Since its nadir in the 1970s, NYC architecture has come a long way in building things that actually enhance the public realm. While most our new buildings can still be deemed conservative, especially when compared to breakout cities like Dubai and Guangzhou, the city has experienced a steady stream of interesting projects penned by acclaimed designers from around the globe.
With our city teeming with stately pre-wars and scrupulous preservationists, it's no surprise that context and "fitting in" is of utmost importance to planners are architects working in the city. One of our most acclaimed home-grown talents, Robert A.M. Stern, professes the significance of background buildings and not making everything "look like Lady Gaga," as he referred to the glitzy crop of new towers in this 2016 film.
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With this kind of thinking pervasive, we often must rely on foreign minds or recent architecture school grads to produce that me, me, me building seemingly dropped from space. Hof Architects, based in Britain, has done just that, drawing up two baffling designs where the existing city fabric serves as a blank canvas for their imagined masterpieces.
First up is "Moebius Strip Tower," envisioned for a typical 25-foot parcel at 132 West 26th Street in Chelsea. Gathering unused development rights (lots of it) from adjacent buildings, their design grows from the typical 12 floors allowed, to a flowering green-glass tower some 30 stories high. Two-thirds up, the tower twists 90 degrees to better flirt with the unencumbered skyline views towards Midtown and lower Manhattan. The increased wingspan allows the upper floors to be larger than those below, thus, putting the square footage where the money is.
Hof's description says the projects demonstrate that even with a small footprint, there is an alternative topology to increase density in the existing city whilst enhancing the urban fabric. In archi-speak they explain, "The manipulation of the geometry enhances the sense of cohesion with the immediate surroundings: the lower section binding with the adjacent buildings and the top section reinforcing the line of the street frontage."
The never-built hotel project planned at 132 West 26th called Greenhouse 26 (Arpad Baksa Architects)
The design is most likely kaput, and if not, good luck to the engineers and glass consultants. Currently under construction at the site is a timid 12-floor glass tower with ten full-floor apartments (yawn). So, in that case, give me Moebius Strip Tower any day. Prior to the Great Recession, the previous owners sought to build "Greenhouse 26," a 19-floor tower that was proclaimed to be the city's first green hotel and use a geothermal heating and cooling system.
Next up is "Cross Tower," conceived for a Flower/Antique-District site at the other side of the block at 117 West 25th Street. Similar to the previous vision, and probably capturing some of those same mystery air rights, the proposal ascends 20 floors before rotating 90 degrees to broaden its north-south exposures. The site is currently home to a two-story vintage clothing and antique shop. While we're not counting on this design happening, it appears more feasible than the 26th Street concept and reminds us of a never-built skyscraper for Jersey City designed by Rem Koolhaas' OMA
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