VIA 57 West

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"West 57" redirects here. For the street on which the building is located, see 57th Street (Manhattan).
VIA 57 West
VIA 57 West - exterior.jpg
Via 57 West from the West Side Highway
Alternative namesPyramid, West 57th, W57, West57, Tetrahedron
General information
StatusComplete
TypeResidential
Architectural styleModern
Town or cityManhattan, New York City
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°46′17″N 73°59′35″W / 40.77139°N 73.99306°W / 40.77139; -73.99306Coordinates: 40°46′17″N 73°59′35″W / 40.77139°N 73.99306°W / 40.77139; -73.99306
Construction started2013
Completed2016
Height
Architectural467 ft (142.3 m)
Tip467 ft (142.3 m)
Top floor355 ft (108.2 m)
Technical details
Materialconcrete
Floor count34
Floor area830,995 sq ft (77,200 m2)
Lifts/elevators11
Design and construction
ArchitectBjarke Ingels Group
DeveloperThe Durst Organization
EngineerThornton Tomasetti
Main contractorHunter Roberts Construction Group
Awards and prizes2016 CTBUH Tall Building Awards:
Best Tall Building Americas[1]
Other information
Parking285
References
[2][3]

VIA 57 West (marketed as VIΛ 57WEST) is a residential building located at 625 West 57th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. The pyramid shaped tower block or "tetrahedron", designed by the Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), rises 467 ft (142 m) and is 35 stories tall.[4]

Context[]

Under construction in July 2015
Bjarke Ingels's model for the West 57 project

Bjarke Ingels met the New York developer Douglas Durst in the early 2000s when he was in Denmark. Durst, who visited Ingels' Copenhagen studio in February 2010, found him very inventive, noting that unlike other architects, "What was striking about his work was that each design was so different, and designed for the locale."[4]

In spring 2009, Durst Fetner Residential commissioned BIG to bring a new residential typology to Manhattan. In 2011, BIG opened an office in New York to supervise W57's development and construction.[4][5] According to The New York Times, the name was chosen "because the southbound West Side Highway slopes down as drivers enter the city, right at the spot where the building is situated", serving as an entrance to Manhattan "via 57th".[6]

Design[]

VIA 57 West is Ingels's first New York project. From Manhattan, the 709-unit building resembles a distorted pyramid with a steeply sloped facade, rising 467 feet (142 m) toward the northeast. Across the river in Weehawken, New Jersey, the building's sloped facade gives the appearance of an extra large sailing vessel making its way across the Hudson River.[7]

With its angular balconies around an integrated green plaza, the block will connect with the waterfront and the Hudson River Park, taking full account of the surroundings while providing fine views with little traffic noise.[4][8] The building has a floor area of 861,000 square feet (80,000 m2) including residential and retail programming.[9] The northern facade of the building features a number of balconies skewed at a 45-degree angle, a pattern employed in Ingels's previous works, such as the VM Houses in the Ørestad section of Copenhagen.[10]

Reception[]

The triangular structure has been described as a hybrid between a European perimeter block and a traditional Manhattan high-rise.[5] One reviewer described it as a torqued pyramid or "a quarter of a watermelon that’s had a large chunk surgically extracted from its center."[11] It was given the Emporis Best Skyscraper design award in 2016.[12]

Other features[]

Landmark Theatres ran an eight screen theatre on the ground floor of the building.[7] The theatre closed in August 2020 following nearly three years of operation after struggling to attract moviegoers, in part due to the location's distance to public transit.[13]

Awards[]

References[]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "CTBUH Names 2016 Tall Building Award Recipients". June 22, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  2. ^ "VIA 57 West". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  3. ^ VIA 57 West at Emporis
  4. ^ a b c d Robbie Whelan, "New Face of Design", The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "West 57th by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group" Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, ArchiTravel, September 20, 2012, Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  6. ^ Satow, Julie (May 1, 2015). "Naming a New York Building". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Wilson, Reid (July 12, 2016). "Landmark Theatres to Operate Multiplex at 709-Unit VIA 57 WEST, 625 West 57th Street, Hell's Kitchen". New York YIMBY. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  8. ^ Kelly Minner, "A BIG New York Debut: West 57th", Arch Daily, February 7, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  9. ^ "References VIA 57 WEST" (PDF). Bjarke Ingels Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  10. ^ Smith, Stephen (August 26, 2014). "Construction Update: Bjarke Ingels' 625 West 57th Street". New York YIMBY. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  11. ^ Gardner, James (December 1, 2016). "Dressing up the High Line". The Real Deal.
  12. ^ "Emporis Skyscraper Award".
  13. ^ Blauvelt, Christian; Brueggemann, Tom. "The Landmark at 57 West Theater Closes in Blow to Uptown Manhattan Moviegoing — Exclusive". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  14. ^ "Residential Highrise »VIA 57 West« in New York wins the International Highrise Award 2016". The International Highrise Award. Retrieved November 2, 2016.

Further reading

  • Capps, Kriston (May 1, 2015). "The Great Pyramids of Manhattan". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  • BIG Architects, Bjarke Ingels Group Projects 2001–2010, Design Media Publishing Ltd, 2011. ISBN 978-9881973863.

External links[]

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