April 1, 2020

Health and high-rise living: Is higher healthier?

In 2019, NYC saw the completion of more than 15 new buildings over 500 feet, and in the coming couple of years, even more tall buildings are slated for completion, including Central Park Tower, the world's tallest residential building at 1,500 feet. None of this is a surprise. By building up, New York is able to maximize available space and even diversify certain neighborhoods by creating mixed-income housing communities. At their best, high-rise developments can drive economic and social change, but are these buildings also good for our health? Ahead, we look at the risks and benefits of high-rise living, many of which have taken on a new meaning during a time when New Yorkers are mainly confined to their homes.
more on high-rise living and health this way
February 1, 2018

NYC has the world’s second highest concentration of tall towers

In 1962, nine of the world’s tallest buildings were south of 59th Street in Manhattan–and things hadn't changed much by 1981 when five of the tallest towers were concentrated on the same tiny island, which, with Chicago's three, gave the U.S. nine of the world's top 10 tallest skyscrapers. If you added Toronto's entry that made 10. Today, the only U.S. entry the top ten is lower Manhattan's One World Trade Center. This same tiny island though, is still number two in the world when it comes to concentration of tall towers.
Check out the infographic
October 17, 2017

MAS’ new ‘Accidental Skyline’ report offers 10-point plan to keep supertalls in check

6sqft has reported previously on the increasing alarm caused by New York City's future skyline and its growing army of skyscrapers-to-be, with community groups expressing deep concern about the shadows cast across the city's parks by the tall towers. The Municipal Art Society (MAS) has been leading the pack when it comes to thorough analysis of the issue, which they see as having its roots not only in the sheer height of the new buildings but in a lack of regulation of how and where they rise in the larger context of the city. This "accidental skyline" effect reflects the fact that New York City currently has no restrictions on the shadows a tower may cast–the city doesn’t limit height, it only regulates FAR (floor area ratio). At this week's MAS Summit for New York City, the organization released its third Accidental Skyline report, calling for immediate reform in light of an unprecedented boom in as-of-right–and seemingly out-of-scale–development. MAS president Elizabeth Goldstein said, “New York doesn’t have to settle for an ‘accidental skyline.’”
See more future NYC skyscrapers, mapped
May 24, 2017

First look at CetraRuddy’s proposed hotel-apartment tower for Hudson Yards

Back in September, the developer Joseph Chetrit filed plans to build a 48-floor mixed-use tower with 421 hotel rooms and 135 residential units in the Hudson Yards neighborhood. Now, the wait is over as renderings of Chetrit Group’s proposed tower at 541-545 West 37th Street have officially been revealed. As CityRealty learned, CetraRuddy Architecture is designing the high-tech skyscraper, which is expected to rise 622 feet and overlook the future Hudson Boulevard Park. The building will span 621,000 square feet and include exhibition, retail, hotel and residential spaces.
More details and renderings
May 23, 2017

REVEALED: Early studies of David Adjaye’s Wall Street Tower, his first skyscraper in NYC

Three years after completing his first New York City building, an affordable housing complex in Harlem called the Sugar Hill Development, starchitect David Adjaye is back. This time, he'll be working with David Lichtenstein's Lightstone Group to design a 61-story, 750-foot-tall condominium in the Financial District at 130 William Street known as the Wall Street Tower. Early conceptual studies uncovered by CityRealty show a gold-trimmed prism set against rigid rows of arched windows, as well as a glimpse at what the 244 apartments and amenity spaces will look like.
See the impressive renderings
April 12, 2017

Skyscraper proposal drapes Billionaires’ Row tower with flexible materials

Yesterday, 6sqft shared a proposal for an inside-out Midtown tower that received an honorable mention in Evolo's 2017 Skyscraper Competition. Another that made the list is the Flexible Materials Skyscraper, an idea for a Billionaires' Row supertall with an exterior made of a new material that can be folded, cut, sewed, and turned over, falling into a pattern. The designers called it “draping,” and hope building skyscrapers with flexible materials will allow architects to explore a new model of building while also cutting down on the construction process.
See renderings of the skyscraper
April 10, 2017

Gamma Real Estate closes on $86M purchase of 3 Sutton Place, taps Thomas Juul-Hansen for new design

