75-story Skyscraper on 53 West 53 rd Street by Jean Nouvel

A new 75-story tower designed by the architect Jean Nouvel for a site next to the Museum of Modern Art in Midtownbetween 53rd and 54th streets just west of MoMA promises to be the most exhilarating addition to the skyline in a generation.

Its faceted exterior, tapering to a series of crystalline peaks, suggests an atavistic preoccupation with celestial heights. It brings to mind John Ruskin’s praise for the irrationality of Gothic architecture:
“It not only dared, but delighted in, the infringement of every servile principle.”

Its faceted exterior, tapering to a series of crystalline peaks, suggests an atavistic preoccupation with celestial heights. It brings to mind John Ruskin’s praise for the irrationality of Gothic architecture: “It not only dared, but delighted in, the infringement of every servile principle.”

Nouvel’s bold design will rise 75 stories Currently, a mix of uses is contemplated for the building including: a 50,000-square-foot expansion of MoMA’s galleries (levels two to five); a 100-room, seven-star hotel and 120 highest-end residential condominiums on the upper floors. The project will likely commence pre-sales in late 2008.

Link Via [The New York Times]