The Architectural History of Pepsi-Cola

April 2, 2022 7:33 PM

In the 1960s, Pepsi rebranded with a new slogan, a new look, and a cutting edge modernist building. When the Pepsi Headquarters was built in 1960, the 13-story building at the corner of Park Avenue and 59th Street exemplified the International Style in America. Moreover, it pushed the limits of what was technically possible; its nine-feet-high by thirteen-feet-long glass panes were the largest that could be created and only a half-inch thick. (Part 1) Employee morale rose but architecture critics were repulsed upon the opening of the company’s new campus in Purchase, New York. (Part 2)
posted by geoff. (24 comments total)

It's a beautiful building, but I have to admit that my first thought from the photo of the original 1960 building was that it had to be unpleasant to work in. The addition in the back does seem to be a reasonable compromise given the reality of real estate and construction in Manhattan. Thanks for the post! I like architecture, but I sort of forget that living in a place where the most interesting buildings are generally the few 18th and a bit more common 19th century houses still hanging around.
posted by mollweide at 7:58 PM on April 2, 2022 [3 favorites]

And there's sort of a third part, too!
posted by mollweide at 8:08 PM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

I hope this series covers Peter Arnell’s BREATHTAKING Pepsi rebrand.
posted by migurski at 8:16 PM on April 2, 2022 [13 favorites]

That rebrand document made me feel like I was on drugs.
posted by mollweide at 8:58 PM on April 2, 2022 [14 favorites]

Okay, I know I suck at math, but I can find only 10 stories to this building, not the 13 the article's author counts. Am I really not able to see three entire stories?
posted by bryon at 9:10 PM on April 2, 2022

Pretty much everything I have read, including this official looking 2001 document lists 11 stories! Now I'm very interested in how the author came up with 13 stories and how 11 stories is counted. The only mention of 13 stories is this article. From what I can tell IBC code refers to the rooftop deck as a terrace and not a story. I would be interested to see what the number in the elevator says!
posted by geoff. at 9:29 PM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

Okay, I'll bite. Four Pepsi posts in as many days; what's going on?
posted by one for the books at 9:33 PM on April 2, 2022 [17 favorites]

This 2020 NYTimes article, "Classic Skyscrapers Define New York. Take a Virtual Tour." mentions it as, "The former Pepsi-Cola building, 500 Park Avenue, is a 10-story gem that looks like it is floating in the air. "

From recent photos, a rooftop structure is barely visible and looks to be somewhat substantial. It is shrouded in greenery but is definitely not in the original construction. I'm not an expert on IBC definition of what constitutes a story and oddly there's no definitive guide as to how many stories buildings have (!), the adjacent 500 Park Tower is listed as 40 or 41 stories. I wonder if the addition of the rooftop structure was substantial enough to elevate the structure from 10 to 11 stories and the 13 mentioned in the Smithsonian article is just wrong.
posted by geoff. at 9:37 PM on April 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

Just a reminder that Pepsi helped to rebrand Chile in the early 1970s.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 10:18 PM on April 2, 2022 [11 favorites]

That rebrand document made me feel like I was on drugs.

…and not happy drugs. No. That document points towards Nixon Drugs. Reagan Drugs. Bad Drugs.

That document is proof that people went to Bad Places, with Bad Drugs, and learned terrible things. That document is laden with PCP, cheap meth that’s pretending to be coke, nothing cheerful, nothing good, only terrible machine-drugs full of bad oil. Horrible sounds are emanating from that document, and none of it is in human voices.
posted by aramaic at 10:24 PM on April 2, 2022 [13 favorites]

Okay, I'll bite. Four Pepsi posts in as many days; what's going on?

It's very on brand. We love Pepsi in the Blue.
posted by Winnemac at 10:40 PM on April 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

Bauhaus Blue.
posted by clavdivs at 11:02 PM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

These seem to be incredibly formalist buildings, which isn’t in fashion with architecture now because formalist buildings demand that you use the space in the way the architect envisioned. Formalism and carbonated sugar water drinks are actually a good fit, because Pepsi/coke won’t stop telling you to ingest their disgusting borderline-toxic product.
posted by The River Ivel at 11:39 PM on April 2, 2022 [5 favorites]

came in here to see if someone has already posted the Pepsi Rebrand document, because if you mention 'Pepsi' and 'design' in the same sentence

well
posted by Merus at 11:59 PM on April 2, 2022 [3 favorites]

Just popping in here to say that the briefly mentioned sculpture gardens surrounding the Purchase, NY headquarters are free and open to the public from April to October.

I’ve visited with a group of gardeners and while the horticulture wasn’t terribly exciting the sculpture collection is a lot of fun.

Another note: as it is a corporate HQ the pathways are smooth and easy to navigate for stroller or wheelchair.
posted by sciencegeek at 3:02 AM on April 3, 2022 [3 favorites]

And there's sort of a third part, too!

Their Expo '70 pavilion was crazy, and shows what happens when a bunch of executives try to be "hip" and commission a bunch of avant-garde artists; who then pushed things as far as they could and by the time the executives realised they could only rein it in a bit.

There's a whole section of Making Art Work by W. Patrick McCray that covers it. It's an interesting read to anyone interested in the intersection of art and technology (and corporations) in the 60s and 70s. (My notes from it if anyone wants a flavour of it)
posted by amcewen at 3:08 AM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

It’s hard to navigate but that golden ratio website is cool
posted by BlunderingArtist at 4:26 AM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

This is the sort of vibe I got from the Pepsi Rebrand document.
posted by gimonca at 6:48 AM on April 3, 2022 [3 favorites]

When it was taking so long for that Pepsi rebrand document to load, I was prepared to be cranky, but wow, no.

Pepsi seems to overthink things.
posted by acrasis at 7:26 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

I love the picture of the exterior as it was originally built. I don't like working in open floor plans, so I understand the need for the divided interiors, but that change killed the aesthetic. And the plants hanging over the top remind me of an 80's haircuts.

The branding document gives new meaning to the waiter's tired reply: "Will Pepsi be ok?"
posted by donpardo at 8:42 AM on April 3, 2022 [3 favorites]

From the article:
Seen at night, the Pepsi building almost seems to levitate. (Ezra Stoller, via SOM)
Certainly not in the night photos.
posted by evilDoug at 9:24 AM on April 3, 2022

I think the definitive book on Pepsi and the particular type of NYC MBA it represents has yet to be written. Think of all the money and talent marshaled in the service of selling carbonated sugar water. Just their international operations during the Cold War I think symbolizes an approach to selling an ‘American’ product that was a very different template than the stuffy image of Coke.
posted by zenon at 9:37 AM on April 3, 2022

That rebrand document made me feel like I was on drugs.

It's like if someone took a one-hour seminar on Edward Tufte and then was hired by Pepsi to head up their brand revamp.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 10:07 AM on April 3, 2022 [3 favorites]

How funny, I had never heard of the 1960 Pepsi headquarters building before, until just recently I heard the New Angle: Voice podcast episode on the architect Natalie de Blois via 99% Invisible, and now here it is again! (I really enjoyed their "Finding Julia Morgan" episode too - I'll have to make time for the other episodes on the New Angle: Voice site!)
posted by sigmagalator at 12:10 PM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]