Designs for the 611 West 56th Street limestone-clad skyscraper that is designed by Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza have been revealed.
According to the designs, the building is entirely covered in Perla Bianca limestone, as is typical of the 88-year-old architect’s style. The slender tower rises from a thicker base with a 53-foot (16-metre) windowless block crowning the building, giving it a giraffe-like shape, according to Siza.
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The 37-story building houses 77 luxury condominiums with one to four bedrooms, including larger “maisonettes” and a grand penthouse. Private terraces are available for the duplex maisonettes and the penthouse. The limestone facade was designed to stand out from the surrounding towers, which have dark or mostly glass facades. The stark white facade is punctuated by large windows that provide views of Manhattan and the Hudson River to the west.
There is an outdoor garden where the building transitions from the thicker base to the more slender tower extension. The tower’s residents will have access to an exercise centre, entertainment rooms, and a community room for events and hosting. The interiors of the tower were designed by Michael Gabellini and Kimberly Sheppard of the New York firm Gabellini Sheppard Associates.
White walls complement the building’s exterior, while hardwood flooring, Italian walnut cabinetry, Grigio Nicola marble countertops, and upscale furnishings add to the sense of luxury.
611 West 56th Street Limestone-Clad Skyscraper, Siza’s first project in the US
611 West 56th Street Limestone-Clad Skyscraper, which is the Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect’s first building in the United States, is set to be developed on the Upper West Side between Riverside Park and Central Park near the Via 57 West residential tower that was designed by Danish architecture studio Bjarke Ingels Group, in Manhattan
The 450-foot (137-metre) 611 West 56th Street Limestone-Clad residential tower joins a group of structures on what has become known as “architects’ row”, and it is one of several high-profile projects recently completed in upper Manhattan, including SHoP Architects‘ world’s skinniest skyscraper.
BIG’s pyramidal West 57th, known as “court scraper,” is another recent construction in the area.
