Tour of 432 Park Avenue
On the WAN website for those who is interested in the latest NYC developments is presented an exclusive video interview with CEO of WSP Cantor Seinuk Silvian Marcus in which the charismatic engineer takes a tour of the elegant 432 Park Avenue tower. Currently rising more than 600ft over Manhattan, the residential building will reach a final height of 1,396ft (425 meters) to an architectural design by Rafael Vinoly.
Located a stone’s throw from the legendary Four Seasons hotel on Park Avenue, this slender giant was inspired by the regulating qualities of the Manhattan city grid. As such, 432 Park Avenue enjoys a perfectly square floor plan with 10ft by 10ft windows punctuating its exterior to enable panoramic views from most points within the building. Views from the tower located in the heart of Manhattan, the eye embraces the whole city wideangle - from the Hudson to the East River, from the Bronx to Brooklyn, from Central Park to the Atlantic Ocean.
Unobstructed by interior columns, the 104 residences are bright and airy, bathed in natural light. The interior design was at the hand of Deborah Berke and her team. Berke details: “The layout of each 432 Park Avenue residence recalls the grandeur and elegance of Park Avenue’s pre-war apartments, yet simultaneously establishes the paradigm for 21st century sophistication.” Vinoly was also greatly inspired by the tower’s setting during the design process, leading him to create a structure that is very much at one with its location.
He explains: “The design of the building could not be more bespoke; it is about New York and for New York. Our goal was to create something timeless which has a perennial quality that won’t go out of style.” The team brought on by developers CIM Group and Macklowe Properties to bring this vision to life was WSP Cantor Seinuk, led by CEO Silvian Marcus. “There is a purity in the engineering,” Marcus explains, indicating a central core about 30ft by 30ft which houses the elevators and all of the services.
He continues: “The other element that is supporting the building is the outside façade made out of beams and columns. This system of columns and beams, we call it a frame. It is very strong and it’s very powerful. The windows are just in between the columns and the beams. From the core backbone to the outside perimeter is about 30ft that is free of any columns, beams or any structural elements so you can have partitions as you wish or if someone wants to take the entire floor and doesn’t want partitions - he wants a loft - people can use the entire floor as they desire.” After its completion expected in 2015, 432 Park Avenue will become the tallest residential tower in the western hemisphere.
Rafael Viñoly Architects