In joint venture with Pei Cobb Freed, Adams was responsible for creating the massing and building form within the complex midtown zoning height and bulk regulations. The massing reflects a distinctive New York high-rise genre that was set in motion by Hugh Ferriss in his formal analyses of light and air and the resulting provisions of the 1916 zoning ordinance. Adams developed the hotel floor plans for public spaces, guestroom levels and back of house areas and coordinated the engineering and specialist consultants. Innovative design solutions to zoning restrictions were needed to accomplish the dramatic guest arrival experience and the monumental hotel lobby. Adams and Williams worked in close collaboration with I.M. Pei who designed the marble exterior façade and window details and the dramatic hotel lobby. The hotel was the tallest in Manhattan when it was completed, superseding the RIHGA Royal. (Adams was Project Architect and Senior Associate with Frank Williams & Associates in Joint Venture with Pei Cobb Freed)