Eye on The High Line - July 25th, 2020.
This 2-hour walking tour covers a section of Manhattan's once-forgotten West Chelsea district, now populated with iconic buildings designed by Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Jean Novel, Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Heatherwick, Studio Gang, and others. Tying together the neighborhood is the High Line, a 1.45-mile stretch of industrial rail freight infrastructure, reclaimed in the early 2000s to become an elevated linear park, and the jewel of the city's west side. Below you'll find images of the key sites discussed on the tour, and a brief overview of each.
The High Line
The structure of the High Line dates back to the early 1930s, when the City of New York constructed an elevated rail line to eliminate the rising number of accidents and deaths caused by street-level rail freight. Throughout the 1930s & 1940s, elevated trains on this line served a number of businesses on Manhattan's industrial West Side, including Bell Labs and Nabisco (then called NBC, or the National Biscuit Company), delivering unmanufactured goods like dairy, produce and raw materials. With the rise of trucking in the 1950s and the flexibility it offered, rail freight soon became obsolete and use of the railway dwindled until the late 1970s when it was effectively abandoned.
The 1980s and early 1990s saw much public discussion and debate about what to do with the unused structure, with activists calling for its preservation, property owners lobbying for demolition, and the MTA's consideration of using it for a light rail line. In the late 1990s, the non-profit group Friends of the High Line rallied public support for converting the structure into a public space. In this same time period, art gallery owners and luxury retailers, driven by rising rents in New York's SoHo and Tribeca districts, migrated to the bright and open warehouse spaces left available in West Chelsea. This area between 9th and 11th Avenues, bordered south and north by Gansevoort and 28th streets, respectively, soon became home to hundreds of galleries and art studios and a new center of flagship retail space for luxury brands.
In 2002 Friends of the High Line persuaded Mayor Michael Bloomberg to officially file a request to the Surface Transportation Board to create a walking trail on the site. Construction of the park began in 2006 based on designs by James Corner's New York-based landscape architecture firm Field Operations and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with garden design by Piet Oudolf of the Netherlands, lighting design from L'Observatoire International, and engineering design by Buro Happold and Robert Silman Associates. The park officially opened in 2009, and since then has become one of the most popular sites in New York City, attracting not only residents and visitors, but also interest from the world's leading architects whose iconic works flank the entire length of the park.
The 1980s and early 1990s saw much public discussion and debate about what to do with the unused structure, with activists calling for its preservation, property owners lobbying for demolition, and the MTA's consideration of using it for a light rail line. In the late 1990s, the non-profit group Friends of the High Line rallied public support for converting the structure into a public space. In this same time period, art gallery owners and luxury retailers, driven by rising rents in New York's SoHo and Tribeca districts, migrated to the bright and open warehouse spaces left available in West Chelsea. This area between 9th and 11th Avenues, bordered south and north by Gansevoort and 28th streets, respectively, soon became home to hundreds of galleries and art studios and a new center of flagship retail space for luxury brands.
In 2002 Friends of the High Line persuaded Mayor Michael Bloomberg to officially file a request to the Surface Transportation Board to create a walking trail on the site. Construction of the park began in 2006 based on designs by James Corner's New York-based landscape architecture firm Field Operations and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, with garden design by Piet Oudolf of the Netherlands, lighting design from L'Observatoire International, and engineering design by Buro Happold and Robert Silman Associates. The park officially opened in 2009, and since then has become one of the most popular sites in New York City, attracting not only residents and visitors, but also interest from the world's leading architects whose iconic works flank the entire length of the park.
01. 100 Eleventh Avenue
Architect:
- Jean Nouvel (French).
- 2007.
- 2010.
- Residential.
- 72 units. One, two, three-bedroom apartments, and five penthouses.
- 23 stories.
- 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2).
- Building has one of the most technologically advanced curtain wall systems in New York City.
- A pixilated curtain wall that was inspired by the compound eye of an insect.
