I M Pei's Unbuilt Hyperboloid, reimagined after 60 years
Figure 1 Pei's Hyperboloid drafted by author In 1956, I. M. Pei proposed the Hyperboloid, a hyperbolic paraboloid tower to replace the Grand Central Station in New York. The 102 storey tower was to have a height of 1,497 feet eclipsing the Empire State Building. Though, Architectural Record said it "resembled a bundle of sticks," it was a simple geometric visualization of the hyperboloid. The steel exoskeleton was meant to withstand a nuclear attack. In any case, it was a unimaginable for the New Yorkers to see the demolition of the Grand Central Station and the proposal was cost prohibitive. CHALLENGES IN DRAFTING The biggest hurdle in the drafting in Revit was the lack of information about the building. Wrong dimensions would make the building appear disproportionate. Only the following were available from which the dimensions were derived and parameters formed in Revit.