New York Skyscraper Project by David Chipperfield

Nov

New York Skyscraper Project by David Chipperfield

Images of British architect David Chipperfields’s first residential towe in Manhattan have been released to entice buyers into purchasing luxury units starting at $2 million.Called The Bryant, the 33-storey building, which will contain apartments and a hotel, is rising across the street from Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan.Rectilinear in form, the high-rise building will have a gridded facade clad in precast concrete terrazzo panels, speckled with marble and sandstone chips.“I think you can make architecture out of very simple things, it doesn’t have to be complicated,” said David. “The difference between a good building and a bad building normally resides in it being more thought about.” “The idea that the structure and the facade are the same thing, made out of polished concrete, will give the building a tectonic and physical presence,” added the architect. “Through this, the building is reduced down to elements of columns and windows, of solid and void, mass and space.” Chipperfield’s project is being constructed on the last available lot on Bryant Park, on a site that was formerly a parking lot.The popular 9-acre (3.6 hectares) park is ringed by historic high-rise buildings and borders the Beaux Art-style Stephen A Schwarzman Building, which houses the New York Public Library. The tower will offer expansive views of the park and the city skyline, including the Empire State Building to the south.

The design embodies an “intelligent simplicity,” which is a hallmark of Chipperfield’s work, said the developer, New York-based HFZ Capital Group. It will contain a 230-room boutique hotel on floors two to 15, with retail space and a restaurant at ground level.Floors 15 to 34 will house 57 residential units, including two triplex penthouses.Each residence will have bespoke millwork designed by Chipperfield that “cleverly conceals storage, appliances, and mechanical systems, and allows for generous, uninterrupted ceiling heights throughout the living spaces and hallways”. Completion is slated for the spring of 2017.Chipperfield is no newcomer to New York. He designed the Bryant Park Hotel in 2001, which entailed the conversion of the 1924 American Radiator Building. He also recently oversaw the renovation of the Takashimaya Building and designed the Manhattan flagship store for the fashion house Valentino.In March, Chipperfield was commissioned to design a new wing for The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York that will house contemporary and modern art.