Reinventing New York's Park Avenue Medians - The Wind Turbine
Park Avenue, one of the world’s premiere thoroughfares, is traditionally known for its tall buildings that are home to Fortune 500 companies. The medians of Park Avenue, or the “centerlines,” are traditionally characterized by plantings and periodic sculpture installations. Park Avenue medians represent a traditional element of New York City but also provide an opportunity for reinvention. Other areas of New York City, such as the High Line, have successfully transformed into an exciting destination for city dwellers and visitors alike. This design competition called for visionary design proposals for the Park Avenue medians (between 46th – 57th Streets) with the aim to enliven Park Avenue’s commercial district. The goal of the competition was to foster creativity and challenge participants to think outside the box; to propose exciting ideas that have never been considered possible for the medians; and to reimagine the existing urban landscape. Ideas that bring Park Avenue into the 21st century. The design proposal is inspired by the “expect the unexpected” concept, which puts an alien like structure in the centre of a structured urban environment by way of the dual purposed turbine. The centrepiece of the project offers unparalleled views of the city with an environmentally conscious twist; the Wind Turbine is powered by the wind passing between the buildings towards its strategic location. The Wind Turbine will offer a dynamic viewing experience; from up close high-level views of Park Avenue Skyscrapers to unobstructed northern views for the length of Park Avenue and beyond; offering a first time perspective for the public to enjoy. Even more exciting is the underground experience that the Wind Turbine offers. New York City’s below grade infrastructure, arguably as important as its above grade buildings, is an area that rarely gets recognition as an attraction and is never seen from this viewpoint. The bottom of the Wind Turbine’s cycle whisks riders in-between passing trains and back up again, an exciting unique experience for passengers of the Turbine and the train alike. By locating the Wind Turbine at this specific site, it broadens its uses to the corporate world, drawing tenants of the Park Avenue commercial corridor to take lunch breaks or host creative meetings within the capsules. The Wind Turbine, which sets the urban amusement theme, drives the concept for the rest of the median space. The remaining nine blocks are a variety of small-scale fun interventions bringing focus and interest one block-length at a time. Each with individual character but all focusing on the new addition to the Park Avenue skyline (movement above) and on the spectacle of trains transporting people in and out of Grand Central (movement below).
Four Twenty Five
Split across the first two stories of the practice’s 425 Park Avenue tower, Four Twenty Five includes a cocktail lounge, private dining room and a mezzanine dining level, with a glass fronted show kitchen and bespoke lighting installation. Diners enter the restaurant via a cocktail lounge on the first floor of the building and ascend to the mezzanine dining level, via a sweeping feature staircase. The timber-panelled dining level cantilevers over the lounge to create a more enclosed and intimate environment at the bar. A 24-foot painting by the celebrated American artist Larry Poons runs the full length of the wall behind, animating the space with color and movement. Adjacent to the lounge, a separate dining room offers a private area for parties and events. The dining room is flexibly designed and can be easily divided into two smaller private spaces or opened up to create one larger event space. The mezzanine dining level provides 80 covers and features a glass fronted show kitchen, allowing diners to watch their food being prepared. Above their heads hangs a bespoke lighting installation, comprising 231 Foster + Partners designed ORSA fixtures in a three-dimensional elliptical configuration, which was developed with the practice’s in-house Applied R+D team. A bespoke collection of furniture, the NF Collection, is used throughout the space. Designed by Norman Foster and Foster + Partners Industrial Design, in collaboration with the leading Japanese furniture manufacturer, Karimoku, it is characterised by the flowing lines of timber frames. The collection includes a chair, bar stool, lounge chair and sofa, made in walnut and burgundy leather for Four Twenty Five. Sharing the same distinctive smooth and organic form, each item has been manufactured by Karimoku’s state-of-the-art woodworking machines and hand-finished meticulously by artisan craftsmen.
