Gene Kaufman, fresh off his plan for a tricked-up tower of tumors on the Bowery, has added a splash of living color to his 175-room Hyatt nearing completion just south of Union Square. The gang at Archpaper got their hands on a flashy new render of 132 Fourth Avenue, showing what's soon to be an 11-story block of hospitality rising above an old 2-story limestone base. We previously pictured that one as a bland box, covered in uniform panels of grey aluminum. Gene, proving himself fearless with color, has dressed it up with some spikes of green. This terrace will reportedly hold a hydroponic bamboo garden growing tall outside the hotel windows.
The Hyatt's vertical extension will be capped by two floors faced in glass. For a final flourish, the corner over Fourth will get a halo framed in metal. There's no indication that said halo will either glow or spin like that Kaufman box o' tricks near Times Square. But happily for the the prolific Mr. K, and perhaps unhappily for folks nearby, this site is outside the purview of any sort of Landmarks review, so he and his client can do as they please. "The primary relationship is to the avenue," says Kaufman, whose other relationships with various New York City streets often have been a bit, er, stand-offish. In other words: just deal, neighbors.
· Projects - Commercial [Gene Kaufman Architect]
· Hyatt Takes It Higher in Union Square [The Architects Newspaper]
· State of the Union Square Hyatt: New Look Unveiled [Curbed]
· Gene Kaufman coverage [Curbed]
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