35XV | New York, New York | 2017
Architects: FXCollaborative
Client: Alchemy Properties Inc.
General Contractor: Alchemy Properties Inc.
A rare mid-block design opportunity engendered the creation of this unique Manhattan mid-rise. Employing dramatic cantilevers and an expressive, textured façade, 35XV exemplifies a truly unprecedented living environment.
The tower is anchored by a six-story granite-clad base – an expansion of the adjacent Xavier High School – that extends the scale and materiality of the street-level context. Emerging from the base is a 19-story sculptural, angled glass volume that contains the residential space. A conscientious modulation of fenestration at the base equally accommodates the school’s functions and the building’s residential identity, while the tower’s sloped form and faceted glass cladding serve to reflect the changing sky, appearing to de-materialize the building.
At 170,000 GSF, 35XV is 25 stories tall. The base of the building incorporates classrooms and a half-court gym for Xavier High School, from which the project obtained air rights. Fifty-five residences, a mix of one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom luxury units, occupy every floor starting at the eighth, while a seventh floor amenity space for residents includes a gym, lounge, children’s play room, communal wine cellar, and a communal terrace.
In addition to integrating multiple functions into a compact mid-block site, the residential tower resolves a complex three-dimensional puzzle that finesses zoning requirements and the unique attributes of its site. The design leverages requirements that stipulate a sky exposure plane – traditionally a design constraint – to sculpt a unique form that offers tenants light, airy interior living spaces with unparalleled views of the surrounding cityscape.
A hybrid structural system with an exposed steel frame supports the rear of the tower at its base, allowing the building to cantilever 17 feet over the existing school and 36 feet over the rear yard – space that comprises about 40% of the residential floor area. The tower is constructed with flat-plate concrete, providing an ample footprint for apartments and allowing maximum planning flexibility.
With its dual identities and contextually specific, dynamic design, 35XV sets new standards in the growing trend of air rights development and meets the demand for housing in its dense, historic neighborhood.