New York City may be home to countless skyscrapers, but it’s now also home to the world’s thinnest – the 84-storey Steinway Tower, which is one of the latest additions to the Manhattan skyline.
At 1,428ft (435m), the building is the second tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere after Central Park Tower, which measures 1,550ft (470 metres) – the world’s tallest being the Burj Khalifa in Dubai at 2,717 feet (828 metres).
But while Steinway Tower not the highest, it’s certainly the skinniest, with a mind-blowing ratio of width to height: 1-to-23 1/2.
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Designed by New York architecture firm SHoP Architects with interiors by Studio Schofield, Steinway Tower is located at 111 West 57th Street, just south of New York’s famous Central Park.
“111 West 57th Street anchors a neighbourhood of premier cultural landmarks; Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to the West; the Museum of Modern Art a few blocks South; and the living green heart of New York City, Central Park, just steps to the North,” SHoP’s website says.
It contains 60 apartments ranging in price from $18 million to $66 million per unit, with each offering incredible 360-degree views of the city, floor-to-ceiling windows and ‘the utmost in comfort, convenience, and security’.
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There’s even a ‘beautiful and serene 82’ lap pool’ with ‘double-height vaulted ceilings, alcove cabanas and lounge seating throughout’, along with an ‘expansive’ outdoor terrace for relaxing or entertaining.
SHoP Architects founding principal Gregg Pasquarelli told the Associated Press: “Any time it’s 1-to-10 or more that’s considered a slender building; 1-to-15 or more is considered exotic and really difficult to do.
“The most slender buildings in the world are mostly in Hong Kong, and they’re around 17- or 18-to-1.”
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Because the building is so tall and thin, when the wind pics up the upper floors tend to sway by a few feet.
But while that sounds completely unnerving to any of the residents forking out for the best views, it turns out this is very much a good thing.
“Every skyscraper has to move,” Pasquarelli explained.
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“If it’s too stiff, it’s actually more dangerous – it has to have flexibility in it.”
To stop it swaying too much, the team at SHoP created a counterbalance with tuned steel plates, with Pasquarelli adding that, while the exterior has the standard reflective glass, it also has a textured terracotta and bronze facade that creates wind turbulence, in turn slowing the acceleration of the building.
The tower technically began life as Steinway Hall, which opened in 1925, but construction started in 2015 to transform the building into a residential skyscraper, with work completed this year.
"What I'm hoping is that 50 years from now, you've only known New York with 111 West 57th St," Pasquarelli said.
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"I hope it holds a special place in all future New Yorkers' hearts."
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Topics: US News
Jess Hardiman