One57 is located mid-block between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, on the north side of W. 57 St., where it enjoys both, the major commercial street views and the Central Park views. The completed ‘one57‘ tower soars above midtown new york with a distinctive patterned façade.

Working alongside developers extell, Atelier Christian de Portzamparc‘s design is generated from Manhattan’s specific set of planning regulations, maximizing the constraints of the irregular L-shaped plot.

In July 2007, Portzamparc was commissioned to develop the design for the mixed-use, hotel and condominium tower at 157 W. 57 that it rises to 306 meters (c. 1,004.5 ft.), and becoming the tallest residential building in the city. The objective of the tower design and floor plans was to maximize views of Central Park.

Description of project by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc

In 2005, Gary Barnett, the president of Extell, commissioned Christian de Portzamparc to design several towers on 57th Street. The building’s trademark soaring movement, with its summit turned towards the immense open sky of Central Park, emerged from this initial study in the design stage.

Extell was soon presented with a series of different plot acquisition options, however, and after four years of testing design schemes and dozens of model studies for different site configurations, volumes and heights of up to almost 400 meters in October 2007, the tower finally entered into construction in 2009, just after the start of the  first economic crisis. Rather than abandon his plans for the site, Gary Barnet rapidly re-launched them. 

In the light of his previous projects, the architect was quickly able to come up with a definitive solution to build the highest residential tower in New York during an economic crisis. Situated on an L-shaped site, the program includes the Park Hyatt Hotel and, on the upper floors, stunning apartments with views over Central Park.

The interior design was then entrusted to by Thomas Juul-Hansen, thereby covering every aspect of the project.

The lots finally acquired by the promoter formed an «L» shape. Christian de Portzamparc drew on this complexity to provide the main thrust of his design. The result reflects the structural requirements of a markedly elongated tower, the city’s alignment regulations and the air rights specific to this site.

The tower turns towards Central Park as if in tribute. The southern façade is structured into vertical bands of glass in two contrasting colours. Appearing the same from the inside, they express the energy of a waterfall in New York’s vertical landscape, linking each unit of volume via curved transitional surfaces containing occupied. The east and west façades that resemble the aleatory aesthetic of the Le Monde and Nantes projects, with its Gustave Klimt-like pixilation that fluctuates with the constantly changing light exposure.

CREDITS. TECHNICAL SHEET.-

Architect.- Christian De Portzamparc
Executive Architect.- Slce Architect LLP
Residential Interior Design.- Thomas Juul-Hansen, LLC
Hotel Interior Design.- Yabu Pushelberg
Zoning Consultant.- Michael Parley, Development Consulting Services Inc.
Office of Technical Studies.- (Structure) WSP Cantor Seinuk, (Fluid) AKF, (Façade) IBA Israël Berger & Associates NY, (Landscape) Terrain-NYC
Total gross area.- 74,353 sqm m²
Height.- 1004’5’’ ft / 306 m - 75 floors
Dates.- 2007-2014
Client.- Extell Development Company

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Christian de Portzamparc, born in Casablanca in 1944, is an architect and urban planner. He graduated from the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1969 and set up his agency, the Atelier Christian de Portzamparc, in 1980. Based in Paris, France, the Atelier is a global operation with a close-knit team of 100 employees who enjoy positive working relationships with established partners around the world. Organized into several “studios”, they work with partners on a wide variety of ambitious international projects. As well as constructing buildings, Christian de Portzamparc, an architect, urban planner and painter, is engaged in the search for form and meaning.

From the city to the object, Christian de Portzamparc has worked on towers since his first projects in 1974. His best known tower is the LVMH Tower in New York, USA, completed in 1999 (Business Week and Architectural Record award 2006), followed by the competition for the Hearst tower in 2000 and soon to be accompanied by the residential tower 400 Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York, USA, approved by the City Planning authorities in 2004 and for which the site demolition started in December 2011. The 603-feet high headquarters of French bank Société Générale at La Défense district in Paris, the Granite Tower (completed in 2008) is the first sustainable high-rise building in France (H.E.Q. certified, the French equivalent of the North American LEED).

In 1994, Christian de Portzamparc became the first French architect to gain the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize at the age of 50. He has been made Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Officier de l’Ordre du Mérite and Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur, and was awarded the Grand Prix d’Architecture de la Ville de Paris in 1990, the Médaille d’Argent in 1992 and the Grand Prix National d’Architecture in 1998. He has also been appointed an Honorory Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.). The most prestigious city planning prize in France, Grand Prix de l’Urbanisme, was awarded to him in 2004. In 2006, the Collège de France created a 53rd chair dedicated to “artistic creation”, Christian de Portzamparc was its first holder.

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Published on: December 27, 2015
Cite: "One 57 Tower by Atelier Christian de Portzamparc " METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/one-57-tower-atelier-christian-de-portzamparc> ISSN 1139-6415
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