PROJECT REPORT: HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & BARS 29
Incorporating a diverse programme on the ground floor with room for food and beverage establishments, local retail, and publicly accessible in- and outdoor spaces was always part of the plan. However, later down the line, once more of the community’s needs were established, the brief and design evolved to include a hotel, in addition to office facilities. With there being two major institutions nearby – the New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Yeshiva University – the Washington Heights district is visited by many thousands of people every year. However, as these were in both cases lacking accommodation facilities, there was a high demand for a new facility that offered users a place to stay. Additionally, according to the architects there was also a local lack of Class A office space in a high- rise, which would provide the “astonishing views” that this scheme would deliver. Once the architects began to integrate a hotel and office programme into the design, “the project really took off,” Bron tells ADF. The briefing and approval process was reportedly characterised by a strong collaboration between all parties, with MVRDV and developer Youngwoo hosting regular workshops in NYC. Due to the project’s sensitive nature, it was vital that the team worked “hand in hand with local
ADF MAY 2022
leaders,” says Bron. Via partnering with several community organisations in New York such as the Local Community Boards, Business Improvement District representatives, and local community stakeholders, MVRDV ensured that from an early stage the project’s agenda was to firmly “articulate the philosophy of the building as a community-first development.”
Vertical village
Being situated in a relatively low rise section of Manhattan, it was imperative that a new development on this scale (26,500 m2 of floor area) didn’t overwhelm its surroundings. Van Gemert tells ADF that while there are some high rises in this part of the city, they are mainly just “extrusions of the same floorplate.” Ensuring they took a different approach to this, MVRDV’s aim was to produce a form that replicated some of the design elements of the nearby structures, which resulted in an asymmetrical stack of eight differently coloured boxes.
The local neighbourhood is home to a “diverse and vibrant” community of around 150,000 people including a mix of families, creative professionals, and institutions, and typical urban blocks are composed of different building typologies, but of similar
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CLASS A
The building serves a need for Class A office space as well as hotel accommodation, both previously in short supply in the Washington Heights area
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