VIA 57 WEST at 625 West 57th Street
Construction is wrapping up at the Durst Organization's VIA 57 WEST on the Hudson River waterfront. Designed by Bjarke Ingels of BIG, the 470-foot-tall "courtscraper" includes 709 residential rental units and 45,000-square-feet of commercial retail space. Renters began to move in this past spring and now the building's amenities have opened, with the branding of VIA Garden, VIA Social, and VIA Fit.
VIA Garden
Designed by Starr Whitehouse, the building's 22,000-square-foot courtyard features native plants and trees, along with seating and an outdoor grilling area.
Looking west from the courtyard entrance.
Looking up from the courtyard.
The courtyard's winding brick path and newly planted trees.
Organic bench seating in the courtyard.
Looking east from the western edge of the courtyard.
Hudson River view from the western edge of the courtyard.
Hudson River view from the western edge of the courtyard.
VIA Social: East Resident Lounge
East resident lounge seating with a view of Stephen Glassman Studio's "Flows Two Ways."
Detail of Stephen Glassman Studio's "Flow Two Ways."
VIA Social: West Resident Lounge
VIA Social: Poker Room
Poker room.
Poker room.
VIA Fit
Indoor half basketball court.
Indoor half basketball court.
Developer: The Durst Organization; Architect: BIG (Design Architect), SLCE Architects (Architect of Record); Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti Group Inc.; Exterior Wall: Enclos Corp.; Landscape Architect: Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects; Program: Residential, Retail; Location: Hell's Kitchen, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
VIA 57 WEST at 625 West 57th Street
Exterior wall installation is wrapping up at Durst's VIA 57WEST "courtscraper" from BIG on the Far West Side.
Construction is wrapping up on the exterior enclosure at the Durst Organization's VIA 57WEST at the Midtown West waterfront. Designed by Bjarke Ingels of BIG, the 470-foot-tall "courtscraper" includes 709 residential rental units and 45,000-square-feet of commercial retail space.
Southeast corner from West 57th Street.
Southeast corner of VIA 57WEST (left) and the Helena (right) from 11th Avenue.
South street and courtyard facades close-up.
At the south and west facades, most of the metal and glass facade has been installed, with work only remaining on the mechanical floors at the tower's peak. The herringbone-patterned bay windows of the north and east facades have been fully installed, except for the area occupied by the construction lift.
Looking up at the south façade from West 57th Street.
South façade from West 57th Street.
Courtyard façade close-up.
South façade clos-up.
VIA 57WEST from Clinton Cove at Hudson River Park.
Close-up of the tower's peak from Clinton Cove.
Southwest corner from the Hudson River Greenway.
West façade from the Hudson River Greenway.
West façade close-up.
Northwest corner from 12th Avenue.
North façade close-up.
Looking up at the north façade from West 58th Street.
Northeast corner of VIA 57WEST (background) and 600 West 58th Street (foreground).
Northeast corner of the tower's peak.
Developer: The Durst Organization; Architect: BIG (Design Architect), SLCE Architects (Architect of Record); Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti Group Inc.; Exterior Wall: Enclos Corp.; Landscape Architect: Starr White House Landscape Architects; Program: Residential, Retail; Location: Midtown West, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
VIA 57 WEST at 625 West 57th Street
A few blocks from the parade of starchitect supertalls going up along 57th Street in Midtown, an experiment in typology is under construction. This will be the first New York project from the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), a firm started in Copenhagen that has built many critically acclaimed projects worldwide with the firm's emphasis on addressing site and program with innovative solutions through form. While other projects nearby are locked in an arms race of height and flashy facades, W57 seeks a revolution in typology that has a significant impact on the inhabitants of the building and challenges the catalog of types typical to Manhattan.
BIG was approached by the Durst Organization, a firm known for its innovative and sustainable portfolio of projects, to propose a design for a mid rise building on the Far West Side of Manhattan. Inspired by the classic Copenhagen courtyard block typology at the architectural scale and its urban scaled counterpart, the iconic Central Park at the heart of the city, the firm proposed a mash up of a New York skyscraper with a courtyard, which they have called a "courtscraper."
Southeast corner of W57 (left) and the Helena (right) from West 57th Street.
The rectangular site occupies about three quarters of a block fronting the West Side Highway and the Hudson River and is adjacent to another Durst tower, the Helena. BIG started with a rectangular block with a centrally located courtyard that is exactly the same proportions as its inspiration, Central Park. The northeast corner of the block is then pulled upwards to an elevation of 470 feet to transform the low rise block into a tapering pyramid-like tower. Not only does this allow for spectacular views of the waterfront and the courtyard green space for its inhabitants, the sloped form also preserves waterfront views for the Helena which is situated south of the building's peak. Secondarily, the building's unconventional form also allows for a multitude of readings depending on your location. From West 58th street, the northeast corner reads like a slender tower, while views from the waterfront and West 57th Street reveal a broad pyramid form.
