53 West 53rd: 2019 Winner

The SKYDB Awards recognize high-rise buildings that unite architectural quality with practical performance, and 53 West 53rd in New York was selected as the 2019 SKYDB Awards Winner.

The 320-meter residential tower rises beside the Museum of Modern Art and incorporates additional gallery space for the museum in its lower floors. Its profile follows the limits of the Midtown zoning envelope, tapering through a series of irregular facets toward a narrow summit. A concrete diagrid forms the principal structure and remains legible behind the glass facade.

The diagonal frame carries loads at the perimeter, reducing the need for columns within the apartments and museum galleries. Its changing pattern gives the elevations a different balance of solid structure and open glass at each height. The award recognizes a slender tower that turns zoning restrictions and structural bracing into the basis of its architectural form.

Architect: Ateliers Jean Nouvel, with SLCE Architects and AIA Architects