New details of Jean Nouvel's design for a condo tower on Manhattan's far west side (opposite Frank Gehry's IAC headquarters, no less) have just been unveiled to the press. The cluster of new development near the High Line in the West Chelsea gallery district has been among the most ambitious in terms of design. Here we go inside to look at Nouvel's solution for a corner site on the river, where light and open views for 72 apartments are reflected and refracted through a mosaic of glass panels arrayed like a crowded Mondrian painting. Above is an interior view. After the jump some interesting detail you may not have read about yet.
The 23 story apartment tower located at the corner of 19th Street and the West Side Highway will gently curve the length of the street frontage--opening both south and west vistas to most of the 72 condominiums contained within. The curtain wall will be made up of nearly 1700 different-sized panes of glass (see detail below). These windowpanes will have slightly differing degrees of transparency, and will be set at varying angles creating a textured pattern almost like leaves of ivy on a wall. They will reflect light in countless ways as the day changes. Mechanized shades custom designed by Nouvel will allow residents to control the flow of natural light.
The building's elevator shafts will have random punched windows along the north facade that will not only allow passengers to view the city as they ascend, but also, viewed from the outside, give off a twinkling light pattern as the elevators move.
Nouvel is working in conjunction with New York based firm Beyer Blinder Belle.
Interiors will follow a pale palette of colors, with terrazzo flooring and highly-finished plaster walls. Pocket doors and large pivoting doors will allow for flexible use of apartment spaces.
Apartments will include one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, as well as five penthouses. The tower's top floor will be a single unit with outdoor spaces.
Nouvel calls the building a "Vision Machine" for the way in which residents will be able to view the city and the Hudson River. But it will also be a two-way device, acting as a kind of looking glass back in at what West Chelsea has become, and maybe where it's headed.
Below is a detail of the curtain wall windowpane system.
Image credits:
(view of bldg. main façade): Copyright ArchPartners 2007
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(detail of curtain wall): Copyright dbox 2007/www.dbox.com
(interior looking out at Hudson): Courtesy Ateliers Jean Nouvel 2007