Southwest corner from West 57th Street.
The exterior envelope of the building employs two main strategies: a sloped wall on the south and west street front, and a herringbone pattern of bay windows along the north and east facades. With the sloped southwest wall, BIG seeks to merge the ideas of wall and roof, while adding slots for outdoor terraces adjacent to individual units. At the peak of the tower, mechanical elements are housed and concealed by an extension of the sloped facade that incorporates the terrace slots as vents for machinery. The herringbone strategy at the north allows for each unit to have a view to the waterfront which would not be possible with a conventional flush curtain wall. This strategy is also employed on the courtyard face to direct views southward along the waterfront.
Southeast corner from West 57th Street.
Lobby entry along the east facade.
Inside, the building will house 709 rental units and 45,000 square feet of commercial retail space. Entry to the lobby is off of the east, in an open space between the building and the Helena. A grand stair is centrally located in the lobby and brings residents up to the courtyard space, while sheltering the mail room tucked underneath. The courtyard's landscape design will employ a gradient of plantings to evoke a range of spaces, from a meadow to a shaded forest. In addition to the large central courtyard, amenities for the residents include a basketball court, pool, gym, cinema room and golf simulator.
The grand stair in the lobby, leading to the central courtyard.
Looking west from the eastern edge of the courtyard.
The courtyard's north exterior wall in progress.
Courtyard facade detail.
Typical residential corridor mockup.
Residential corridor wall covering detail.
View from a corner window along the north facade.
Looking west from an outdoor terrace.
Looking south from an outdoor terrace on the second floor.
Facade detail.
View of the sloped facade's structure.
Looking south from an outdoor terrace.
View of the sloped facade's structure and window wall under construction.
Window wall installation on the south facade.
South facade.
South facade in the morning sun.
South facade in the afternoon sun.
The mechanical enclosure structure that forms the peak.
Looking south from the peak structure.
Looking south from the peak structure.
Looking north from the peak structure.
Southwest corner from the Hudson River Greenway.
Looking north from Riverside Park.
West facade from Hudson River Greenway.
Northwest corner from Hudson River Greenway.
Northwest corner from 12th Avenue.
North facade.
North facade detail.
North facade detail.
Northeast corner from West 58th Street..
While elsewhere in the city architecture will continue to vie for the claims to being the tallest, BIG has proven with this project that size is not the only measure of architectural impact. Long after we forget which tower won the height race in a given year or sold its penthouse for the most money, BIG's courtscraper will resonate in the history of New York architecture and its innovative strategies will impact future projects around the city.
North facade from West 62nd Street.
Architects: BIG (Design Architects), SLCE Architects (Architects of Record); Developer: The Durst Organization; Program: Residential, Retail; Location: Midtown West, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
VIA 57 WEST at 625 West 57th Street
Though ceremonial topping out was celebrated last fall, BIG's tetrahedron on the far west side of Manhattan has finally received its peak. The mountainous building stands 450 feet tall and will eventually house 709 rental units on 32 floors. Installation of the exterior envelope is also underway, with curtain wall panels reaching the tenth floor on the north and east elevations, as well as the interior courtyard. Panels have also been installed on the lower levels of the sloping south facade. Completion looks set for late 2015 or early 2016.
Looking north on 12th Avenue.
Looking north from Riverside Park.
Southwest corner from the Hudson River Greenway.
Southwest corner from Hudson River Greenway.
West facade from Hudson River Greenway.
West facade from Hudson River Greenway.
Northwest corner from Hudson River Greenway.
Looking south from Hudson River Park.
Northeast corner.
Northwest corner from 12th Avenue.
South facade from West 57th Street.
Southeast corner.
Southeast corner detail.
North facade from West 62nd Street.
Architects: BIG (Design Architects), SLCE Architects (Architects of Record); Program: Residential, Retail; Location: Midtown West, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
VIA 57 WEST at 625 West 57th Street
Construction Update:
Progress continues at the site of BIG's first residential tower in New York, with several floors of concrete structure added since last month's update. Form work has reached the sixth floor of the building, and the slope of the eventual pyramid form of the tower is starting to take shape.
Looking west on West 57th Street.
The west elevation from West 57th Street.
At the intersection of West 57th Street and the West Side Highway.
The pyramid's slope taking shape.
West facade.
Looking north along the West Side Highway with One Riverside Park (Goldstein, Hill & West Architects) rising to the north.
Looking east along the West Side Greenway with One Riverside Park rising on the left.
The serrated edge of the north facade along West 58th Street at 12th Avenue.
The serrated floor slabs of the north elevation.
The northeast corner.
Looking west along West 58th Street at the back side of the building.
Architects: BIG (Design Architects); SLCE Architects (Architects of Record); Program: Residential, Retail; Location: Midtown West, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
Previous Updates: