Architects: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Country: United States, New York
Year: 2019
Photographs: Timothy Schenck, Brett Beyer
Text description and images are provided by the architects.
Opening in 2019, 15 Hudson Yards will be the first residential building to open in Manhattan’s new Hudson Yards neighborhood. Designed to LEED Gold standards, the 88-story, 910-foot-tall tower anchors the southeast corner of Hudson Yards East at 30th Street and 11th Avenue. Utilizing cold-bent glass to achieve its shape, 15 Hudson Yards softens the conventional expressions of glass towers, with its surface expressed as fluid and supple. The tower morphs into a quatre leaf at the top, shaped to maximize panoramic views in all directions. The solid stone lobby extends the entire first floor, framing a view of the adjacent High Line. Amenities include a rooftop terrace, health club and indoor pool, business center, dog spa, chef kitchens, and party and screening rooms. The tower is designed to LEED Gold standards.
“Over the past decade, we’ve had the opportunity to shape an urban ensemble comprised of a recreational, cultural and residential project for three diverse clients – working with the city on the High Line, with The Shed on a new cultural start-up, and now with Related on the first residential tower at Hudson Yards,” said DS+R Partner, Elizabeth Diller. “The tower morphs from the orthogonal logic of the city streets upward into a contoured cloverleaf, with quadrants oriented to capture 360-degree views of the surrounding skyline. The glass facade renders a typically brittle, rigid material as organic and supple. The fluid transition results in uniquely shaped amenity floors that mark the shift from rental to condo residential units.”
MAJOR FEATURES
Lobby (Level 1) Accessible directly from the Public Square and Gardens, the grand two level lobby takes advantage of soaring ceilings and brilliant walls of glass, creating an inviting sun-filled space accented with artwork, a calming reflecting pool and elegant walls of travertine. A distinct lounge facing the High Line forms a luxurious respite with a warming fireplace and comfortable seating area.
Back of House (Level 1-12) The Shed’s back-of-house spaces, which include offices, mechanical spaces, dressing rooms, and storage have been integrated into the base of 15 Hudson Yards. This allows both buildings to maximize the efficiency of their mechanical systems.
Amenity (Level 50-51) Residents can swim laps while enjoying expansive city views on the 50th floor, entirely dedicated to wellness pursuits including 12,000 square feet of spa, salon, and fitness facilities. One floor up, the 51st floor is a gathering space with lounges, private dining suites, a club room and a state-of-the art collaborative work space.
Residential Units The design language of the residential units expands on the lobby’s use of rich materials such as floors of Continental Oak in a natural oil finish and travertine stone from Italy. Five residence types (Plaza, Loft, Panorama, Penthouses, Duplex Penthouses) and two interior design schemes have been conceived to provide distinctive, uniquely New York homes.
Amenity (Level 67) The 67th floor (the highest in the tower) has been conceived as a rooftop amenity that feels like an extension of a penthouse. Two flexible event spaces on the east and west sides of the floor are separated by a 2,000 square foot open-air lounge that will offer some of the most stunning sunset vistas in the city.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Façade: The building’s lobby is encased by 26’ tall 2 1/2” thick laminated low-iron glass from Germany, framed by sculptural limestone column cladding fabricated in Carrara, Italy. The lobby is further trimmed and structurally supported by a sculptural stainless steel “strap” fabricated by master boat builders in the Netherlands. The shifting glazing pattern at the base of the building is produced by a digitally optimizing the distribution of glass and louver modules to accomodate a complex mix of technical and programmatic requirements on levels 1-19 including mechanical intake and exhaust air for both 15HY and the Shed. The subtly morphing form of the residential tower from Level 20 upwards is clad with a “cold-warped” unitized curtain wall system. Individual glazing units are pre-manufactured completely flat, and cold-warped on site within a bending tolerance prescribed by glass suppliers. When finished, 15HY will be the tallest cold-warped facade in North America. A monumental viewing terrace at the top of the building provides views to the Hudson River, utilizing a 65-foot tall freestanding steel facade with sculptural columns.
Sustainability: 15 Hudson Yards has been designed to meet LEED Gold certification. From filtered fresh air, to Lutron home automation and a grey water recycling system that uses storm water runoff to support cooling, each home is equipped with state-of-the-art features. Hudson Yards will have a first-of-its-kind microgrid and two cogeneration plants generating electricity, hot and chilled water for the neighborhood with over twice the efficiency of conventional sources. This onsite powergeneration capacity will keep basic building services, residences and restaurant refrigerators running whatever the disturbance – brown out, superstorm, etc.
