The Rafael Viñoly Architects-designed residential and mixed-use tower rises to become a prominent feature of the New York City skyline from its site at the intersection of Park Avenue and East 57th Street. The building is a slender, un-encumbered volume that marks the geometric center of the skyline. The project consists of residences on middle and upper levels and common spaces distributed throughout the lowest levels. Two smaller volumes adjacent to the tower house retail and commercial office spaces facing onto East 57th Street.

432 Park Avenue is an expression of the extraordinary qualities of the Manhattan grid and its design exploits these parameters. A regular grid of exposed concrete members creates an open basket within which seven “independent buildings” stack up, separated by spaces within which the building cores are exposed to the outdoor elements. These breaks allow for deflection of wind pressures and help the 1,396-foot (425.5-meter) -tall building, with its 1:15 slenderness ratio, achieve structural stability.

Images shown here illustrate the tower’s design process – from concept to completion – including hand sketch, study models, full scale mock-ups of 10-square-meter windows, and views of the completed tower’s exteriors and interiors.

Read the Architectural Digest story here.