Starchitect Álvaro Siza Makes His US Debut at Age 86 With a Residential Tower in NYC
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Álvaro Siza’s 611 West 56th Street
It’s never too late for your Pritzker Prize-winning work to make its US debut. That’s the impetus behind Álvaro Siza’s 611 West 56th Street anyway, a residential tower in Midtown Manhattan that marks the architect’s first stateside foray at the age of 86.
Siza’s career spans six decades, with notable contributions including the Porto School of Architecture in Portugal and the Iberê Camargo Foundation and museum in Brazil. The veteran’s first New York City address will stick to his simple-yet-poetic sense of modernism, with a no-nonsense façade of limestone and glass topped off by a boxy, four-story “crown.” The exclusive penthouse will have private terraces just beneath this distinct centerpiece.
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And while pricing for the sought-after penthouse unit remains unannounced, developers Sumaida + Khurana and LENY have disclosed that the 450-foot-tall, 37-story building will be filled with one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom residences, starting at $1.2 million, with interiors by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. The award-winning design firm, which recently completed the interiors at Tadao Andao’s lush 152 Elizabeth Street, will incorporate walnut, oak and marble finishes into both rooms and common spaces, a warm aesthetic meant to complement the exterior’s less-is-more look. Amenities, meanwhile, will include a children’s playroom, yoga and boxing room, and a landscaped garden with a sculpture designed by Siza, among others.
And the architect’s Manhattan move marks him the latest in a long list of high-profile names to do so. Bjarke Ingels, Rafael Viñoly, David Chipperfield, Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano and Rem Koolhaas have all carved out a slice of the skyline in recent years, with more inevitably on the way. As for Siza, well, he’s pleased to be in NYC. “I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to build in Manhattan,” Siza told The New York Times. “Now, at my age, I thought I had lost the opportunity. I was very happy to be invited and thought, ‘Well, let’s see if I still have energy for this project.’”
Check out more images of Siza’s latest, below:
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