SHoP architects completes exterior architecture of 57th street supertall

a slender new york skyscraper

slender and supertall, SHoP architects‘ 111 west 57th street skyscraper sees the completion of its exterior architecture. the tapering tower has gradually become a new icon for new york‘s skyline with its simple, stepping side profile, and has now made its mark on the city at the foot of central park.

rising to a height of 1,428 feet (435 meters), the tower is the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere. it emerges from the landmarked ‘steinway hall,’ built in 1925 by the architects of grand central station and home steinway & sons piano company. honoring the craft of the steinway piano along with the important connection to old new york, the tower integrates meticulous ornamentation along its facade and interiors (see designboom’s previous coverage here) which reinterprets historic motifs with a contemporary expression.

SHoP architects is currently approaching the completion of its ‘brooklyn tower’ nearby (see designboom’s coverage here) which rises from the landmarked dime bank in a similar way. like the brooklyn tower, 111 west 57th street is designed with a respect for the architecture of the past, looking backward to create a new design language.

image © david sundberg | @davidsundbergphoto

SHop architects transforms the city

the 111 west 57th street tower by SHoP architects (see more here) introduces a total of 60 residences along the base of central park. fourteen of these homes will be located within the renovated landmarked building while 46 full-floor and duplex residences will be within the new tower. while the team now celebrates the completion of the exterior architecture, interiors by studio sofield (see more here) are soon to be revealed.

the development has reached another major milestone — the start of closings within the tower portion of the project, meaning residents can now begin to move in. closings in the landmark portion had started previously. the project is developed by JDS development group, property markets group, and spruce capital partners.

attention to craft: an homage to old new york

SHoP architects integrates terracotta detailing into the facade of its 111 west 57th street tower. while the fabrication of these meticulously designed elements are impossible without the use of modern technology, the artisanal material can be traced back across new york’s architecture to over a century.

each terracotta panel is individually cast, fired, and hand glazed. at once repetitive and varied, this system comprises thousands of cast panels that wrap the east and west facades of the tower. overall, the effect is a radiantly striated pattern that accommodates subtle openings is glass and bronze. the team at SHoP designed twenty-six panel types which were combined into an harmonious whole, ‘poetically expressed like notes into a chord.’