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In last week’s issue of News Review, we brought you details of Camlins’ concept for a Linear Park through the Nine Elms area of London, demonstrating how inspirational the New York High Line is years after its conception. Today we are delighted to publish images of Studio Gang’s latest scheme for a tower overlooking the High Line.
At 213ft in height, the block will soar above the carefully landscaped strip in a crystalline form, glinting in the New York sunlight. The team at Studio Gang says of their concept: “Our Solar Carve Tower employs a surprising twist to traditional zoning logic. Designed for a site that borders the High Line on the east with the vast openness of Tenth Avenue, the Lincoln Highway, and the Hudson River to the west, the project proposes inverting the light and air setbacks from the already well-exposed street to the High Line, in order to prioritise the inner-block park.”
Of great importance to the Chicago-based Studio Gang is the movement of light across the building and the shadows that this will cast on its surroundings. The solar-path diagrams shown to the left demonstrate how the team has sliced off certain areas of the otherwise perfectly cuboid form to create sun-filled plazas at the base of the building.
Further explanation from Studio Gang details: “Geometric relationships between the building form and the sun’s path, as well as the viewshed between the park and the Hudson, guide the shave and shape of the tower. The result is a gem-like façade that displays the exciting architectural potential of expanded notions of solar-driven zoning - and a skyscraper that enhances the public life of the city in ways that a stand-alone icon cannot.”