Architecture

NYC skyscraper undergoes dramatic redesign to reach new heights

NYC skyscraper undergoes dramatic redesign to reach new heights
The Avenir's 45-story tower will rise out of a chunky nine-story base
The Avenir's 45-story tower will rise out of a chunky nine-story base
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The Avenir's 45-story tower will rise out of a chunky nine-story base
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The Avenir's 45-story tower will rise out of a chunky nine-story base
The Avenir's redesign means that the eye-catching skyscraper will now reach a height of 785 ft (almost 240 m) in Manhattan, New York City
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The Avenir's redesign means that the eye-catching skyscraper will now reach a height of 785 ft (almost 240 m) in Manhattan, New York City
The Avenir's interior will include a hotel, casino, restaurants, and more
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The Avenir's interior will include a hotel, casino, restaurants, and more
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Back in 2023, plans were revealed for a high-rise project in New York City that consisted of two connected towers. Named the Avenir, it has now undergone a dramatic redesign and will instead consist of one taller skyscraper, which will rise out of an unusual sculpted podium.

The updated design is being handled by original architects CetraRuddy Architecture and Silverstein Properties is still developing. The location also remains unchanged and it will be situated on Manhattan’s Far West Side.

Its new design is totally different, however. Avenir will now reach a height of 785 ft (almost 240 m), up from the originally proposed 680 ft (207 m). So, it will be a significantly taller building, though still not massive by Manhattan standards – to put its height into perspective, the One World Trade Center reaches 1,776 ft (541 m).

It's certainly unusual, with a wavy nine-story podium that creates terrace areas. The chunky podium culminates in an open green rooftop, from which the tower proper rises. Consisting of 45 floors, it will be finished in glass and feature a segmented, stepped form made up of four main sections.

The Avenir's redesign means that the eye-catching skyscraper will now reach a height of 785 ft (almost 240 m) in Manhattan, New York City
The Avenir's redesign means that the eye-catching skyscraper will now reach a height of 785 ft (almost 240 m) in Manhattan, New York City

The interior of the skyscraper will include a hotel, a large casino, over a dozen restaurants and bars, as well as conference and meeting spaces, and a spa and wellness facilities. Additionally there will be a fitness center, outdoor pool, entertainment areas, and some sort of community gallery.

There will also be some affordable housing, however this will be off-site somewhere and consist of 100 apartments, which will be doled out via the existing NYC housing lottery system.

The Avenir is currently in the planning stage and we've no word yet on when the project is expected to be completed.

Sources: The Avenir, Silverstein Properties

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4 comments
4 comments
Deres
Convex surfaces on a mirrored building are a bad idea as it can concentrate sun lights reflections on the surrounding.
ash
as deres says.... gotta hope the orientation doesn't turn it into roving virtual focus point that scorches a predictable danger zone
YourAmazonOrder
Awww... convex isn't so bad. There are many round buildings, and they don't bother folks. They just stand there and do their jobs. *Concave* buildings, on the other hand, will melt a car just for parking in the wrong place at the wrong time of day.
YourAmazonOrder
In fact... that building, with all its concave surfaces, will have multiple focal points around it, each exhibiting extreme solar radiation. Think "porcupine" with the tip of each invisible spine being several hundred degrees, or more (solar furnaces, which use a similar design, can get up to 3550C), and each arcing through the space around it with the rotation of the Earth. Some of those focal points will be on the surfaces of other buildings nearby, or inside other buildings. Some will be in mid-air. I imagine people in those buildings, on a brilliantly sunny day, might see a bird fly through one of those focal points and, consequently, witness it spontaneously combust.