In her first multi-dwelling residential project, architect Lindy Roy delivers a conceptual solution to a narrow lot adjacent to the elevated railway that will become High Line Park. 519 West 23rd Street will be an eleven-unit condominium with the innovative spatial arrangements and fluid folding forms she has become known for. Distinctive space-agey scrims rise up the curtain wall. Winner of the MoMA/PS1 Competition in 2001, Roy's work has included the Hotel QT and the New York offices of Vitra. In this case the renderings don't do the design justice. To get a full sense of how well the building relates to the High Line you need to see the cool scale model on view at the sales office for the condo (it's located in the retail space across the street, complete with model kitchen and bath). The scale model reveals the full-floor loft spaces almost as alternate levels of the High Line itself. This welcome design gives us hope that High Line Park will inspire more innovative work from developers, and we look forward to the way architects might approach the challenge of interfacing with a century-old elevated railway made new.