Following a contentious legal battle, Gamma Real Estate has won the foreclosure auction and closed on the $86 million acquisition of 3 Sutton Place, a development site where the firm plans on building a 700-foot-tall condominium tower. As Commercial Observer learned, this includes three neighboring lots at 428-432 East 58th Street between First Avenue and Sutton Place. Earlier this year, 6sqft explained that a bankruptcy judge authorized the sale of the property after Joseph Beninati’s Bauhouse Group failed to pay back creditors. While Stephen B Jacobs remains the executive architect, Gamma has hired Thomas Juul-Hansen, a Danish-born architect, who will design the skyscraper.
Find out more
January 23, 2017

There are more skyscrapers in NYC than in the next 10 cities combined

Given our growing obsession with skyscrapers–and our growing collection of them–we're pleased to find that New York City has more skyscrapers than the next 10 skyscraper-boasting cities–combined. The infographic from highrises.com (h/t TRD) shows that NYC has 6,229 high-rise buildings, while Chicago has just 1,180, and second-most-populous Los Angeles a mere 518.
See how the cities stack up
January 17, 2017

128 tall buildings were constructed in 2016, a world record

We've just been looking at the amazing growth of the skyscraper in its early years, and now ArchDaily informs us that 2016 was a record year for tall buildings throughout the world. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced in its 2016 Tall Building Year in Review that 128 buildings 200 meters/656 feet or higher were completed in 2016, beating the previous year's record of 114 completions. Of those buildings, 18 nabbed the spot of tallest building in their respective city, country or region; 10 were classified as supertalls (300 meters/984 feet or higher). And it looks like we're on a roll...
Find out where the supertalls are rising and what the future might hold
December 21, 2016

Interactive map reveals the shadows cast by every New York City building

The Times calls the phenomenon a "struggle for light and air." And indeed, while New York City architecture is lauded for both its design and innovation, the decades-long race to build bigger and taller has taken a toll on the cityscape, particularly in the form of shadows. While any recent criticism of the effect has been directed towards the towers rising along Billionaire's Row, as The Upshot's map reveals, New Yorkers on the whole spend a lot of their time cutting through long stretches of shadow. The map documents thousands of buildings across the five boroughs, denoting age, height and the resulting shadows cast at ground level over the course of one day, down to the minute, during all seasons. As seen above, tall-tower haven Central Park South is cloaked in darkness 24/7 during the fall, winter, spring and summer months—but then again, if you peruse the map, you'll see a lot of other blocks are too.
find out more
October 4, 2016

How Otis’ elevator made modern skyscrapers possible

Advances in engineering continue to push modern skyscrapers to dizzying new heights, but at the core of these structures, quite literally, is an often overlooked technology that’s been key to their proliferation: the elevator. The earliest known reference to the elevator was by Roman architect Vitruvius, who reported that Archimedes built his first elevator around 236 B.C. The design was fairly rudimentary, a platform using pulleys and hoisted by hand or by animal. While elevators found their way into countless buildings and homes in the centuries that followed, including that of Louis XV who used a private lift to connect his Versailles apartment to that of his mistress, it wasn’t until the late 19th century that their true potential was unlocked.
read more about the elevator here
July 28, 2016

Time Lapse Video Shows How Midtown’s Tall Towers Will Cast Dark Shadows on the Park

A dozen supertalls (1,000 feet or higher) in the construction or planning stages in Manhattan include a significant number on the rise along the Billionaires’ Row strip just south of Central Park. This trend has been causing concern due to the shadows the looming towers will cast on the park. Now, a slightly ominous time-lapse video from Cube Cities shows how Billionaires' Row will have a sundial effect on the park (h/t Gothamist). The length and duration of the shadows will vary as the sun's angle changes with the seasons; fall and winter days are looking dark, with the tall towers' long shadows reaching as much as a mile into the park.
Watch the tall towers darken the park on a fall day in the future
June 6, 2016

Interview: Engineer Joseph Gulden Discusses Wooden Skyscrapers Surpassing 1,000 Feet