John A. Paulson Center
Centered around Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, New York University’s campus exists within a dense mix of traditional and modern buildings. Academic programs are dispersed across a number of separate buildings, each functioning with far less space than the University’s peer institutions. The John A. Paulson Center is a new multi-use building on the campus’s southern edge that graciously accommodates NYU’s academic needs, embodies its character and vibrancy, and offers new ways for the University to engage with its own community and the larger city of New York. Designed to promote interaction between diverse student groups and academic disciplines, the John A. Paulson Center at 181 Mercer includes academic classrooms; performing arts theaters, teaching, rehearsal, and practice rooms; athletic facilities for varsity sports and recreation; and housing for students and faculty. Each of these spaces is organized into unique “neighborhoods,” all of which are connected to an open and expansive commons that provides collaborative study, meeting, cafe, and gathering places. The Paulson Center’s design takes advantage of its 360-degree relationship with the neighborhood by placing primary circulation along its transparent perimeter and classroom and instructional spaces towards the center of the building. This reversal of conventional building organization provides faculty and students with one-of-a-kind city views while also giving outside observers a sense of the building’s activity. This distinct layout, along with the building’s prominent stairways, creates a sense of openness and connection by encouraging the casual encounters and intellectual exchanges that are at the center of the NYU experience. Outside, the design continues to develop connections by creating a new pedestrian “greenway” that links two major thoroughfares along the building’s west side. The Paulson Center was designed to fulfill the sustainability pledge found in NYU’s Climate Action Plan and the university’s commitment to environmental responsibility. Targeting LEED Gold standards, and anticipating final certification, the building is designed to improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and create an overall healthier learning environment.
Financial District Coastal Improvement Program
The Financial District Coastal Improvement Program (“FDCIP”) is a waterfront improvement initiative proposed for New York City that is facilitated by moving the southernmost section of the elevated FDR freeway underground. The tunnel will serve multiple purposes including eliminating surface level traffic and pollution, and acting as a multi-faceted flood mitigation structure. These improvements have the potential to create a vibrant, accessible, open waterfront and increased real estate value from Battery Park to Corlears Hook. The tunnel operates in three modes- typical day-to-day, heavy rains, and storm surges. Daily functions allow traffic to flow two ways with space for overflow. During heavy rains, the tunnel will dually function as an overflow retention tank and a vehicular right of way. During a storm surge, traffic in the tunnel will be closed and it will act as a retention tank for seawater. FDCIP also proposes an automated, movable sea wall to be located south of the Brooklyn Bridge. As sea levels rise, water from the river will fill a reaction chamber that will signal a hydraulic piston system to raise the promenade platform at the river’s edge into a vertical wall, blocking storm surge waves from reaching the adjacent areas and driving the water into the vehicular tunnel. In the northern portion of the site, both the tunnel and a coastal extension will be used for water mitigation and will provide necessary open space for residents of the rapidly growing Two Bridges and the Lower East Side neighbourhoods.
Fred Perry New York City & Stockholm
Fred Perry New York City and Fred Perry Stockholm mark a ten-year design collaboration between designers Buckley Gray Yeoman and the high-end British fashion brand. Both stores embody many of Fred Perry’s defining store design elements that have been cultivated between the two firms, such as a calm colour palette, the belief in retaining as many features of existing stores as possible, and emphasising the notion of contrasts between materials and spaces In New York City, Fred Perry’s North Americn flagship store achieves a near impossible mix of identities: that of a British fashion label with a decadeslong heritage, and the buzzy culture of an instantly recognisable world city. The store is located on Broome Street in Lower Manhattan, in a historic building used for the past 35 years as an antiques dealership, and in SoHo, a now-gentrified district known as much for its shopping as its nineteenth-century cast iron buildings. In line with our redesign-led approach, we decided to leave the multiple layers of occupation of the building visible, exposing original features and subsequent modifications such as the mosaic tiled flooring, and working them into the new space. A feature wall with exposed brickwork is fitted with clothing rails and bespoke units to display the brand’s collections, collaborations and its archival gallery. Reclaimed timber display units allow the retailer to be as flexible as possible, reinterpreting the layouts to suit the display of different collections, as well as for hosting one-off events. For Fred Perry’s Stockholm store, we sought to create a destination that makes a contribution to the street life within the vibrant Södermalm district. Fred Perry regularly host events at their stores – so we wanted the store to act as a flexible space for arts and music that can spill onto the street, rather than simply an unchanging place of purchase. The existing store was divided into a series of four rooms. Rather than open these up into one large space, we decided to celebrate the unique character of each room by devising a sequence through the store. The design of each room is strongly expressed, but its clothing contents are not categorised. Visitors are thus encouraged to explore the shop with intrigue and surprise. Upon entry, the first room is not crowded with clothes but instead kept very sparse with minimal clothing on display. A gridded lighting frame with hanging spherical lights sits between the main desk and the window, with polished concrete grounding the space. This is contrasted with the warmer use of timber to the rear of the store where more colour is used. All the fixtures can be moved or dismantled, creating a flexible retail space which doubles as a series of event spaces. The back-of-house was also rationalised, with a new manager’s office and concealed access to the basement. Matte black light fixtures are placed beside glass, timber is set beneath metalwork, and a new entrance is accessed through a recess marked with graffiti. The façade was not cleaned at all, as we wanted to keep it as a key feature emblematic of Fred Perry’s brand that matches the existing spirit of the street. Since completion, the store has hosted regular events and has served as a meeting point for the brand’s fans who share a passion for its energy and spirit.
