A centerpiece for a new neighborhood

Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States, and the largest development in New York City since Rockefeller Center was built in the 1930s. This six-block area on Manhattan’s West Side, comprising 28 acres over active railroad tracks and tunnels, reimagines a formerly underdeveloped part of the city into a residential and commercial district with new open space. At the heart of this neighborhood is 35 Hudson Yards, a mixed-use tower designed by SOM.

Standing out while fitting in

The tower, which is also the tallest residential building in Hudson Yards at 1,000 feet, comprises 143 private residences, an Equinox-branded luxury hotel, an Equinox fitness club and spa, first-class office space, and ground-floor retail. To incorporate the entire program within the 1.1 million-square-foot tower, each part of the program is stacked vertically on floorplates of different sizes, with transitions expressed by a series of setbacks that twist upward around the tower. The building is draped in glass and limestone pleats, a composition that unifies the elements stacked within and sets the building apart from the rest of Hudson Yards. The interplay of materials creates a dynamic effect, making the building appear more transparent or opaque from different vantage points. The stone also expresses a natural quality seldom seen in today’s skyscrapers, with visible fossils and slight variations of color that change as pedestrians walk around the building.

35 Hudson Yards flows effortlessly into the surrounding development and the nearby streets of Manhattan. The building is bordered by park space on its eastern and southern sides, which come together to create a rotational energy that is expressed in the tower’s swirling design. Terraces on each setback create outdoor gardens that become smaller and more frequent toward the top of the tower, while also carrying the open space at street level to the tower’s floors above.

Solving a complex structural challenge

To navigate the constraints of the subterranean infrastructure, SOM’s integrated team of architects and engineers developed an innovative solution for the tower’s structure. The building rests on a platform constructed above active railroad tracks, and does not even touch solid ground. The structural system consists of a high-strength reinforced concrete core supplemented by a series of buttress walls that extend to the building’s perimeter. In the east-west direction, the core walls are built on the limited space available between the tracks, while in the north-south direction, the core spans 50 feet across three tracks. The tower’s structural columns also align with the steel columns that support the platform.

A healthier design

The building’s green space and its connection to the outdoors are among the project’s several sustainability features. Regularly occupied parts of the building have access to sweeping views of the city and the Hudson River. Inside, low emitting paints and coatings were employed for many of the finishes, and the building’s glass enclosure brings in natural lighting during the day to reduce energy use and enhance the wellness of its occupants. As part of the project’s LEED Gold certification target, water usage was also significantly reduced, through multiple measures—rainwater is collected from the site and reused for irrigation and cooling. Inside, fixtures with low flush and flow rates allow residents, guests, office workers, and Equinox customers to utilize water efficiently.

Using high strength concrete allowed the team to limit the thickness of the building’s structure, lighten loads on the platform, and create smooth transitions as the tower rises in a series of setbacks.