BIG has officially unveiled The Spiral, a commercial high-rise located on West 34th Street between Hudson Boulevard and 10th Avenue in New York City.
The project, was designed in collaboration with Adamson Associates and WSP Cantor Seinuk, and stands at 66 stories, with 2.8 million square feet of floorspace and reaching a height of 1,031.5 feet.
This marks BIG’s inaugural completion of a supertall structure and their first finished commercial high-rise in New York. The client was Tishman Speyer.
BIG’s founder and creative director, Bjarke Ingels, said: “The Spiral punctuates the northern end of the High Line, and the linear park appears to carry through into the tower, forming an ascending ribbon of lively green spaces, extending the High Line to the skyline. The Spiral combines the classic Ziggurat silhouette of the premodern skyscraper with the slender proportions and efficient layouts of the modern high-rise.
“Designed for the people who occupy it, The Spiral ensures that every floor of the tower opens up to the outdoors, creating hanging gardens and cascading atria that connect the open floor plates from the ground floor to the summit into a single uninterrupted workspace. The string of terraces wrapping around the building expands the daily life of the tenants to the outside air and light.
“As the trees and grasses, flowers and vines have taken root over the last two summers, The Spiral is slowly becoming an ascending ribbon of green wrapping around the entire silhouette of the tower – like a 1,000-foot-tall vine at the scale of the city’s skyline.”
Situated close to the High Line and Bella Abzug Park on Manhattan’s west side, The Spiral aims for LEED Silver certification.
The tower’s design features a glass panel façade, allowing passersby a view into the building’s lobby, which incorporates seven different metals as a nod to the area’s industrial history.
Following the zoning envelope of the site, The Spiral diminishes in volume as it ascends. Its design is intended as a homage to classic Manhattan skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center.
Landscaped terraces and hanging gardens spiral up the tower, forming a continuous green ribbon wrapping around the building’s façade. These terraces, provide approximately 13,000 square feet of outdoor space. The plant selection, including native species from the American prairie, is chosen for resilience against high winds and drought.
The building’s terraces offer views of Manhattan, the Hudson River, and New Jersey. Some floors feature double-height amenity spaces, and a staircase connects adjacent floors, providing an alternative to elevators and encouraging staff interaction.
The 66th floor includes a clubhouse space for events.
>> Also read: 111 West 57th Street by SHoP
Project Facts
Size: 2,800,000 sq ft
Location: New York, United States
Client: Tishman Speyer