Re-ply
Re-ply is a social initiative set up by BVN’s New York office. With a mission to up-cycle the plywood material used as barricades to protect businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic and racial protests, we transformed the product into a cost-effective ‘kit-of-parts’ for outdoor furniture and planters, allowing restaurants to quickly re-open for social distanced outdoor dining. Since then the product has expanded to include a ‘kit-of-parts’ for communal spaces, learning areas and retail environments. The ‘kit-of-parts’ solution allows for customisable applications of varying site conditions. This project brings together our passion for the environment; reusing plywood, and the application of CNC-cut which allows for maximum efficiency and minimising of material waste. The ‘design for manufacture’ approach used for the restaurant furniture was a micro-scale translation of the design principles BVN has been developing over the last five years in workplace and flex office projects, in the US and Canada. Working closely with CNC equipped fabricators, it was possible to build and iterate products in very short timeframes to meet the demands of the re-opening city. Our solution employs technology in the 3D fabrication files that are sent to any CNC woodworking operation. This allows for scaling across the country and supporting manufacture in local communities. We are constantly refining the process and evolving the kit as we deliver each project. We have moved from furniture into pop-up architecture, as well as implementing weather proofing solutions, catering to the changing seasons, and responding to the ever-changing, pandemic-related, city guidelines. The program is designed to allow for scalability and to be easily deployed locally anywhere in the world. The nature of the bespoke pop-up projects require designs to be modular, movable and quick to install/uninstall, whilst still producing a feeling of a substantial quality and form, as well as offering a refined product in line with our clients’ premium aesthetic. As such the ‘kit-of-parts’ can be re-configured in a number of ways to produce a variety of outdoor dining, working and meeting settings, all allowing for a customisable application depending on site conditions. With the experimental nature of re-ply as a start up in NYC during a pandemic, we have been continuously learning and improving our workflow and products, especially given the nature of the speed and development/evolution required for each new project. It has pushed us to learn as much as we can - from understanding the end-user’s point of view, to testing new methods to improve our production process, and also to push further in how we can maximise sustainability in our design. Our ultimate challenge is how to make better use of building materials. We have learnt about the limitations of waste management and recycled materials, which has increased our understanding and prompted us to enquire and learn more. We started with a focus on upcycling plywood but have since widened our scope to recycling other materials for construction.
75 Kenmare
75 Kenmare Sitting at the bustling intersection of Kenmare and Mulberry streets in the gritty heart of NoLita, 75 Kenmare is an 83,000 SF seven story residential building with 38 apartments ranging in size from 600 to 3,000 SF. Knit into the urban and architectural fabric, the building’s massing speaks to the neighborhood’s scale while contrasting with its surroundings through a distinctly detailed contemporary façade. Imaginative detailing gives concrete -- the humblest of materials -- a timeless and robust presence. Simple linear channel-like forms, referencing shade and shadow in contextual architectural details, modulate the play of sunlight across its surfaces to create a sense of joy for passersby. The plan features six windowed facades and a second-floor garden that flows visually and spatially into the surrounding neighborhood and adjacent public park. This strategy makes softly edged and generously permeable spaces that generate engaging views throughout and within the neighborhood and building. Multi-story bronze window frames set into the concrete skin respond to the proportions and architectural language of NoLita and give the building an inviting human scale. The facades combine our love of basic materials, elegant proportions, and thoughtful detailing with handcrafted workmanship to create a building that both inspires and gives to its neighborhood. 75 Kenmare creates architecture that is deeply rooted in a sense of place. It is both generous to its surroundings and inseparable from its context, demonstrating our conviction that buildings must be timeless and new, engage the senses, delight the eye, and lift the spirit of all.
