International Architecture Awards Tell a friend

Architects: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC.
Clients: Related Companies, Oxford Properties Group, and Mitsui Fudosan America
General Contractor: Gilbane
Related Construction, Construction Management: WSP
Structural Engineering: WSP
Photographers: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC.

Located in the heart of the new Hudson Yards neighborhood on Manhattan’s West Side, 55 Hudson Yards is a rare New York office building with a lobby that opens directly onto a park.

The structure embraces the historical and aesthetic value of New York’s cast iron buildings with its gunmetal facade, bringing the storied character of the neighborhood to a high-rise, commercial office tower. The strong orthogonal facade provides a stabilizing force to the surrounding skyline, emphasizing the simple elegance of an extremely rational form. With its rich and detailed facade, modern interiors that offer expansive floor-to-ceiling windows and dramatic outdoor terraces, 55 Hudson yards offers both a unique and timeless piece of architecture.

The massing of 55 Hudson Yards is quite simple, with a square podium and a straight extruded tower. One of the building’s most striking features is the variation of the facade between the tower and the podium. The podium uses a single-height grid, while the tower uses a double-height grid every two floors. This variation in proportion directly reflects the massing of the podium and the tower and creates visual variation and interest. The podium facade also includes several large “modules,” which are used for a variety of purposes, including lobby entrances, mitigation of facade transitions, and outdoor terraces.

Terraces are an important facade element. Not only are they highlighted in the podium at key corners for views, but they are also integrated into the tower on the east and west facades for tenants.

Focusing on flexibility and efficiency, 55 Hudson Yards has large, 2,230-square-meter floorplates with ideal core to glass depths and high finished ceiling heights that make the project especially appealing to tenants from the legal and tech industries. Column-free corners offer enhanced views of the Hudson River, the High Line, and New York City.