Could wood one day again be the material of choice for buildings? In response to rising construction costs and climate change, there's been a resurgence of interest in wood construction, with some even saying that we're in the beginnings of a "timber age." Many architects, engineers and builders have started to embrace the material, having erected, or making plans to construct, high-rises that reach several hundred feet in the air. In fact, in April, one architecture firm proposed bringing a 1,000-foot timber tower to London's Barbican. But is wood really a reliable alternative to concrete and steel? What about fire safety? And how tall can we really go at this point in time without compromising a building's structural integrity? To answer these questions and many more, 6sqft decided to pick the brain of DeSimone Project Manager Joseph Gulden. DeSimone is one of the world's leading engineering firms with a roster of top NYC projects that include Zaha Hadid's High Line project, 220 Central Park South and 45 East 22nd Street; Joseph himself is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) as well as a licensed Structural Engineer (SE) with extensive experience constructing in regions with high seismic risk. He's also worked on numerous high-rises and tall wood structures both in the U.S. and abroad. Ahead Joseph discusses some of the challenges and advantages of building with wood, engineered timber, deforestation concerns, and if a wooden supertall will ever be in reach.
read the interview here
February 1, 2016

Graphs Show How Skyscrapers Relate to Their Cities–and Whether We Need More of Them

Tall buildings help make cities great. Except when they don’t. Citylab looks at a new study and graphs that show where skyscrapers fit into what makes cities great–and suggests that the middle is where the magic happens. 2015 was a record year for the skyscraper; 106 tall buildings (higher than than 656 feet) went up across the globe, according to The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), more than in any previous year; emergent countries that appeared at the forefront of the global economic stage with the dawn the 21st century (China, Indonesia, UAE, Russia) show a big uptick in building upward. The majority of newly-built skyscrapers have risen in Asian nations—especially China–but the United States is in sixth place, with just two skyscrapers completed in 2015.
More infographics this way
January 14, 2016

World Reaches 100 Supertall Skyscrapers With Completion of 432 Park Avenue

As of December 23, when the slender 1,396-foot-tall 432 Park Avenue condominium tower was officially pronounced complete by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) as the building was "partially habitable," it became the world’s 100th supertall skyscraper (h/t TRD), categorized as those at least 984 feet in height. In addition to being the world's tallest all-residential building, 432 Park Avenue is also the world's 14th-tallest building overall and the city’s seventh supertall skyscraper. In fact, New York has the second-highest number of supertalls on the planet.
Find out more about the world's tallest towers
October 28, 2015

Detailed Infographic Shows the Ebb and Flow of NYC Skyscraper Construction

Charts related to skyscrapers typically compare the world's tallest buildings, but a new interactive timeline from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) shows the ebb and flow of skyscraper construction in NYC and how it resembles the country's boom and bust cycles (h/t CityLab). The timeline is part of a larger report called "New York: The Ultimate Skyscraper Laboratory," which also examines the function and location of recent supertall towers going up during today's boom cycle.
More infographics and details
August 20, 2015

City Defends Supertalls, Won’t Limit Size of Midtown Towers

The Department of City Planning announced that although it shares residents' concerns about the effects of the new crop of supertall towers rising near Central Park, it does not intend to lower the size limits on buildings in the dense Midtown district. Crain's reports that department director Carl Weisbrod said in a written response to elected officials on August 12 that the slender structures may actually preserve historic buildings nearby and that they enhance the city's iconic skyline.
Read more on the city's response
August 17, 2015

REVEALED: New Renderings of PMG’s Queens Plaza Park, the Future Tallest Tower Outside Manhattan

Here's a closer look at Property Markets Group and the Hakim Organization's upcoming Long Island City skyscraper dubbed Queens Plaza Park. Slated to soar 70 stories-plus into Queens Plaza's burgeoning skyline, the 915-foot tall building will contain a whopping 800 units, and will be, by far, the largest and tallest residential building outside of Manhattan. Positioned at the forefront of transit-accessible Queens Plaza, the project will encircle and incorporate the 88-year old Manhattan Bank Building (affectionately dubbed "the clock tower"). The joint-venture acquired the building for $31 million last November, which itself was once the tallest building on Long Island, and is now calendared to be designated an official city landmark.
more info on the project here
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August 13, 2015

Could This Honeycomb Tower Be Moshe Safdie’s Bancroft Building Replacement?

