Project Year : 2011
Status : Complete

Inspired by the experience of viewing the city from height, such as when visiting the Empire State Building or Statue of Liberty observation decks, this design aimed to create a Passivhaus compliant tower encompassing a significant public plaza in the sky. The project consists of three towers, bridged by a two acre ‘sky podium’ 130 metres in the air. The podium hosts a variety of public functions and activities typically found at the ground – restaurants, parks, BMX biking in the summer, ice skating in the winter – but with the added benefits of safety from cars, increased security and spectacular views over the city. The podium is linked to the ground not only via shuttle elevators, but also by skybridges to adjacent buildings and snaking escalators stepping up from surrounding rooftops. It also bridges across the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel ramp, creating a dramatic new urban gateway for the 50,000 cars that enter Manhattan every day via this route.

The form and organisation of the building is influenced by a number of factors, with functions arranged as per their ideal requirements for Passivhaus thinking. The long, slender residential block at height faces south to maximise solar gain, natural light and the best views. Contained within the horizontal podium are both student and fashion hotels, which benefit from a compact form and large atria for daylighting. The office function is located at the lowest level benefitting from north light and shade by surrounding buildings. Two of the three towers are merely structural / circulatory, supporting the sky podium and maintained as open as possible to preserve views and light onto an adjacent art-deco residential tower.

This project won the ‘Public’s Choice Award’ at the UK National Finals stage of the 2011 Isover International Student Design Competition.