520 West 28th
There is a powerful urban dynamic between the streets of New York and the High Line, a layered civic realm that has developed over generations and in many iterations. 520 West 28th conveys this contextual relationship, applying new ideas and concepts to create the latest evolution of the site’s rich history. The split levels of the design define varied living spaces and echo the multiple layers of civic space on 28th Street and the High Line. These split levels are expressed within the interlocking chevrons of 520 West 28th’s hand-crafted steel façade which carries the spirit of Chelsea’s industrial past; its detailed workmanship continues the venerable tradition within New York’s historic architecture of enhancing the public realm. Designed and constructed with a practiced understanding of material qualities and manufacturing techniques, the façade conveys the attention to detail evident throughout 520 West 28th—brushed and tinted by hand to resonate with the adjacent structures of the High Line and its neighbourhood. The 11-storey 520 West 28th houses 39 residences with 11-foot coffered ceilings, tailored interiors that incorporate Boffi kitchens by Zaha Hadid Design, and integrated technologies including automated valet parking and storage. With multiple cores to give most residences private elevator lobbies, the amenities of 520 West 28th include the wellness level with spa and 25-yard sky-lit lap pool, sculpture garden, and entertainment suite with IMAX theatre. Within an established community of over 350 art galleries that has seen the High Line’s transformation from abandoned freight rail line to public park, 520 West 28th embodies a commitment to uphold the distinctive character of its neighbourhood; creating a building with its own architectural presence, yet very much of its surroundings.
265 West 45th Street
265 WEST 45TH STREET - A SUPER-SLENDER HIGH-PERFORMANCE TOWER IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NYC The project explores a novel and captivating tower typology which emerged in New York in the last years – “The New York’s Super Slender”. Located on a small, currently vacant site on West 45th St which footprint measures at approx. 30x30m only, the tower rises to 400m in height, and provides modern, ergonomic, sustainable office spaces for multi-floor corporate tenants. The project is another take on a path which skyscraper design will likely be following in the coming years, to meet extreme challenges of constrained and dense city centers, with their shortage of big vacant lots, yet ever growing demand for new properties. FORM AS AN OUTCOME OF STRUCTURAL CONCEPT The tower utilizes an innovative structural system, which solely determines its appearance. Due to extremely constrained site, the choice was to eliminate perimeter columns and substitute them by a set of steel cables, which run and twist along the height of the tower, allowing for an ultralight, yet sturdy structural assembly. The cables are anchored in a deep foundation, MEP zones and tied back to the core at the upper structural ring. The spiral arrangement of the cables – the “twist” – creates a force of surface tension, resulting in a “corset” holding the insides contained, very similar to a candy which is held inside a wrap because its ends are twisted (more details in the images’ captions). Architecturally, it becomes simply an expression of the building’s structure - a sleek, minimal and futuristic volume of reflective glass, a cylindrical tube which is also one of the most efficient shapes for wind resistance. It is also abstract, and aligns with technology-oriented aesthetics. Solutions like circulating elevators (multiple cars per shaft) serving the offices and multi-story lobby with automatic visitors’ dispatch systems connected to their mobile devices allow to accommodate higher occupancy rates typical for office buildings. REDEFINING THE STREET The goal was to design the block’s centerpiece which by its alien-like appearance would contribute to the extremely diverse, charging, energetic and ever-progressing built environment of New York. A dazzling shine of reflective glass and chrome, modernity of aluminum, and dynamic shapes are called to create a dominating presence and stature on 45th St, increasing values of surrounding properties. “HALO” ENTRANCE CANOPY One of the most distinctive features of the design is the “Halo” canopy – a toroid volume soaring above the entrance plaza. Clad in reflective glass on the sides and in bead-blasted chrome panels at the front and back, it subtly reflects the surroundings, as well as definitely provokes an interest and desire to get closer, to walk in, to reveal what is hidden behind such futuristic, drastically different form, unlike any other tower canopy in Manhattan. ENTRANCE LOBBY & OBSERVATION DECK With a common visual characteristic and shared materials and design features, these two spaces are though different and each captivating in its own respect. The entrance lobby, which greets a