ARO - 242 West 53rd Street

location:

New York, NY

firm role:

Architecture and Interior Design

scale:

62 Stories

468,300 SF

awards:

2018 Finalist, Interior Design Best of Year

2018, IDA Design Award

2018 Shortlist, NYCxDesign

2017 Finalist, PLAN Architecture Awards

2015 Architecture Podium, International Architecture Award

2015 SARA National Award

synopsis:

Situated in the vibrant, yet dense theater district of Manhattan’s midtown west, the residential tower at 242 West 53rd Street demonstrates a keen awareness of its surrounding urban context, utilizing distinctive approaches in massing, organization and exterior expression to create a thoughtful approach to contemporary urban living.

At 62-stories tall, the building’s massing responds to various site and zoning constraints, revealing inventive solutions that maximize the residential adaptability of the building through increased floor area, direct outdoor access and amplified views. Shaping of the form reflects changes in unit mixes, with larger units occupying the top of the building and smaller units occupying the bottom. Building amenities, located within the podium, take on a vertical hierarchy by locating the various amenities from short to tall around the tower, resulting in a series of cascading layers on the roofs above each space.