Tall & Urban News

50 Hudson Yards, the practice’s latest building in New York has officially topped out. The LEED Gold-designed, 58-story office development forms an integral part of the new Hudson Yards neighborhood on the western edge of Manhattan.

Nigel Dancey, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners: “50 Hudson Yards is envisaged as a vertical campus in the heart of Manhattan that is eminently readable at city scale with three distinct blocks stacked one above the other. It aspires to define the workplace of the future, bringing to the fore the practice’s values of innovation and creativity by producing a working environment that seeks to fulfil the needs and expectations of a demanding workforce.”

Situated between 10th Avenue and Hudson Boulevard and 33rd and 34th Streets, the building occupies an entire city block, providing almost 3 million square-feet of flexible office space along with retail facilities at street level. With the new No 7 train extension located directly opposite its Hudson Boulevard entrance and a direct connection to the subway, the building is set to be the gateway to New York’s newest, most vibrant neighborhood.

The building is divided vertically into three sections, with the largest floorplates at the base. It steps back to create two terrace levels on the upper floors, respectful of the city’s urban grid and a characteristic feature of high-rise design in New York. The ground level lobbies feature two abstract sculptures by acclaimed artist Frank Stella, celebrating the incredible creative heritage of the city. As you rise to the top, the tower offers fantastic views of the Hudson River and the ‘Vessel’ to the west, and the Empire State Building and City skyline to the east.

The building’s primary structure has been pushed to the edges to create large-span flexible floorplates and maximise might and views out, with the expressed structural elements clad in carefully chosen Viscount White stone. On the east and west façades, a series of four-story high ‘glass boxes’ give visual coherence to the fully glazed façades.

To produce a truly flexible office tower, the design seeks to create a series of buildings within a building. A unique elevator strategy and multiple lobbies guide employees and visitors to their destination in an intuitive and efficient manner and create a sense of exclusivity for offices within a multi-tenant setup.

Internally, the tower provides high quality, flexible office spaces that are suited to any user configuration, with floor to ceiling glazing and generous ceiling heights. The floorplates are column-free throughout and allow for a raised floor for maximum flexibility. It supports more collaborative ways of working, placing emphasis on places of interaction, while also flooding the workspaces with natural light.

James Barnes, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners, added: “50 Hudson Yards has everything – easy access to public transport, flexible floorplates, and above all it is located in an exciting, vibrant new district that is an exemplar of a new neighborhood for the next generation. We are incredibly proud to be part of this pioneering vision, creating high-quality contemporary workspaces in the heart of New York. We look forward to the next stages of construction with great anticipation.”

For more on this story, go to Foster + Partners.