DETAILS
Gotham West is a residential development west of Times Square that nearly encompasses a full city block. Two mid-rise buildings and a market-rate tower form to create a signature courtyard that is accessed from the tower’s lobby. A sculptural Japanese maple, floating within a reflecting pool, is centered with the lobby entrance, and serves as a focal feature. Other courtyard elements include illuminated resin benches, a bamboo grove, seating nooks under ribbed trellises, a social terrace and a berm planted with pines and cherry trees. The courtyard is softened by plant materials and organized by a series of striated gardens. The lines of these gardens respond to the club room geometry, which implies the courtyard as an extension of the club room. Above the club room roof is a private lounge deck that is surrounded by bamboo and flowering shrubs where club members can view over the courtyard.
A “sky terrace” on the tower’s 31st floor extends the view from a lounge toward the skyline views. A stone path extends from the lounge out into the terrace as a central spine line from which various spaces can be accessed such as the entertainment deck and bar, lawn panel, and lounge sun terrace. An iconic white illuminated resin wall helps divide the terrace uses and implies visual intrigue and sense of privacy between the two main lounging spaces. A water wall and misting stating on access to the central spine provide a terminus to central terrace walk.
Related Projects
Shanghai International Dance Center
Inspired by the idea of movement, this collaboration with Studios Architecture achieves an artful harmony of building with landscape, program with site. The image of a dancer in grand jete kindled the designers’ imaginations and served as the project’s organizing idea. Asia’s first professional dance complex is tucked between a freeway, a subway station...
Beaumont Quarter
Beaumont Quarter is a unique site. Located at the foot of an escarpment overlooking the Waitemata Harbor and Rangitoto Island beyond, it sits across from a Victorian-styled park and was originally a gas works. However, the architecture of the residential units in Beaumont Quarter suggests a modernist reinterpretation of the traditional New Zealand Terrace Hous...
Martha Stewart Summer Residence
When first approached, the property looked as if very little had changed in eighty years. Everything about it reflected an interest in summer breezes and beaches rather than labor-intensive gardening. In dramatic contrast, the new owner’s primary interest was in entertaining within a landscaped environment.
The final plan reconciles competing space requ...
Normandie Court
Normandie Court is a large luxury residential complex which occupies an entire city block of the Upper East Side. Coinciding with the transformation of the 2nd Avenue corridor by the MTA subway expansion, the owners were inspired to redesign the exterior and landscape. They called on SWA/Balsley’s experience and vision to provide a complete redesign, which wou...