# 7 Hudson Square
**7 Hudson Square** is a 1.2-million-square-foot office and production building in the Hudson Square neighborhood of [Lower Manhattan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lower-manhattan), serving as the New York City headquarters of [The Walt Disney Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-walt-disney-company). It is formally named the Robert A. Iger Building and was completed in 2024.[1](https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/7-hudson-square/49419) • [2](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official name | 7 Hudson Square; also known as the Disney New York City Headquarters and the Robert A. Iger Building[1](https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/7-hudson-square/49419) |
| Height and floors | 97.5 m / 320 ft architectural height; CTBUH lists 19 floors above ground, while the structural engineer counts 22 stories[1](https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/7-hudson-square/49419) • [2](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building) |
| Completion | 2024, with occupancy reported for 2025[2](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building) • [3](https://www.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/Hudson_Square_NYF2_SIP.pdf) |
| Area and occupancy | 1.2 million square feet housing more than 5,000 Disney employees[2](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building) • [4](https://www.langan.com/portfolio/7-hudson-square-disney-nyc-hq) |
| Sustainability | All-electric building designed to achieve LEED Platinum and to exceed New York City's Local Law 97 carbon limits[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/) |
| Design team | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (architect), Gensler (interiors), Lendlease (general contractor), with landscape architecture by SCAPE[2](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building) • [5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/) |
## Site and origin
Disney announced in 2019 that it would move its New York operations from Lincoln Square to Hudson Square. Under a 99-year deal, the company paid Trinity Church $650 million to acquire the development rights for the 4 Hudson Square site.[6](https://www.som.com/news/som-reveals-designs-for-new-disney-hq-in-hudson-square/) The site occupies an entire block, a rarity in high-density Manhattan, and Disney obtained it from Trinity Church Wall Street.[7](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17379-soms-new-terra-cotta-clad-headquarters-for-disney-adds-a-touch-of-magic-to-manhattan) New York State planning documents describe the project as a 19-story, 1.2-million-square-foot complex of office and studio space expected to bring over 5,000 workers to the neighborhood.[8](https://www.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/Hudson_Square_NYF_2_Application.pdf)
The building is named for Robert A. Iger, an honor bestowed by Disney and its Board to mark his 50th anniversary with the company; Iger began his career at ABC in New York in 1974.[9](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/disney-new-york-headquarters/)
## Design
[Skidmore, Owings & Merrill](https://www.edgepedia.org/skidmore-owings-and-merrill) (SOM) designed the building as a vertical campus, gathering Disney's news, editorial, live production, streaming, advertising, and corporate functions under one roof. Echoing classic New York forms, it rises in a series of setbacks that culminate in two identical 320-foot-tall towers.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/) The facade draws on the masonry character of Hudson Square's industrial-era buildings: double- and triple-columned cerulean green terracotta panels with deep-set picture windows, accented by champagne-colored aluminum at entrances, canopies, and upper floors.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/)
Critics noted the deliberate restraint. [Architectural Record](https://www.edgepedia.org/architectural-record) described the exterior as "almost obsessively unshowy," with no logos or character imagery, in deliberate contrast to the themed "entertainment architecture" Disney commissioned in the 1990s under CEO Michael Eisner.[7](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17379-soms-new-terra-cotta-clad-headquarters-for-disney-adds-a-touch-of-magic-to-manhattan) The writer Alexandra Lange likewise observed that the building avoids the architectural whimsy of the [Magic Kingdom](https://www.edgepedia.org/magic-kingdom).[10](https://www.alexandralange.net/articles/793/sorry-kids-disneys-new-york-headquarters-is-for-grown-ups)
Multiple setbacks at the upper levels create landscaped terraces designed with SCAPE. Between the towers, a collaborative floor features the largest terraces and a glass-enclosed communal "Great Room" with conference rooms and a theater for screenings and events.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/) Employee amenities include a full-service café and coffee bar, outdoor terraces, wellness rooms, a large event space, conference centers, a screening room, a reading room, a bike room with showers, a company store, and TV studios.[9](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/disney-new-york-headquarters/)
## Engineering for broadcast production
Three large studios serve live and audience programming, and the building hosts audience tapings of *The View*.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/) • [9](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/disney-new-york-headquarters/) The most complex challenge sat underground: a 20,000-square-foot television studio occupies the second cellar level, 25 feet below the water table and directly beside an active subway tunnel. Thornton Tomasetti's structural team added a base-isolation system beneath the basement walls, resting on deep foundations and a deep reinforced-concrete mat, to protect the column-free, double-height space from noise and vibration and to resist hydrostatic pressure.[2](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building) An acoustical isolation system designed with Cerami & Associates isolates subway vibrations, and trusses above keep the studios column-free for reconfiguration.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/)
