CASSA Condo + Hotel

New York, USA

Architects: TEN Arquitectos/ Enrique Norten

Any: 2010

The tower will strike a prominent profile in the Manhattan skyline, distinguishing itself from the conventional glass and stone edifices surrounding it. Its delicate proportion is unique among its stout neighbors as a result of the constricted site where it sits and its slender floor plates. The resulting form creates an obelisk marking its location among the chorus of the midtown skyline.

The tower's windows and their punctured rhythm become the façade's only ornaments as they are brought to life by the guests and inhabitants that dwell inside. It is their activity that makes the building glow as it registers itself on the tower's skin.

The challenge was to combine the very private functions of the Luxury Residences with the public functions of the Boutique Hotel, Restaurant and Lounge allowing them to co-exist while functioning independently. The result is a sequence of fluid spaces that converge at the Lobby, merging interior and exterior, intimate and urban.