New York City’s Spiral building has completed, according to architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group, or BIG. Located along the High Line in Manhattan, the unique tower reaches 1,031 feet (314 metres) into the sky, making it a ‘supertall’ skyscraper, by international definition.

Aside from being extremely tall, the building features a unique terraced garden level on each floor, creating a ‘snakelike vine’ that spirals over 1,000 feet around the structure.

The Spiral's landscaped terraces climbing the glass tower in a continuous spiral

“The string of terraces wrapping around the building expands the daily life of the tenants to the outside air and light. As the trees and grasses, flowers and vines have taken root over the last two summers, The Spiral is slowly becoming an ascending ribbon of green wrapping around the entire silhouette of the tower – like a 1,000-foot-tall vine at the scale of the city’s skyline.”

 

Anchor tenant Pfizer has taken up residence, along with a handful of other companies, with New York-Presbyterian Hospital opening a 75,000-square-foot outpatient center in the building as well.

The Spiral supertall in Manhattan, its terraced gardens stepping up the facade

The unique nature of the spiral’s terraces should allow for plant growth, including trees, to grow and mature on the building’s facade, bringing much needed green space and greenery to Manhattan’s skyline.

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BIG's Spiral skyscraper in New York with greenery wrapping each setback

Greenery-lined setbacks trace a spiral up BIG's Manhattan supertall
The Spiral is the left-most new building in the skyline.

The Spiral tower's cascading terraces of plantings, designed by BIG

“The Spiral ensures that every floor of the tower opens up to the outdoors, creating hanging gardens and cascading atria that connect the open floor plates from the ground floor to the summit into a single uninterrupted workspace,” said Ingels.

The Spiral skyscraper rising over Hudson Yards, its ribbon of green terraces visible

 

The Spiral supertall skyscraper by BIG in New York City

Edited by Ben VanderVeen · About Moss & Fog

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Ben VanderVeen is the founder and editor of Moss & Fog, one of the web’s longest-running visual culture destinations. Since 2009, he’s been finding and framing the most beautiful, surprising, and thought-provoking work in art, architecture, design, and nature — reaching over 325,000 readers each month. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

4 Comments

  1. Pingback: Dramatic Curving Skybridge Tower in Manhattan | Moss and Fog

  2. Now i would say that this new building in New York city will surely make HISTORY, as a FUTUREISTIC building in the advancement of our ever-forward designe of our fantastic new WORLD.

  3. What have they done to prevent or limit bird strikes?

  4. Bryce Edwards

    Will forward this to my grandson, currently working in Berlin, who just graduated Summa cum Laude from Syracuse U.’s 5 year Architecture program and adores NYC.

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