Harlem Tower, New York : Architecture Information

Swanke Hayden Connell Architects design Harlem Tower first Major Office Project in Harlem in 30 Years NEW YORK, NY – Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA) is designing a 600,000 square foot, 21-story office tower at 125th Street and Park Avenue in New York City.  Developed by Vornado Realty Trust, the project will be the first major office tower built in Harlem in more than 30 years. Called Harlem Park, the development is adjacent to the first Manhattan stop on the MetroNorth commuter rail line.  It will include approximately 82,000 square feet of retail space fronting both Park Avenue and 125th Street, the main retail thoroughfare in Harlem. The building will achieve a Silver level of LEED certification. Set on an 85-foot podium, the 18-story main shaft of the tower features a unitized aluminum and glass curtainwall system with integrated vertical terra cotta color fins that create a unique enclosure echoing the predominant masonry construction of surrounding buildings. According to Joe Aliotta, a principal at SHCA, the new tower, while taller than the surrounding neighborhood, is designed to complement the aesthetics and scale of the neighborhood.  “The design is intended to enhance the transparency of the building, and harmonize with the surrounding masonry neighborhood,” he pointed out.  “Typically, the design of a tower would express its verticality.  In this case, we countered the verticality with a composition of smaller-scale ‘stacked boxes’, which grounds the building in the scale of the neighborhood. “There is great visibility from the Metro North Station, as one travels over the Triborough Bridge onto the 125th Street, and from Central Park,” he added.  “As a result, Harlem Park will be a true icon for Harlem and the city.  In particular, the top box in the stack of compositional boxes – designed to be illuminated at night – is defined as a distinct cubic form.” Swanke Hayden Connell Architects is the continuation of an architectural practice founded in 1906. Staffed with more than 300 professionals located in eight offices worldwide, the firm provides services in five core areas of practice: architecture, interior design, master planning, strategic facilities planning, and historic preservation, working with a variety of corporate and institutional clients. Harlem Park project info from Bruce Ross Associates Inc. 220108 Harlem Park New York : Swanke Hayden Connell Architects New York Skyscrapers Manhattan Tower New York World Trade Centre Freedom Tower skyscraper Brooklyn Tower