Adjaye Associates proposes inverted supertall skyscraper for New York

Architecture studio Adjaye Associates has designed a supertall skyscraper in New York, which has a series of cantilevers to give it a dramatic form.

Named Affirmation Tower, the skyscraper was designed for a 1.2-acre vacant plot of land at 418 11th Avenue in Manhattan where New York State has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in order to fill the site.

Affirmation Tower would be built in Manhattan

Adjaye Associates designed the 1,663-feet-tall (498-metre) supertall skyscraper – a building over 300 metres – to cantilever outwards five times so that the upper levels are much larger than the lower levels. This would give it an inverted appearance compared to a traditional skyscraper.

Outwardly defined by these stepped blocks, the building would include two hotels and office space, as well as an ice skating rink and an observation deck.

The skyscraper would include an observation deck

Local developer Peebles Corporation has submitted the supertall to the Empire State Development Corporation in a bid to build the skyscraper on the vacant site, which is called Site K.

It is positioned next to Manhattan's Javits Center, one block away from the city's High Line, as well as the Hudson Yards real estate development and Number 7 subway line.

Offices with terraced space would feature in the design

If built, the project would be Adjaye Associates' tallest tower to date, and would also be the second tallest building in Manhattan after One World Trade Center.

According to the studio it would be the first skyscraper built by a team of Black architects, developers, lenders and builders in New York City's history.

There are plans to house the headquarters of the NAACP's Mid-Manhattan branch within the building.

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"Unfortunately for most of New York's history, African-Americans and people of color have been rendered as mere economic tourists who gaze upward at one of the greatest skylines in the world with the intrinsic knowledge they will never be able to participate in what really makes New York unique," said Rev Dr Charles Curtis, Head of NY Interfaith Commission For Housing Equality.

"The awarding of this project to this team will send a statement across the globe that architects, developers, engineers and financial professionals of color are now full participants in this great miracle of global capitalism called New York City."

Cantilevers would define the supertall's structure

The supertall would be the second New York tower designed by Adjaye Associates following 130 William, a concrete residential skyscraper designed by the firm, which was founded by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye in 2000.

The building would be the latest in a series of supertall skyscrapers built in New York with buildings over 300 metres designed by BIG, Foster + Partners and SHoP currently under development in the city.

The images are courtesy of the Peebles Corporation.

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Steel house by Bauen was assembled in seven days on remote mountain site in Paraguay

Paraguayan architecture office Bauen has completed a house in the forests of Guaira, which cantilevers off three concrete walls to project over the site's steep and lush landscape.

Casa Himmel, or Cloud House, was designed for a Paraguayan couple to settle down in for their retirement.

Casa Himmel is situated on a remote mountain site

After identifying a steep and isolated site in the Guaira region, roughly 200 kilometres from the capital city Asunción, they enlisted local architects Bauen with the brief that the home should be as light on the landscape as possible.

"The clients found the ideal spot in a remote region, in which the main character would not be the architecture but the landscape itself," said Bauen's founder Aldo Cristaldo Kegler. "Keeping in mind these premises, 90 per cent of the house was already solved."

The building's steel structure cantilevers from three concrete walls

Three concrete walls are set into the slope, creating a platform from which steel-and-glass structure cantilevers.

Because of the difficult access to the site, Bauen chose to use shorter steel sections that would be easier to transport.

A portion of the home projects dramatically towards the landscape

According to the architects, the primary structure was manufactured in 60 days, and assembled in only seven using bolted connections.

"The structural spans become the windows and are simply closed with glass," explained Kegler. "Every square metre of the project allows the striking surrounding view to pass through."

Large windows are fitted between the steel elements

Roughly cross-shaped in plan, the interior living spaces are delineated by only a few walls.

Running perpendicular to the slope, the home's open-concept kitchen, living and dining room welcome visitors as soon as they enter through the front door.

On either side of this volume are the private areas: the owner's living quarters to one side, and a home gym on the other.

At the highest point of the building, a covered terrace looks out over the mountainous landscape beyond. An exterior staircase leads up to a secondary roof terrace that is open to the elements.

The home has minimal interiors

Bauen's interiors were completed in a minimal palette of reflective white surfaces, with little furniture or other elements to distract from the views.

"Having the advantage of a 360-degree view of the mountain range, designing the house was not an arduous task," Kegler said.

Rooms open onto balconies that surround the house

Other projects in Paraguay include a home with a mechanically operable roof that tilts open like the lid of a box, by Javier Corvalán, and a synagogue in Asunción that was completed out of board-marked concrete and weathering steel.

The photography is byFederico Cairoli.

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Project credits:

Lead architect: Aldo Cristaldo Kegler

Other participants: Dina Agüero, Luz Serena Hiebl, Saúl Acosta, Fátima Estigarribia

Structure calculations: Alfredo Espínola

Structural assembly: Metales Procesados

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Psychologists office and tranquil garden hidden behind concrete wall in Uruguay

Architects Pedro Livni and Rafael Solano have created a psychologist's office behind a tall concrete wall in Ciudad de la Costa, Uruguay.

Located within the garden of an existing property, the low-slung structure encompasses 35 square metres and is hidden by a wall that runs its full width.

The psychologist's office stands behind a concrete wall

Only a door and a circular aperture, which was informed by the work of American artist Gordon Matta-Clark – who was known for cutting holes in existing buildings, breaking through the concrete wall.

While the door leads into the psychologist's office, the circle connects the larger garden with a small private courtyard space.

A circular opening connects the two gardens

"Located at the back of a parcel, a wall is built that hides the room and defines a garden inside another garden," explained Livni and Solano.

"Thinking of Matta-Clark, a big hole breaks through the wall and connects both gardens."

An enclosed courtyard was built next to the office

The main facade is defined by an oversized sculptural gutter, which cantilevers over the entrance and directs rainwater from the roof onto a boulder that was placed beside the front door.

Patients enter below this overhang office into a small waiting area, which adjoins a kitchenette and restroom.

The psychologist's office itself occupies roughly half of the small building and has a row of windows that look out onto the enclosed courtyard space.

The office looks onto the courtyard

The office is clad Eucalyptus-panelling, chosen by the architects as an economical choice that matched the owner's budget.

A doorway connects the space directly to the garden allowing patients and the doctor to use the outdoor space during their sessions.

There is a young tree planted in the middle of the garden, which echoes the circular opening of the main wall, and a simple bench running along the facade, beneath the windows.

The office's interior

The exterior was finished with cementitious fibre panels, which was also chosen as a budget-friendly decision.

These long, thin panels were laid horizontally to accentuate the building's low profile.

Ciudad de la Costa is a mid-sized city in Uruguay that is considered part of the metropolitan area of Montevideo, the capital.

Other projects in the South American country include a parking garage topped with a verdant terrace and a beach house on stilts that is clad in blackened timber by FRAM Arquitectos and Delfina Riverti.

The photography is byMarcos Guiponi.

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#all #architecture #health #plywood #wood #concrete #courtyards #cantilevers #uruguay #medical #gardens #mentalhealth #montevideo