Rafael Viñoly’s 432 Park Avenue is the tallest completed residential building in the Western Hemisphere, and as such, demands one’s attention in a way that no residential building ever has. Located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, the 1,396 foot-tall skyscraper can be seen from all five boroughs. Its silhouette dominates New York’s skyline from every angle—in cars, trains, and airplanes alike—a fact that was not lost on the world-renowned Uruguayan architect. “To make such a prominent and lasting mark on the most iconic skyline in the world is a great responsibility. From the start, I was aware that it needed to have a timeless quality—as free as possible of passing aesthetic fads,” says Viñoly. Proponents of the design will say that there’s a certain elegance to the all-white, uniform shape, while skeptics argue it lacks character. Whatever the case may be, the feat of engineering needed to build this structure has taken architecture to a higher level. Or, as Viñoly says, “The design simply expresses the structural solution to an enormous engineering challenge, while also reflecting the other defining urban feature of New York, the city’s grid.” The building is essentially six separate structures built atop each other, with a central, uninterrupted core that consists of the elevator shafts and all the building’s mechanical services. Outside of this backbone, all the livable space fills in the structure. While there has been some criticism of Viñoly’s design, there’s no doubting the fact that his vision has ushered in a new era of slender super towers.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/buildings-redefined-architecture-past-5-years
image coutesy- https://www.archdaily.com/tag/432-park-avenue
