West 57th - Incredible Proposal for an apartment complex in New York

The mega-structure:
The large site lying between West Side Highway and 57th Street in Manhattan is about to get revamped by an exceptional conception of an apartment building. The architectural firm BIG will finally make their debut in North America, with this aptly yet tepidly named project - The West 57th. But nothing is tepid about its ambitious design - this unconventional conception emanates a graceful amalgam of European perimeter block style and a traditional Manhattan high-rise style. Fundamentally combining the advantages of compactness, intimacy, security and airiness of a skyscraper, this design also incorporates green technology. This predominantly residential building would be exclusively contrived for the client Durst Fetner.
What makes it mega?
The unusual 450 feet high ‘peak’ almost pyramid in form boldly blends the typical Manhattan tower podium and a low-rise European apartment block, in architectural style. Callow green courtyards puncture the roof to balance out the steeply sloped facade, and also serve as ‘green’ points within the structure. In view of spaces, different cultural and commercial zones would be incorporated inside the ground level and second floor of the building, along with 600 residential units of variant areas spread else where.

Slideshow

A walkthrough of the megastructure

Green Megastructures: West 57th Slideshow

Eco-credentials :
As Bjarke Ingels, Founder, BIG says :

New York is rapidly becoming an increasingly green and livable city. The transformation of the Hudson River waterfront and the Highline into green parks, the ongoing effort to plant a million trees, the pedestrianization of Broadway and the creation of more miles of bicycle lanes than the entire city of my native Copenhagen are all evidence of urban oases appearing all over the city. With West 57th we attempt to continue this transformation into the heart of the city fabric – into the center of a city block.

The structure itself incorporates the ‘hybridization’ of a Copenhagen courtyard and the New York skyscraper. The unique green courtyards within the building, provide an atmosphere of intimacy and compactness, while the exceptional views and the great height accentuates upon the airiness of a skyscraper. The prominent slope of the building itself allows for a transition in scale between the low-rise structures to the south of New York and the high-rise residential towers to the north and west of the site.