[NYguy]

http://www.thisismelo.com/feature/ar...e-nyc-skyline/

Shaping the NYC Skyline
Kai Sheng, CEO and Managing Principal at Archilier Architecture, discusses the inspiration behind the innovative Hudson Rise Hotel.





By Katherine Valentino
3.3.15

New York City’s iconic skyline is getting a big update. Construction is under way on The Hudson Rise Hotel, with a targeted opening in 2017. The 420,000 square foot tower will be located in the New York Hudson Yards Mixed-Use Development and will include 20 floors of hotel, 328 hotel condos, and 40 super luxury condo apartments. This Is Melo spoke with Kai Sheng, CEO and Managing Principal at Archilier Architecture, the architecture firm behind this project, about the concept, as well as the process that went into designing this massive building.

Headquartered in New York City, Archilier truly understands the city’s culture, and embodies it in their designs. Described on Archilier’s site as a “a tower of alternating volumes and dramatic terraces with sweeping Hudson River views,” and standing at 220 meters tall, it is sure to be unique and beautiful addition to NYC. Just like the Chinese lanterns that inspired the design, let’s hope this “beacon of light on the west side highway” brings good fortune and blessings to all who encounter it.

What three words do you think best describe Archilier Architecture’s design aesthetic?

Sheng: Sensual, Contextual, Contemporary

We are striving to create memorable, evocative architecture within the cultural and environmental context. Seductive form making and place making rooted in the indigenous culture and geography while employing the contemporary vocabulary is our strength. This design philosophy is evident throughout our design, be it a development of super high rise towers of mixed use of over 4 million sf in China; or 400,000 sf of high rise mixed use in New York or a 35 room boutique hotel in the secluded resort in south China. Our signature style is one that grows from project’s distinct context, but never a preset style per se.

Why were traditional Chinese lanterns the inspiration for the design in your Hudson Yards project? Did you draw any inspiration from the city of New York itself? What is their significance?

Sheng: Actually New York City itself was the inspiration for the lantern idea, as we always say the city never sleeps and it is known for its towers with lights as beacons of NY City.

I grew up in China, where there’s a lantern festival every year. Kids would run around with lanterns, and some with a string of lanterns stacked up. Lanterns symbolize good fortune and blessings of harmony in China. It would be the ultimate lanterns if to “string” and “hang” at the tower in Manhattan joining the city’s sea of lights. This design parti also has a very practical significance, since the pent house always has the most value, as the “lantern” massing goes in and out , terraces are being created, and we have in fact created multiple pent houses or villas in the sky if you will with sweeping Hudson river views.

I believe, at the end of day, whatever the design narrative or inspirations might be for a given design, the end product should be good, relevant and inspirational without having to be attached to a story or narrative to succeed. The inspiration can be personal at times, but the architecture needs to be solid for all to experience.

What were your first steps in designing when you took on the project? What was your thought-process behind the design? How long was the concept design process?

Sheng: The project started for us as a design competition, we were not given much time, about 5-6 weeks including Christmas and New Year holidays to try to come up with a winning concept. We were up against some of the best established firms in New York, our design team understood we must win on creative solutions to a very difficult project with a limited site foot print and complex programs of Retail, Hotel and Residential uses..

Our first step has always been to understand the very practical problems /goals from client and the most efficient diagram for the basic solution, then we find the most creative ways to get there, not creative for creative sake, but opportunities to marry the two, like the “lanterns” are opportunities for multiple penthouses (which offer the best return) with limited floor plate girth. At Archilier, we never first preconceive a form, say a “bird” and then try to force a “rabbit” in a bird’s skin later on. In creating the final design, we had multiple rounds of design charrette and pin ups, my ping pong table at home became my best sketch board over the holidays.

How iconic do you think the NYC skyline is? What does it mean for you to have your design amongst other legendary structures? What other high rise projects are you working on?

Sheng: New York has some of the most memorable skylines in the world, with iconic towers like the Empire States Building , Chrysler Building. They have been well documented in the movies and classic photographs or in other art forms. I have lived and worked in New York for almost 30 years, the city has always inspired me. I am really proud and humbled to have Archilier contributing to its legendary skyline.

How do you think your tagline “Designing the Future Together” applies to this project? And what will set this building apart from others in New York?

Sheng: We consider our client part of our team in all the projects we do. Together as one team, we help to create and realize our client’s vision, and In doing so, we are always trying to be forward looking. At Hudson Yards, the client wanted a tower that is unique, distinctive and extroverted with multiple open spaces, while serving the needs of the ever changing New York market.

Engaging in a constant dialogue with our client, together we have created an over 700 foot-tall tower divided in three sections : a stunning transparent glass atrium with a hotel sky lobby on top of the expressive podium; smooth-skinned hotel and hotel condos with expansive views of the Hudson River and New York City at mid-section; and the top portion of the structure, with condominiums, defined by three large glass cubes that are pulled out of the building’s volume, envisioned as a string of hanging urban “lanterns” that serve as beacons on the city’s skyline.

The end result is a tower with many distinctive green open spaces that speak to the guests, residents as well as the neighborhood. Between the three sections of the building, and atop each “lantern,” we carved out open air spaces and terraces that include both common and private outdoor/indoor pools and dozens of green spaces that reflect an environmentally sensitive approach to design. Our design offers many unique features, Floors 28-30, for example, atop the hotel section of the building, are designed for an expansive, open rooftop club with a bar, a high end restaurant and a cantilevered sky pool with views of the Hudson River. This pool can be made completely open with motorized doors to let in the Hudson breeze.

In what ways is the design of the project progressive in terms of architecture?

Sheng: From the outset , we are looking to break away from the boxy towers you see everywhere, or the form making exercises with excessive expressions for out of context expression sake. We are happy to have designed a tower that expresses the three distinctive functions with green open spaces throughout, from the podium to the very top resulting in a very unique high rise tower.

What part of this project are you most excited about?

Sheng: Its rich green open spaces, especially the multiple terraces at the club level, where one can taking in the river view sipping a cool drink, or gazing into the distance in the cantilevered infinity pool. I am also quite excited about the urban lanterns we created; I hope they would become beacons of light on the west side highway.