The latest renderings for the future Nordstrom Tower at 217 West 57th Street in New York City show a building that would be the tallest residential skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, eclipsing the height of One57 in Manhattan.
With a pinnacle height of 1,775 feet, Nordstrom Tower would be one foot shorter than One World Trade Center. But with a Midtown elevation that’s higher than WTC’s Financial District location downtown, Nordstrom Tower gains about 70 feet and would be 1,850 feet above sea level.
The renderings were published on NewYorkYimby.com, a website that covers real estate and development news. The New York Post, quoting “real estate sources,” reports that the building’s architect, Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, did not create the renderings, which the Post says may have been leaked “from a marketing source for the building.” Extell is the Nordstrom Tower’s developer.
NY Yimby reports that while Nordstrom Tower, if it were already built, would rank fifth among the world’s tallest buildings today, it might not even crack into the top 10 by the time it’s completed in 2018.
The 1,396-foot 432 Park Avenue, designed by Rafael Viñoly, rises above WTC’s roof level. Rendering courtesy Rafael Viñoly Architects
Still, it reigns as the tallest building that’s currently under construction in New York, if just barely. NY Yimby reports that the 1,396-foot 432 Park Avenue, designed by Rafael Viñoly, rises above WTC’s roof level, and One Vanderbilt will probably do so, too, when it opens in 2017.
Rezoning in Midtown East could lead to the construction of more giant towers. Gizmodo.com notes that SHoP Architects and JDS Development Group plan to build a 1,348-foot skyscraper at 107 West 57th that would be less than 40 feet wide.
Many of these “supertalls,” as they’ve come to be known, are mixed-use developments. Nordstrom Tower, for example, would include offices, a hotel, and condos within its gross space of 1,210,993 sf. The department store chain Nordstrom reportedly shelled out $10 million to anchor the retail component in this tower with a 200,000-sf store.
The building will also include what could be the city’s highest outdoor terraces.
Related Stories
| Sep 5, 2014
First Look: Zaha Hadid's Grace on Coronation towers in Australia
Zaha Hadid's latest project in Australia is a complex of three, tapered residential high-rises that have expansive grounds to provide the surrounding community unobstructed views and access to the town's waterfront.
| Sep 2, 2014
Extreme conversion: 17-story industrial silo to be converted to high-rise housing
As part of Copenhagen's effort to turn an industrial seaport into a bustling neighborhood, Danish architecture firm COBE was invited to convert a grain silo into a residential tower.
| Sep 2, 2014
Melbourne's tallest residential tower will have 'optically transformative façade'
Plans for Melbourne's tallest residential tower have been released by Elenberg Fraser Architects. Using an optically transformative façade and botanical aesthetic, the project seeks to change the landscape of Australia's Victoria state.
| Aug 28, 2014
Stantec releases design for Edmonton's tallest tower
At 227 meters, Stantec Tower will be the tallest building in the city, dwarfing the two next-tallest: Epcor Tower and Manulife Tower.
| Aug 25, 2014
Tall wood buildings: Surveying the early innovators
Timber has been largely abandoned as a structural solution in taller buildings during the last century, in favor of concrete and steel. Perkins+Will's Rebecca Holt writes about the firm's work in surveying the burgeoning tall wood buildings sector.
| Aug 25, 2014
'Vanity space' makes up large percentage of world's tallest buildings [infographic]
Large portions of some skyscrapers are useless space used to artificially enhance their height, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Aug 25, 2014
Photographer creates time-lapse video of 1 WTC using 30,000 photos
Choosing from 30,000 photos he took from the day construction began in 2006 to the day when construction was finished in 2012, Brooklyn-based photographer Benjamin Rosamund compressed 1,100 photos to create the two-minute video.
| Aug 19, 2014
Goettsch Partners unveils design for mega mixed-use development in Shenzhen [slideshow]
The overall design concept is of a complex of textured buildings that would differentiate from the surrounding blue-glass buildings of Shenzhen.
| Aug 15, 2014
First look: RMJM’s 'jumping fish' tower design for the Chinese Riviera
The tower's fish-jumping gesture is meant to symbolize the prosperity and rapid transformation of Zhuhai, China.
| Aug 12, 2014
Shading prototype could allow new levels of environmental control for skyscraper occupants
Developed by architects at NBBJ, Sunbreak uses a unique three-hinged shade that morphs from an opaque shutter to an abstract set of vertical blinds to an awning, depending on what is needed.