The challenge was instantly apparent to designers at Rafael Viñoly Architects: How to create a luxury residential building, packed with features, on a lot less than the size of two tennis courts in lower Manhattan that’s already surrounded by other towers.
Their solution is favored by a growing number of architects in New York: Go high and thin.
The result is a 912-foot-tall condominium tower called The Greenwich with a lap pool on the upper floors that the developers tout as the highest in the city. With a final design spearheaded by the late Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, The Greenwich is set to open this spring as the latest example of how space constraints are leading to extremely tall and relatively skinny residential buildings in New York.
The increased development of condo towers responds to a lack of residential supply, with many older Manhattan apartment buildings with expansive views being co-ops and harder to acquire than a condo, according to architects and developers.
The 9,800-square-foot lot available in the Financial District for The Greenwich meant the architecture firm had to get creative: "Normally we wouldn’t emphasize height, but this was the only area we had to build on,” Jim Herr, partner-in-charge at RVA, said in an interview.
“We knew the units had to have views, but we also had to support the building and make it stable,” Herr said, referring to the high winds that swirl around the lower end of Manhattan and cause tall buildings to sway.
Though The Greenwich is tall, it’s not technically classified as a supertall building, according to the unofficial definition by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The Greenwich is about 72 feet too short to be considered a supertall, or about 984 feet, according to the trade association.
But Viñoly’s creation embodies the spirit of a supertall. The internationally known architect, designer of the 38-story Walkie-Talkie building in London and the Vdara hotel in Las Vegas, died in March 2023 when The Greenwich was already under construction.
Supertall structures are an increasingly popular design in New York. Since 2010, a total of 13 supertall buildings have opened in New York, seven of those residential, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings. That’s by far more than any other U.S. city.
A supertall design — particularly when it is extremely thin — lets architects be especially creative and know they can achieve a dramatic look from the shape, said Gregg Pasquarelli, founding principal at SHoP Architects who designed 111 West 57th St., a 1,428-foot residential tower with views of Central Park and the surrounding New York skyline.
“On a smaller floor plate, you get a higher percentage of windows in the interior square footage,” Pasquarelli, who wasn't involved in the design of The Greenwich, said in an interview.
“The smaller floor size does create some inefficiencies, but you just have to design really well,” Pasquarelli said, such as positioning windows to maximize panoramic views.
The 10-person RVA design team’s approach to building The Greenwich involved using an age-old building material, the I-beam, twisted 90 degrees. The name of the I-beam refers to the cross-section shape of a steel beam, a building material that emerged in the mid-19th century.
“The 90-degree rotation was needed to make the structure resistant to the prevailing winds” in the area around the World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial where The Greenwich is located, Herr said.
Rotating the two I-beams that form the core of The Greenwich also allowed the designers to need only four interior columns. That frees up a larger portion of the building to have sweeping views of New York Harbor, Midtown Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey, Herr said.
“The ethos of The Greenwich is that, no matter where you live in the building, everyone can enjoy a beautiful view,” Stacy Spielman, director of sales at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, said during a recent building tour.
Prices start at $1.125 million for a studio and run to $13.5 million for the three-bedroom penthouse. A spokesperson for Douglas Elliman Real Estate, the leasing agent for The Greenwich, declined to provide details on how many units have sold.
The main lobby of The Greenwich reflects the desire to create a standout design, with a 30-by-30-by-30-foot space adorned with floor-to-ceiling shelves that are filled with ceramics custom-designed by Brooklyn artist Natalie Weinberger. Ocean blue-colored marble at the concierge desk contrasts with the lobby’s earth-toned color patterns.
“The development is so design-oriented and aesthetically oriented that it really sets our building apart,” Spielman said.
To enhance views from the residential units, RVA added curved corners with highly glazed floor-to-ceiling windows, said Herr, the partner-in-charge at RVA. Interior designers with March and White Design (MAWD) wanted to make full use of the curves inside each room.
“With so many windows and so much glazing and the amount of daylight, we didn’t want the design to compete with the views,” Elliot March, founding partner at MAWD, said in an interview.
“The curved expressions to the corners of the building, and the way the interiors embrace these corners, is really interesting,” March said. “The views of the city really pop up even in as small a space as a one bedroom.”
RVA designers also decided to flip the script on the location of amenities. Instead of grouping the fitness centers and meeting rooms on the lower levels, the amenities are on the top floors. That includes the swimming pool more than 800 feet above the street.
Initial plans called for The Greenwich to be even taller. But as the RVA team studied the site further, they realized they should go shorter. They applied for a zoning variance in which they would lower the building height in exchange for larger floor sizes.
The lower height helps The Greenwich blend in with the other buildings that are nearby, according to RVA. But Herr said the designers also wanted The Greenwich to strike its own distinct profile.
“Many urban planners say that everything has to be contextual, but the beauty of New York, why many of us love the place, is that it has all sorts of amazing things right next to each other,” Herr said. “That gives it its vibrancy.”