visitor with an austere multi-story space, is a first glimpse into very modern, technology-driven interiors of the tower. Surrounded by the dark canyon of Midtown, it still relies heavily on artificial lighting, yet already perceives as a gateway into bright and light-filled spaces of the offices and beyond, as the tower rises into the sky to leave behind the noise, smoke and fuss of what we so lovely call “The Capital of the World”. In double-deck elevators visitors reach the vantage point – an observation deck at level 96, which provides 360-degree unobstructed views of the city and allows to rest and meditate in serene and light-filled space. HIGH-PERFORMANCE FAÇADE A distinctive feature of the tower, it was scripted in parametric software to wrap the smooth and curvilinear shape of the building, and panelize it into flat panels comprised of paired triangles. The slim (only 500mm in height) spandrel extends from the glazing panel above to allow for continuity of glass reflections and prevention of leakage. Each panel is tilted for 1 degree towards inside of the building. The boxes which the cables run inside of are capped by aluminum stamped panels with integrated and software-controlled rotating vents for natural ventilation / conditioning. Tapered ends of slab allow for more daylight penetration, yet high-performance glass coating blocks excessive thermal gain. ERGONOMIC WORKPLACE As part of the tower’s integrated design approach, the furniture was also engineered to fit the space precisely. Due to the recently formulated risks which prolonged seating poses on health of modern workers, it is crucial to equip the space with ergonomic, sit-stand transformable furniture. The desks are hanging from the ceiling on gas-lift arms which allow for an easy individual adjustment of their height and rotation/position, as well as quick office layout/seats quantity reconfiguration based on minute needs of a tenant. Digital communication systems and video conference equipment allow a multi-floor tenant to cooperate effectively, freeing the staff from frequent travels between the floors. TUNED MASS DAMPER Due to extremely dense spatial arrangement of the tower, a solution for locating a multi-ton tuned mass damper had to be non-trivial. The idea was to design a toroidal damper, which will not take up space directly on top of the core, to leave it free to locate elevator overruns and to provide continuity of evacuation paths such as stairs inside of the core. Thus, the damper circles the core with even distribution of mass, and is software controlled to counteract sways caused by high-velocity winds.
Hearst Tower (Manhattan)
Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City, USA.
VIA 57 West
VIA 57 West (marketed as VIΛ 57WEST) is a residential building at 625 West 57th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenues, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The pyramid shaped tower block or "tetrahedron", designed by the Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), rises 467 ft (142 m) and is 35-stories tall.
Sackler Wing
Extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art built in 1978.
Housing NYC 2.0
NYC Housing Crisis With rising rents and limited affordable housing alternatives, city dwellers are forced to either downgrade their housing standards or dramatically increase the portion of their income allocated for rent. With New York’s ever-growing population, the affordability crisis will only get worse. Development projects resort to repetitive “cookie-cutter” units, for the sake of cost efficiency, which have limited adaptability. Compact living has also emerged as a possible solution but with considerable impediments. To compensate for shrinking living space, shared kitchens and bathrooms are often proposed. Additionally, impractical solutions are adopted where convertible beds double as seating which requires cumbersome daily manoeuvring.
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Open in Atlas MapFrequently Asked Questions
How long does the New York City architecture walking tour take?+
The self-guided walking tour covers approximately 10.7 km with 9 stops. Allow approximately 5 hours including 20 minutes of viewing time per building.
Is the New York City architecture tour free?+
Yes, this is a completely free self-guided walking tour. You can view the route on the interactive map, export it to Google Maps for navigation, and explore at your own pace.
Do I need to book the New York City architecture tour in advance?+
No booking is required — this is a self-guided tour that you can start at any time. All buildings can be viewed from the outside. For guided tours with expert commentary, we recommend checking GetYourGuide for local architecture tours.
What is the best time to do the New York City architecture walking tour?+
Morning light (before 11am) is ideal for photography of building facades. Weekdays tend to be less crowded around commercial buildings. Allow a full half day for the complete tour.