The 440 West 42nd Street skyscraper from the Related Companies has started to sprout from what was, not so long ago, a rancid old swimming hole west of Times Square. The architects who are reportedly in charge, Arquitectonica, haven't shown us what will rise here and the folks at Related remain non-committal. But this full-block 59-story mixed-use development (which once hoped to house a theater for Cirque de Soleil) has been through so many changes that there's a veritable library of designs to look at. Those fanatics over at Wired New York have been following this one for years. They did the archiving; we present the design highlights in the handy gallery above.
What we think we know is that Frank Gehry is still in line to design a theater that'll be tucked inside (although, given the site parameters, it's unlikely we'll get another stackable playpen like the one Frank's crew has preliminarily proposed for downtown). DOB records show that there will be a number of "party rooms" inside, both down low and up on top, and that hotel rooms (37 per floor) will rise to the 23rd floor with apartments all the way up to 59. Now cranes are standing tall over 42nd Street, blocking the views from Manhattan Plaza across 42nd Street. Pumpers are spraying concrete all around the site and floors are rising. Pigeons, yearning for their old haunts, are keeping an eye on everything.
· 440 West 42nd Street coverage [Curbed]
· Thread: 440 West 42nd Street at 10th Avenue [Wired New York]
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