American Copper Buildings from under the FDR Drive, December 11, 2017.
Did you know that what the skyline needed was a cross between all-in 1960s corporate branding, the Downtown Athletic Club as described by Rem Koolhaas and a lair worthy of Goldfinger? I didn’t, but it did, which is why SHoP’s fraternal-twin, 761-unit rental towers are our 2017 Building of the Year.
We’ve been watching for some time as the copper-clad north and south sides of the two towers, zigzagging within their ho-hum zoning envelopes, rose. First, they were as shiny as copper pennies, then they went dark and streaks appeared, including a stripe of verdigris. “Eventually the whole thing will be Statue of Liberty green,” says SHoP principal Gregg Pasquarelli. “We thought of it as a performance art piece viewed from the FDR Drive.” While other Jenga-inspired skyscrapers already seem old hat, these can still surprise us.
Latest Tweet
If you have wanted to go to one of my book events, but they were not in your city, you are in luck: Virtual book ev… https://t.co/JctQkuQWP6
about 1 hour ago
Latest Instagram
Featured articles
Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation
CityLab
CityLab
CityLab