MAD Architects has unveiled an alternative skyscraper softening New York City's skyline with its fluid form and new iconic presence. Called East 34th, the 232-metre tall skyscraper is design to create a distinct dialogue between New York’s modernist landscape and nature.

The project, led by Ma Yansong, unlike the pinnacles of conventional towers that typically express very distinct, imposing outlines, MAD's skyscraper expresses a deep-coloured glass curtain-wall façade that slowly fades into a slender and fluid transparent cap, quietly dissolving into the atmosphere.

"Having materialised as a result of economic growth, New York City’s skyline has become one of the most recognisable in the world, where skyscrapers rise tall and en masse," said MAD in its project description. 

The new tower is located adjacent to the "Empire State Building" – which held the title of the world’s tallest building for almost 40 years – "East 34th" is planted like a seed, sprouting within the grid, rising with a soft, undulating surface that suggests a more organic, living architecture. 

MAD's design opposes the traditional towers that demonstrate the cultural impact of power and capital in our cities. Defying the stacked floor plates and authority of a bygone industrial era that has come to characterise the city’s horizon, "East 34th" softens the hard skyline and introduces a dialogue between New York’s modernist landscape and nature.

The design starts as a commercial podium at street level, combining retail and public amenities. A large, multi-floor atrium with an expansive green wall offers an escape into nature, from the otherwise concrete jungle of the city. Moving vertically upwards, rooms are organised around an off-centre core, maximising the efficiency of the limited floor plan. 

The interior is interspersed by double-height communal spaces and amenities, creating opportunities for residents to connect with one another, and experience a new type of ‘urban nature’ within the vertically dense city.

A model of "East 34th" is on show in "MAD X" – a year-long permanent collection exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris that opens on 10 April 2019.

Project facts

Project name: East 34th
Location: New York City, USA
Typology: Residential, Retail
Site Area: 486 m2
Building Area: 11,148 m2
Building Height: 232 m
 
Principal Partners in Charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners in Charge: Lu Junliang (Dixon), Kin Li, Flora Lee
Design Team: Jordan Kanter, Dmitry Seregin, Yu Zhipeng, Dora Lam, Sear Nee, Jacob Hu, Casey Kell, Wenshan Xie, Joanna Tan, Jannet Yoon

All images courtesy of MAD

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