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The massing of the proposed design develops from a
series of simple steps that relate directly to the physical context and program.
The building is set back from Greenwich Street to create a landscaped plaza for
the development, the adjacent College of Insurance and the neighborhood. The
establishment of this open space is central to the integration of this project
into the surrounding context.
Like the open spaces to the north at Salomon Smith Barney, the gardens of
Independence Plaza, Washington Market Park, and the playground at PS234, the
proposed plaza adds another link to the emerald necklace that the "Greening
of Greenwich" plan promises. It also may recall the "pleasure
garden" formerly near the site.
To the west of this plaza, the massing of the project develops around a
folding masonry form that addresses the two different scales of the context.
This form begins its three-dimensional movement along the north side of the site
and climbs vertically to clearly define a pedestrian-scaled masonry street wall
along Warren Street. The height and material of this street wall relates
directly to the scale and materials of its neighbors to the north and east.
Folding to the south, the masonry form defines a podium for the tower above
before it again climbs vertically along the south side of the site to the
highest point in the massing. The larger scale of this southern face addresses
the scale of the financial district and also creates a kind of
"bookend" or complimentary bracket to the massing of Salomon Smith
Barney to the north.
Around this masonry form are three distinct glass volumes. The first two
volumes nestle under the masonry form and relate directly to their programs. At
the southern edge of the site and at grade, a glass enclosed office lobby
extends through the project and links Greenwich and West Street. This through
block lobby reestablishes the strong east/west organization of the site present
when the first piers extended into the Hudson from this location. The eastern
end of the lobby extends out towards the plaza to create a clear entry and its
chamfered end responds directly to the angle of Greenwich Street. To the north
of this lobby, the second glass volume contains street level commercial space
accessible from West and Warren Street as well as from the entrance plaza.
The third glass volume is placed above and north of the folding masonry form.
The relationship between this volume and the masonry form is critical for two
reasons. First, the taller and more solid masonry form acts as a passive solar
screen for the glass volume. Shaded by the more solid masonry form, the glass
volume can be very transparent, optimizing the quality of light inside and
presenting an open, delicate "picture window" to the north. Second, by
shifting the glass volume to the west, stepping profiles are created on the east
and west faces of the tower that directly correspond to the angles of West and
Greenwich Streets. With its northern and southern faces assuming the geometry of
the dominant city grid and the stepping profiles of the eastern and western
faces responding to the rotated grid sponsored by the Hudson, the tower is a
direct manifestation and resolution of the complex grids that overlap the site.
The building is set back from Greenwich Street to create a landscaped plaza
for the development. To the west of the plaza, the massing of the project
develops around a folding masonry form that addresses the two different scales
of the design. This form begins its three-dimensional movement along the north
side of the site and climbs vertically to clearly define a pedestrian-scaled
masonry street wall along Warren Street.
Around this masonry form are three distinct glass volumes. At the southern edge
of the site and at grade, a glass enclosed office lobby extends through the
project and links Greenwich and West Street. To the north of this lobby, the
second glass volume contains street level commercial space accessible from West
and Warren Street as well as from the entrance plaza.
The third glass volume is placed above and north of the folding masonry form.
The relationship between this volume and the masonry form is critical for two
reasons. First, the taller and more solid masonry form acts as a passive solar
screen for the glass volume. Second, by shifting the glass volume to the west,
stepping profiles are created on the east and west faces of the tower that
directly correspond to the angles of West and Greenwich Streets.
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