OMA’s black concrete and glass building in Manhattan – Floornature.com

OMAs first building in Manhattan is made of black concrete and glass, towering over Lexington Avenue with sides facing onto 22nd and 23rd Streets, thanks to its L-shaped lot.OMAs project fits into New Yorks urban fabric with an unusual vocabulary for a skyscraper, staying conveniently flat without attempting to distinguish itself too much from its surroundings. Yet the entire building manages to stand out from its urban context and express something new, even while maintaining the continuity of Manhattans highly varied urban faades.The first thing worth noting is the choice of materials, in that black-coloured concrete, used with glass, a classic material found everywhere in the Big Apple, creates an unexpected combination that gives the corner of 22nd and Lexington a new look. All this is amplified by the decision not to emphasise the sharpness of the corner that the two planes on two streets could easily have generated; the architects proceed in an entirely different formal direction, giving the walls a multi-faceted appearance by breaking them up into triangles, all different, at the point where the two walls come together. In this way they have made the corner seductive enough to draw the observers eye upward with fascinating slowness, rather than at the rapid pace typical of the city that never sleeps.In this project, concrete takes the place of steel, which might have been a more appropriate choice for such a bold faade; here, against all expectations, the frames around the square windows are rigid, to the point that the buildings skeleton and the faade are both heavy enough to bear wind load. This design expedient ensures that the levels beyond the skyline of the faade sway as little as possible in the wind.

Fabrizio Orsini

CreditsClient: Toll Brothers City Living May 2019 CompletionProgram: 275,387 GSF 242,157 SF Residential 10,605 SF Amenities Pool, Gym, Courtyard, Bicycle Room, Lounge, Outdoor Terrace, Dining Room and Kitchen, Childrens Room, Screening Room, Roof Terrace with Outdoor Kitchen 6,066 SF Automated Parking Garage 17,111 SF RetailTeamLead Architect: OMA New York Partner in Charge: Shohei ShigematsuConcept to Design DevelopmentYolanda do Campo, Lawrence Siu, Sunggi Park, Daniel Quesada Lombo, Jackie Woon Bae, Juan Lopez, Jorge Simelio, Andrea Zalewski, Nathalie Camacho, Leen Katrib, Nils Sanderson, Carly Dean, Nicholas SolakianConstruction Documentation to Construction Administration: Christine Yoon, Yolanda do Campo, Darby Foreman, Marki Becker, Nils Sanderson, Andrea ZalewskiExecutive Architect: SLCE Architects, LLPInterior Architect: Incorporated Architecture & Design, PLLCConstruction Management: CM&AStructural Engineer: WSPMEP/ FP Engineer: StantecFacade Engineer: Gilsanz, Murray, Steficek, LLPZoning: Development Consulting ServicesPool Consultant: Bradford ProductsAcoustic Engineer: AKRF, Inc Landscape: LDGNLandscape Architects Lighting Consultant: Ventresca DesignParking Consultant: Klaus Parking

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OMA's black concrete and glass building in Manhattan - Floornature.com