Images of a mysterious high-rise project have been posted on the website of Architecture Work Office, depicting a balcony-laden 50-story residential tower that balloons in area as it rises. The rendered skyscraper appears to align with a block-through development site near the corner of West 29th Street and Fifth Avenue that has been assembled by Ziel Feldman's HFZ Development. That site was purchased from the Collegiate Churches of New York in 2013 and was partially occupied by the striped brick and limestone Bancroft Building dating to 1896. Despite pleas from preservationists, the building was demolished earlier this year and has gone down as one of the city's most heart-wrenching architectural losses in recent years.
is this new tower in the works?
July 10, 2015

Construction Update: Extell’s Controversial 800-Foot Tower Ready to Rise at 250 South Street

After being slapped with a partial stop-work order about three weeks ago for causing a local street to sink, Extell's Lower East Side mega-development at 250 South Street appears to be back on track. A recent visit to the site shows that piles for the building are again being driven into the bedrock. However, it appears excavation will continue to be an arduous journey since most of the parcel sits on landfill and is only a few feet above street level. Since its reveal last year, the tower has been met with intense public outrage due to its unprecedented height for the mid-rise neighborhood. The building was first reported to be 68 stories, then 71 stories, then 56 stories, and now the latest filing with the Department of Buildings has a revised height pinned again at 68 stories, or 800 feet at its highest floor. To put that in perspective, the neighboring Manhattan Bridge is only 330 feet tall, and just 170 feet at its roadway—meaning the building will be nearly five times the height of the bridge's road deck.
FInd out more here
July 8, 2015

Construction Update: Robert A.M. Stern’s 220 Central Park South Begins Race into the Sky

Billionaire's Row's race into the sky continues. Two of its biggest projected selling towers are beginning to rise out of their gargantuan foundations and are rushing to claim their piece of coveted Central Park-fronting airspace. Construction of Vornado's 220 Central Park South development has an early lead against Extell Development's significantly larger Central Park Tower (formerly Nordstrom Tower) across West 58th Street. The first level of concrete and re-bar are now poking up above street level and the elevator/stairway cores are now clearly visible to pedestrian passersby.
See new images of the tower here
June 23, 2015

Could the Empire State Building Have Been Built with Wood?

Back in March, an Austrian architecture firm announced plans to build the world's tallest wooden skyscraper in Vienna, noting that by using this material instead of concrete, they'd save 3,086 tons of CO2 emissions. The news launched a lot of musings from the architecture community on the benefits of wood construction versus steel or concrete. A new story, originally published on ArchDaily by Patrick Kunkel, takes a look at whether or not the Empire State Building could have been built with timber. Michael Green has teamed up with Finnish forestry company Metsä Wood and Equilibrium Consulting to redesign the Empire State Building with wood as the main material. The project is part of Metsä Wood’s “Plan B” program, which explores what it would be like for iconic buildings to be made of timber. Their work shows that not only can wood be used to produce enormous structures in a dense urban context, but also that timber towers can fit into an urban setting and even mimic recognizable buildings despite differences in material.
Read the rest here
May 19, 2015

Community Board Wants Moratorium Placed on Central Park Skyscrapers Taller than 600 Feet

Those looking to build a behemoth along Central Park may have to look elsewhere. The Manhattan Community Board Five's Sunshine Task Force has voted in favor of a resolution calling for an immediate, temporary moratorium on any new construction of 600 feet or taller that is not already undergoing public review, particularly with those threatening to cast shadows over Central Park in an area bounded by 53rd Street and Central Park South, and Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue. The board voiced their concerns and outlined the ban in a policy brief (via DNA Info) which made its way to the desks of the Department of City Planning and the mayor last week.
FInd out more here
May 19, 2015

Chart Shows Where to Find the World’s Tallest Skyscrapers Over the Past Century

The number of skyscrapers a city can count is often a marker of how much progress they've made; these tall towers point to innovation, technology, ambition and most importantly, they scream "We have money!"—which of course equates to power. For the better part of the 20th century, the United States has accounted for the majority of the world's tallest skyscrapers, but with the emergence of new economies over the last few decades, there's been a definitive shift.
Learn more here
April 28, 2015

Detailed Chart Shows the World’s Tallest Building Constructed Every Year

An infographic about the world's tallest buildings is not a new idea (in fact, we've featured a great one, as well an interactive version, here before). But the Economist's idea of looking at the race to the top connected with the times and world events is a fresh take. The highly detailed chart shows the tallest building constructed every year beginning in 1885. Each bar represents its height, and the color shows on what continent it was built. The chart also highlights exceptionally noteworthy buildings and certain world events that contributed to the ebb and flow of skyscraper construction over time.
More details ahead

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