Rafael Viñoly Architects creates "unconventional" skyscraper in New York City

US architecture studio Rafael Viñoly Architects has created a residential skyscraper in Downtown Manhattan using an "unconventional approach".

The Greenwich rises 912 feet (278 meters) over 88 storeys and is located in Downtown Manhattan, two blocks south of the World Trade Center complex.

It contains 272 residences, ranging from studios to three-bedrooms and amenities including a lounge, pool and projection room distributed on its 16th and top three levels.

The skyscraper is composed of a glass tower with curved corners which sits upon an eight-storey base. The upper glass volume is bisected by opaque "hexagonal mechanical floors", which act as structural windbreaks and break up the building visually.

Two structural walls, shaped like giant I-beams, rise through the centre of the building and emerge along its sides.

"The Greenwich by Rafael Viñoly embodies the essence of my father's uncompromising modernism," said director of Rafael Viñoly Architects Román Viñoly.

"The building's uniquely graceful form is composed of two sculpted prisms suspended from monumental I-beam cores – a direct expression of its structure."

The "uncommon" structure also creates a more wind-resistant tower, according to the studio.

"Built as two side-by-side monumental I-beams rotated 90 degrees into the sky, the tower's uncommon structure is especially resistant to wind forces," said the team.

The studio also followed an "unconventional approach" in designing the tower, opting for a shorter tower with wider floorplates in contrast to the "pencil-thin and sky-high" towers being built in New York City.

"Rafael Viñoly Architects resisted the architectural trend to build pencil-thin and sky-high, maximizing zoning height allowances," said the team.

"In an unconventional approach to current residential tower design in New York City, the 125 Greenwich Street design opts for a shorter building with a larger floor plate, a context-sensitive solution that also creates more generous apartment layouts."

Its structural design also reduces the need for columns, further opening up the interior.

"With a reduced setback requirement and a nearly column-free interior, the tower's floor plan accommodates both generosity and flexibility in planning the apartment layouts," said the team.

The tower's interiors were completed by interior design studio MAWD. The studio organised its apartments into three different material palettes informed by the natural browns of the ground plane, the blues of the Hudson river and softer, white tones of the clouds.

Some amenities are still being completed.

Earlier this year, reports noted that the tower had caught fire while under construction.

It is one of the "last masterpieces" by late architect Rafael Viñoly, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 78.

"The design creates a collection of panoramic residences that take full advantage of a privileged location in one of the greatest cities in the world. Drawing from his lifetime of experiences working around the globe, The Greenwich is an elegant and powerful testament to my father's creative vision," said Roman Viñoly.

Recent projects unveiled by his studio include plans for a vineyard covered airport terminal in Italy and four skyscrapers for Toronto.

The photography is by Evan Joseph unless otherwise noted

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