Above the podium, long-span transfer trusses route heavy studio loads around the large volumes and into the tower grids, while rotated 50-foot girders and close coordination between structure and mechanical systems preserved ceiling heights for ductwork.[2](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building) To create the foundation and structural system, SOM partnered with Langan and Thornton Tomasetti on one of New York City's largest single concrete pours.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/) Langan also provided support-of-excavation design for a 50-foot excavation adjacent to tunnels and other critical infrastructure.[4](https://www.langan.com/portfolio/7-hudson-square-disney-nyc-hq)
## Sustainability
In 2019 New York City passed [Local Law 97](https://www.edgepedia.org/local-law-97-new-york-city), which limits operational carbon emissions from buildings, a sector accounting for two-thirds of the city's carbon footprint. Design was already underway on 7 Hudson Square, but Disney set a sustainability goal from the outset, and SOM's technical team with the engineering firm Jaros, Baum & Bolles created an all-electric building exceeding the law's requirements.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/)
The strategy centers on heat recovery: excess heat from the cooling system's water-cooled chillers is captured, sent to water source heat pumps, and recycled across each floor through a dedicated outdoor air system, which improves indoor air quality, frees floor space, and reduces ductwork. The building also features on-site [solar panels](https://www.edgepedia.org/solar-panel), high-performance facades, waste heat recovery, and electric heat pumps, and it is designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/) • [9](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/disney-new-york-headquarters/) The project team described the design mantra as "reduce, recover, then electrify," noting that recoverable heat from production equipment and occupants means the heating systems barely run in winter.[11](https://www.americanbuildingpodcast.com/episodes-all/joseph-chase-som-maxwell-hatfield-biondo-jbb-disney-headquarters-hudson-square)
## Opening and role
Construction completed in 2024, and Disney announced the building's opening in December 2024, describing it as a collaborative hub for the company's media, production, and innovation in New York.[2](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building) • [9](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/disney-new-york-headquarters/) State planning documents list the Disney headquarters' occupancy date as 2025.[3](https://www.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/Hudson_Square_NYF2_SIP.pdf) The 24/7/365 facility houses one of New York City's largest newsrooms and production suites, consolidating teams previously dispersed across the city.[12](https://www.savills.us/case-studies/media-and-advertising/the-walt-disney-company.aspx)
The building anchors Disney's presence in a neighborhood that has become a hub for media and technology; together with Google's nearby Hudson Square campus, it has drawn further creative and media companies to the area.[5](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/) • [13](https://manhattandaily.com/nyc-neighborhood-brushes-off-industrial-era-gloom-to-lure-major-tenants/) Architectural Record observed that the IT-intensive production facilities might have been built more cheaply in a low-rise suburban form, but that Disney saw value in bringing creation and production together in close proximity.[7](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17379-soms-new-terra-cotta-clad-headquarters-for-disney-adds-a-touch-of-magic-to-manhattan)
## References
1. [7 Hudson Square, The Skyscraper Center (CTBUH)](https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/7-hudson-square/49419)
2. [Disney New York City Headquarters – Robert A. Iger Building, Thornton Tomasetti](https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/disney-new-york-city-headquarters-robert-iger-building)
3. [Downtown Profile and Assessment, Hudson Square NY Forward Strategic Investment Plan, New York State (2025)](https://www.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2025-05/Hudson_Square_NYF2_SIP.pdf)
4. [7 Hudson Square – Disney NYC HQ, Langan Portfolio](https://www.langan.com/portfolio/7-hudson-square-disney-nyc-hq)
5. [Disney New York City Headquarters – Robert A. Iger Building, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill](https://www.som.com/projects/disney-new-york-city/)
6. [SOM Reveals Designs for New Disney HQ in Hudson Square, SOM](https://www.som.com/news/som-reveals-designs-for-new-disney-hq-in-hudson-square/)
7. [SOM's New Terra-Cotta-Clad Headquarters for Disney Adds a Touch of Magic to Manhattan, Architectural Record](https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17379-soms-new-terra-cotta-clad-headquarters-for-disney-adds-a-touch-of-magic-to-manhattan)
8. [Private Development, Hudson Square NY Forward Application, New York State (2024)](https://www.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/Hudson_Square_NYF_2_Application.pdf)
9. [Inside The Walt Disney Company's New NYC Headquarters, The Walt Disney Company (December 4, 2024)](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/disney-new-york-headquarters/)
10. [Sorry, Kids: Disney's New York Headquarters Is for Grown-Ups, Alexandra Lange](https://www.alexandralange.net/articles/793/sorry-kids-disneys-new-york-headquarters-is-for-grown-ups)
11. [How SOM and JB&B Designed Disney's All-Electric NYC Headquarters, American Building podcast](https://www.americanbuildingpodcast.com/episodes-all/joseph-chase-som-maxwell-hatfield-biondo-jbb-disney-headquarters-hudson-square)
12. [The Walt Disney Company case study, Savills USA](https://www.savills.us/case-studies/media-and-advertising/the-walt-disney-company.aspx)
13. [NYC neighborhood brushes off industrial-era gloom to lure major tenants, Manhattan Daily](https://manhattandaily.com/nyc-neighborhood-brushes-off-industrial-era-gloom-to-lure-major-tenants/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Architecture, buildings, and civil works › Buildings and architectural ensembles › Skyscrapers and high-rise towers › North American skyscrapers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license