- The facade system consists of modules, the largest of which measures 12 by 37 feet (3.7 by 11.3 m).
- The stainless steel frames contain 32 different window sizes, with each window angled between 2 degrees and 5 degrees up, down, left, or right.
- Lower levels are a spa, gym, pool, and garden.
- The ground floor has a restaurant with a dining patio.
- The tower mass is formed along a curve that runs the entire site. The curved form allows all apartments to have street frontage and views. It also gives each apartment light and views southwest.
- On the lower seven stories, Novel connects to the street, a freestanding curtain wall 15 feet away from the south facade and follows along the sidewalk. Behind the freestanding structure is a semi-enclosed atrium called "The Loggia". Within the atrium are fully-grown trees that seem to float in mid air.
02. IAC Building - 555 West 18th Street
Architect:
- Frank Gehry (Canadian-born American)
- 2004.
- 2007.
- Office Building (headquarters of the American Internet company InterActiveCorp).
- Gehry's first building in New York.
- Deconstructivist style building.
- Has the appearance of sails.
- The 10-story building is divided horizontally into two main levels of five floors each.
- It is divided into five vertical sections at lower levels and three on top, further enhancing the appearance of the sails of a ship.
- The full-height windows fade from clear to white on the top and bottom edges of each story.
- Gehry had originally planned the building facade to be covered in smooth glass rather than wrinkling titanium, but IAC requested to be changed.
- Because of its shape, composition and color, it is also conceptually related to an iceberg.
- This is Gehry's first design to be constructed entirely of glass. ;-)
- The glass was custom engineered and fabricated in Italy.
- Of the 1,437 glass panels. 1,349 are unique in their shape and degree of twist.
- The white color of the glass comes from baked on ceramic dot-patterns, which reflect light, reduce glare and give the building its sugar-coated look.
- The glass acts as an integrated sunscreen.
- At night, the interior lights on the glass wall disappears; only then the structural skeleton emerges and becomes visible. The perimeter of each floor is surrounded with a dim light and every workplace has hanging discs that create pools of light on the ceiling.
03. Chelsea Piers
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City that originally served as a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s. Renowned ships such as the RMS Lusitania entered its ports, and it served as the disembarkment site for survivors of the RMS Titanic after being rescued by the RMS Carpathia. Over time, with the decline in passenger ship travel, the piers served a number of different functions, eventually becoming the site of sound stages for many film and television studios throughout the 40s and 50s and on to today. Currently the piers are used by the Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex, which houses numerous sports and training facilities, event spaces, and continues the legacy of studio space.
04. The XI - The Eleventh
Architect:
- Bjarke Ingels.
- 2016
- Undergoing.
- Mixed-Use:
- 247 residential units.
- 37-room hotel.
- 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) of retail space.
- Art gallery,
- Spa.
- Fitness club.
- The highest prices ever paid in Manhattan for a development site (2015).
- The sale price for the 36,000 square feet (3,300 m2) site and 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2) of air rights worked out to over $1,100 per buildable square foot.
- The project consists of two towers, a 34-story Western tower named "N° I" and a 25-story Eastern tower named " N° X ".
- The two buildings will be connected by a double height sky bridge rising 21 feet (6.4 m) from floor to ceiling, called the “Bridge Lounge."
- Cladding material will be travertine (limestone).
- At the base, the two towers separate from each other and the neighboring buildings of Chelsea to maximize space and views on the lower floors.
- As they rise, the towers re-orient towards the West to maximize the light afforded each unit as well as views of the Hudson River.
- The twisting geometry at the corners of the towers also reduces the overall bulk of the buildings and creates additional separation between the towers.
- The façade design is inspired by the punched windows of the Meatpacking district's historic warehouses as well as the architecture of the surrounding West Chelsea neighborhood.
- Even though the façade is set on a sloping concrete exposure, each individual window remains rectangular and vertical.
- The windows are also accented by a thin metal frame, which helps them stand out against the surrounding stone.
