
This regulation shaped buildings into stepped-pyramids or ‘wedding-cake’ designs. Instead, high-rises had to remain within a diagonal plane from the base so that light and air could still stretch to the streets below.
#New york skyscraper code
Unlike other cities, its code didn’t impose any specific height limitations. In 1916, they passed a detailed zoning resolution. As towers became taller and more densely packed, the streets of Lower Manhattan were getting darkened by their harsh shadows and city planners began to get concerned. Wind back to the early 1900s and there was very little regulation on building size and use in New York. Its design took inspiration from the spiral forms commonly found in the natural world and attempted to combine them with New York’s classic skyscraper architecture. In 2016, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) unveiled plans for a $3.7BN skyscraper at 66 Hudson Yards with Tishman Speyer as developers. The new zoning codes have led to hotels, shops, and new public space all opening-up in the district. That’s a new area, platformed over a live rail yard which – following a massive rezoning effort throughout the 2000s – has seen an explosion of construction projects in recent years. When it completes later in 2022, The Spiral will be the fourth supertall building to come out of the Hudson Yards neighbourhood. But will it mark the start of a new look for the New York skyscraper, or end up as an exception in the concrete jungle?Ībove: The Spiral will add some green to the concrete jungle. The Spiral pulls out all the stops: sustainable building practices, indoor-outdoor spaces and a glimpse of nature several hundred metres in the air. After sitting empty for nearly two years, there’s now a battle underway to lure workers back to their offices. The project is out to set a new standard for office design and finds itself completing at a time when the office tower is having a bit of an identity crisis. In a sea of glass, The Spiral will add a small touch of green through its cascading landscaped terraces that will, yes, spiral around the building.


Twisting more than 300 metres into the sky, The Spiral is the latest supertall building taking shape on New York City’s ever evolving skyline. HEAD OVER to Manhattan’s far west side, and you’ll spot a new skyscraper on the block.
