VIA 57 West
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) · New York, United States · 2016
VIA 57 West is BIG’s hybrid between the European perimeter block and the Manhattan high-rise. The building wraps around a large central courtyard while rising dramatically toward the northeast, creating a tetrahedral silhouette on the Hudson River skyline. This form gives many apartments light and views while preserving the communal focus of a courtyard building. The project was significant in introducing BIG’s large-scale residential language to New York and showing how imported urban typologies can be adapted to Manhattan density. From the street and from the river, VIA 57 West reads as both a tower and a block, making it a useful case study in typological transformation.