05. Pier 57
Year (Originally Constructed):
- 1952.
- 2010.
- Mix use: Cultural, Retail and Office.
- City Winery, a public marketplace and restaurant, indoor and outdoor public seating areas.
- An exhibit space and classrooms.
- Cultural and learning centers.
- Google offices will use the balance of the interior spaces.
- On the roof will be a large landscaped public park and a rooftop pavilion restaurant.
- Famous for the innovative engineering techniques that keep it afloat.
- Just below the water, three large concrete caissons support the main structure in lieu of traditional piles.
- Furthermore, these underwater containers serve as unique basement spaces.
- Until 2004, Pier 57 was used for New York City bus parking.
- See how this project is going to look here.
06. Little Island (Pier 55)
Architect:
- Thomas Heatherwick.
- 2021.
- Public Park.
- Outdoor amphitheater.
- The concept evolved from the remaining wooden piles from Pier 54.
- “We wondered if the identity of our new park and performance space could emerge from the water, just like these structural piles, but without needing to add any slab on top." - Thomas Heatherwick.
- The idea evolved to this new concrete piles that connect on the top creating a green landscape.
- 280 individual piles form the undulating topography of the park.
07. Solar Carve Tower - 40 Tenth Ave
Architect:
- Studio Gang (Chicago, IL).
- 2017.
- 2019.
- Office Building.
- Studio Gang designed the arrangement to follow the path of sunlight in order prevent blocking light (minimizing the afternoon shadow cast onto the park) and views to the Hudson River and Manhattan from inside.
- The firm dubbed the process "solar carving" and named the high-rise, Solar Carve Tower, as a result.
- The overall effect is a faceted, three-dimensional version of the architectural corner.
08. The Standard High Line
Architect:
- Ennead Architects
- 2009.
- Hotel.
- 337 guest rooms.
- It stands 57 feet (17 m) above street level, above the High Line.
- The hotel is raised on pilotis, five massive sculptural piers, which hoist the building thirty feet over the park below.
- Because of the angle of the of the building all 337 guest rooms have unobstructed views of Manhattan: the New York City skyline, the Hudson River or the Empire State Building.
- The two prevalent materials used were concrete and glass.
- The style of the building is best related to the architectural vocabulary defined by Le Corbusier. There are numerous references to his style of building, from the use of the pilots to the incorporation of public space, the use of a glass curtain wall façade, and the utilization of the rooftop. These features also speak to the principles of the International Style.
09. FDNY Marine 1 - New York City Firehouse
Architect:
- CR Studio.
- 2011.
- Fire Department Boat Station.
- Docking site, command center, and dormitory for eight to ten firefighters at a time.
- FDNY's Marine Company 1 Firehouse, on Pier 53.
10. Whitney Museum
Architect:
- Renzo Piano (Italian).
- 2010.
- 2015.
- Museum.
- 50,000 square feet of indoor galleries and 13,000 square feet of outdoor exhibition space and terraces facing the High Line.
- The dramatically cantilevered entrance along Gansevoort Street shelters an 8,500-square-foot outdoor plaza or “largo,” a public gathering space steps away from the southern entrance to the High Line.
- Piano’s design takes a strong and strikingly asymmetrical form—one that responds to the industrial character of the neighboring loft buildings and overhead railway while asserting a contemporary, sculptural presence.
- The upper stories of the building overlook the Hudson River on its west, and step back gracefully from the elevated High Line Park to its east.
- The building includes the city's largest column-free art gallery space.
11. Pier 52 - "DAY'S END". Public Art Project.
Artist:
- David Hammons
- 2015.
- Fall 2020.
- Public Art.
- Inspired in Gordon Matta-Clark's 1975 artwork of the same name.
- Matta-Clark cut five openings into the Pier 52 shed that formerly occupied the site.
- Hammond’s artwork will be an open structure that precisely follows the outlines, dimensions, and location of the original shed.
