Activating a dormant site

New York has endeavored for more than two decades to reimagine the area of West Midtown near the Hudson River from a former industrial area into a neighborhood that boosts the city’s vitality. The development of Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate project in U.S. history, recast this stretch of the riverfront as a prominent high-rise district. Now, as lead architect, SOM is working with the Related Companies, Oxford Properties Group, Wynn Resorts, and both Sasaki and Hollander Design as landscape architects to continue this transformation. The site, a sunken train yard that divides the street grid west of 11th Avenue between 30th and 33rd Streets, is flanked by the High Line and the Javits Center, the city’s largest convention hall. The vision for Hudson Yards West connects these existing assets with new buildings, parks, and public amenities.

Connecting the neighborhood

SOM’s structural engineering team designed a vast platform to cover the rail yard, effectively creating new land. Equipped with ventilation and critical fire and life safety measures, the platform will modernize the rail infrastructure, while supporting a 5.6-acre park to unite the site with its surroundings.

Replete with lush landscaping, meandering paths, a playground, tables, seating, art installations, and connections to the High Line and all the new buildings, the park—Hudson Green—will offer a rich topography that can be used for a variety of community events, including performances and pop-up markets. Trees will shade the park’s lawns, while berms and planters along the edges will protect the open space from western winds. The landscaping gradually slopes upward toward the west, rising above the street to form a commanding overlook of the Hudson River. Along this western edge, a series of stairs and elevators grant easy access between Hudson Green, the High Line, and the riverfront.

Three new buildings are designed to respond directly to their urban context. Along the northern part of the site, a resort will complement the Javits Center across the street. To the southwest, a residential tower will add a mix of market-rate and affordable housing to the neighborhood. In the southeast corner, an office building with a public school and cultural center at its base will bring a diverse mix of programs and people to the site.

A new hotel for Midtown West

The resort is designed to signify the next chapter in New York’s rich lineage of landmark hotels. Evoking classic New York skyscraper design, the architecture is defined by a graceful, diaphanous crown and setbacks that bring the building to a human scale. The podium encompasses a full suite of amenities, including more than a dozen restaurants, a conference center, a spa, a ballroom, and gaming. Glass and vertical bands of sculpted metal panels clad the lower floors, lending a variation enriching the facade’s texture. The edges of the facade recess at several points, creating terraces overlooking the park. At the top of the podium, a series of rooftop pavilions provide additional amenities, including a pool and landscaping invoking Hudson Green. Above, a 1,500-key hotel tower with 238 Wynn-branded residences bring the building up to 80 stories, and gently taper toward the top.

Creating a cohesive district

On the southeast part of the site, the mixed-use tower is designed to connect with 30th Street, 11th Avenue, and Hudson Green. A plaza steps up into the park on 11th Avenue—the site of the office lobby. On the western side of the building, the entrance to the cultural center faces Hudson Green’s playground. The school, for students ranging from preschool to eighth grade, is accessed directly from 30th Street.

Across the playground, the residential building brings hundreds of new housing units to the neighborhood. The tower rises beside the High Line to form a canopied gateway marking the transition between the elevated park and Hudson Green.

Around the buildings, the streets—which currently operate as service roads and a makeshift parking lot—are being completely redesigned. The plan levels West 33rd Street evenly to make walking and driving easier. New trees line the sidewalk and, at the western corner, stairs and elevators lead to the High Line above and to 12th Avenue and Hudson River Park below. Along West 30th Street, new landscaping and an additional park called Lower Hudson Green offer additional public amenities. With the High Line wrapping around the development, new retail is nestled underneath the elevated park, activating the public realm on the ground and in the air.