53 West 53rd Street

Built in 2015, 161 residences across 73 floors.

53 West 53rd Street, 10019

53 West 53rd Street was designed by Jean Nouvel. It tapers as it rises, the north and south faces sloping away at two different angles, and the structure that makes that possible is on the outside where it can be seen. The diagonal concrete members that wrap the tower are the first of their kind at this scale to be built in concrete rather than steel, and they work with a high strength shear wall core.

Putting the frame on the face has two effects indoors. Floor plates change shape as the tower narrows, so apartments differ floor by floor rather than repeating. And the diagonals cross the window wall at an angle that shifts with height, so the perimeter of a room is interrupted by a structural member running through it on the diagonal.

That angled member is the thing to design around. It sets where a window wall is solid and where it is glazed, and it will not accept anything detailed on the assumption of a vertical mullion or a square corner. Millwork at the perimeter is cut to the diagonal or held clear of it.

Within walking distance

Building facts

New York City Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output, version 26v1. Tax lot 1012697502.