- The structure will extend over the water, employing the thinnest possible support system.
- This work will appear evanescent and ethereal, seeming to shimmer and almost disappear, changing with the light of day and atmospheric conditions.
12. 837 Washington. - Samsung 837
Architect:
- Morris Adjmi Architects
- 2014.
- Commercial.
- Samsung's flagship retail and experience center.
- Repurposes an existing two-story structure built in 1938.
- The project was treated as two distinct but coexisting buildings: a new twisting steel and glass tower and the restored Modern-style brick warehouse.
13. West 15th Skybridge
Year (Completed):
- 1930.
- This skybridge connects the former Nabisco bakery factory where the Oreo cookie was invented, to Nabisco's former offices across the street.
- Now the skybridge serves two private office spaces.
14. Lantern House - 515 West 18th Street
Architect:
- Thomas Heatherwick.
- 2018.
- Ongoing.
- Residential.
- 181 units.
- Every window is a bay window.
- The project comprises two towers that flank the High Line. One tower, on the eastern side of the elevated park, is 10 stories tall; the other, on the western side, is 22 stories tall.
- Both have a gridded structure of textured brick holding enormous bubbles of glass and bronze-colored aluminum that recall the curved shades of hurricane oil lanterns.
- “I was thinking about how to make something where if you stand at the window, you’re almost standing out into the view,” -Thomas Heatherwick.
- Most of the lantern-shaped windows straddle two floors to enclose two apartments — one on the bottom with glass angling down; and one on top, with glass angling up. Smaller single-story lanterns enclose penthouses, as well as apartments on the 10th floor of the west tower.
- The two towers are connected by a glass lobby with a sinuous metal roof that sweeps below the High Line.
15. 505 West 19th Street
Architect:
- Thomas Juul-Hansen.
- 2015
- Mix-use.
- 35 residences – a townhouse, duplexes, penthouses and one, two, three, and four bedroom condominiums.
- 10,000 square feet of retail space on 10th Avenue.
- The project consist in a single building with its entrance lobby under The High Line Park and two 10-story towers rising above it on both sides.
16. 520 West 20th Street. - The Warehouse
Architect:
- The building features 35 residences – a townhouse, duplexes, penthouses and one, two, three, and four bedroom condominiums – in addition to three residential enclosed parking spaces and approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space on 10th Avenue.
- 2020.
- Commercial. Office Building.
- Incorporates original brick structure with patches of discolored brick and faded advertisements left intact, as homage to the district’s industrial past.
- The lobby features lobby features board-formed concrete walls and a custom reception desk inspired by the work of Carl Andre, built using repurposed railroad ties that recall the nearby High Line.
- Its glass and steel addition is inspired by the car elevators that anchored the building’s east and west sides.
17. 512 West 22nd Street - 512W22
Architect:
- COOKFOX Architects.
- 2019.
- Commercial / Office Space.
- LEED Gold Certified
- Its structure recalls the historical infrastructure and warehouse buildings of the neighborhood.
- Its industrial sash-inspired windows, and anthracite terracotta, zinc and granite façade echo the aesthetic of the High Line.
- The custom terracotta profile rotates and opens at the curved edges of the building, offering occupants visual access to the natural beauty of the High Line.
18. 517 West 23rd Street. - HL23
Architect:
- Neil Denari.
- 2005.
- 2011.
- Residential.
- Limited by a zoning envelope of 40' x 99', the architect has used supple geometry to allow for a larger built floor plan within each unit.
- The building's north and south facades feature a custom non-spandrel curtainwall.
- Facing east to the High Line is a 3D stainless steel panel facade.
19. 519 West 23rd Street. - Highline 519
Architect:
- Linda Roy.
- 2005.
- 2007.
- Residential (11 units).
- Sunlight-flooded rooms feature floor-to-ceiling glass windows, wide-planked wenge flooring, and penthouses with fireplaces.
- Units offer sweeping, unobstructed views of the Hudson River, the Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan.