After yesterday's reveal of the Son of BLUE, we didn't dream of finding an architectural rendering to surpass it, this month at least. How naive we were. How young.
Above, from architects LOT-EK, the proposal for the Leaning Tower of 87 Lafayette, just below Canal Street, in the Tribeca-Chinatown DMZ.
Credit for uncovering this doozy goes to the crazy crowd at Wired New York, who quickly uncovered the fact that the property is landmarked, and home (as seen in the top rendering) to a former FDNY Firehouse.
Now, via a detailed piece about the plan posted at CityRealty, more becomes clear about the structure, and the plausibility of it actually getting built:
Baptiste Thevenon, an architect with Lot-ek, told CityRealty.com today that the design was for a 19-story artists' loft building with a one-story commercial base. He said that his understanding was that the owner of the adjoining property over which the slanting tower would cantilever was seeking an agreement with the owner of the firehouse for development of its air-rights. The adjoining property is 93-99 Lafayette Street, which is part of a property lot that also includes 103-109 Walker Street and 139 Centre Street. Young Woo & Associates and Angelo, Gordon & Co., acquired the 177,000-square-foot former headquarters of Globix Corporation at 139 Centre Street last year for about $55 million.
Also from CityRealty, details regarding the architecture of the structure itself:
Mr. Woo said that he had become very interested in plans developed by Lot-ek (which stands for "low-tech") employing large metal shipping containers. He said he considered their use in residential construction "fascinating" and "environmentally friendly."... The Lot-ek scheme for 87 Lafayette Street apparently employs stacking the containers with staircases at the north and south ends and also calls for some containers to protrude randomly on the west facade. The building's slant begins at the third floor on White Street and the sixth floor on the north side. The roof of the slanted tower would have an array of solar panels.
Given the former firehouse's landmark status, some sort of agreement would be necessary for the structure to proceed. Color us fully on board.
[All renderings courtesy LOT-EK]
· New Tower for 87 Lafayettte? [Wired New York]
· Slanted tower studied next to landmark firehouse [CityRealty]