Plaza in Buffalo were becoming a
reality. In 1963 the
president of M&T Bank chose Yamasaki to build the bank’s
new headquarters
in downtown Buffalo. Previously, the bank had heavily
favored the
classical/temple style for its buildings. A series of
classical/temple
style structures were built as headquarters over the years,
starting with a
Green & Wicks building in 1899. A 1913 classical
structure by Furness,
Evans and Co.increased the building to four stories.
Many of the bank’s
branches were modeled after this style. In 1963,
M&T liked that
Yamasaki’s style was contemporary but that it still
reflected the bank’s
tradition of classical ornamentation. Construction on
the tower began
in1964 and the building officially opened in 1966.
With a
quick look, one
sees a modern skyscraper, but with a closer look,there are
clearly classical
elements and materials on the building. The main
entrance has columns
interspersed with arches. Yamasaki used green trim
marble imported from
Italy on the base of the building on the north and south
sides.
White marble is used on the exterior except for the green
marble on the
base. The white and green were intentionally
used together as they
are the brand colors of M&T Bank.
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