111 West 57th Street: 2021 Winner

The SKYDB Awards recognize high-rise buildings that unite architectural quality with practical performance, and 111 West 57th Street in New York was selected as the 2021 SKYDB Awards Winner.

The 435-meter residential tower rises from the restored Steinway Hall, a designated New York landmark completed in 1925. Its extreme slenderness is moderated by a sequence of setbacks that feather the southern elevation toward the crown. Terracotta piers frame narrow strips of glass on the east and west sides, drawing on the color and shadow of older masonry towers nearby.

The stepped profile places mechanical and structural zones where the floor plate becomes too small for apartments. Integrating the tower with Steinway Hall retains the hall's principal interiors and gives the new entrance a direct connection to West 57th Street. The award recognizes a technically demanding slender tower that adapts the material depth and setback rules of historic Manhattan skyscrapers to a contemporary residential building.

Architect: SHoP Architects