Via 57 West, BIG, in New York City.

The Via 57 West project is the first work completed by architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), in New York City. Montse Zamorano's photographs tie in the residential building on West 57^th street, a large pyramid shaped tower connecting with the Hudson River Park with its context.



Building in the New York City borough of Manhattan is a tough task, because you have to take on both the history of the architecture and the collective imagination of this iconic metropolis. Doing something new in an urban setting that is so full of expectations therefore needs to be really innovative to whet the interests of the general public. 
 



Bjarke Ingels from BIG responded to the brief of developer Douglas Durst who commissioned the Danish architecture firm to construct a new type of residential building for Manhattan. So, in 2011 BIG opened a branch in New York to be able to supervise development and construction of W57 and five years down the track, the branch has a workforce of 150-plus people. 





The building designed by BIG looks like a cross between a European residential block along the lines of 8-House or VM Mountain both by BIG, in Ørestad, Denmark, and a traditional NYC high-rise.



The 750-unit skewed pyramid or "tetrahedron" building connects with the Hudson River Park and incorporates retail spaces and balconies around an integrated green plaza, a pattern employed in previous works by BIG.





In the pictures by Spanish photographer Montse Zamorano, who lives and works in New York City, we can see the impact of this new tower on the urban fabric. The pyramid shape of the building makes it look less tall than its 142-metre height, although this didn't stop it from beating out competitors to be declared the “Best Tall Building Americas Winner 2016”  by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).



Montse Zamorano shows us the building from the park, from the street, at the level of passers-by, to give us an idea of how close you feel to a complex like this, humanised and downscaled by the photographer's perspective that puts the human eye and perception at the centre of the context to showcase this latest Manhattan landmark. 
 
Christiane Bürklein

Project: BIG
Location: 57W, Manhattan, New York, USA
Years: 2016
Images: © Montse Zamorano - http://www.montsezamorano.com/