860 Washington Street

Meatpacking District, NYC — 2013

OVERVIEW

The client wanted a building that worked with the changing neighborhood and the historic structure immediately to the north of the site. A sculptural form that responded to the available natural light and expansive views was developed, shaped by The High Line along the west face and scaled to the brick buildings that characterize the storefront faces along Washington Street. Tall, transparent spaces interact with steady visitor streams along the elevated park and storefronts at the first two floors of the building, while a dynamic play of clouds and sunlight enliven the eight floors of flexible office space above.

This project was prominently positioned in the heart of the meat packing neighborhood in NYC, with the west portion of the site covered by the High Line Park. The client team owned and operated a meat processing facility for many decades and wanted to establish a new building with spaces that built on the creative energy and activity of Washington Street and the recently transformed elevated park. It was important that the interior spaces visually connected with the elevated park and Hudson River along the south and west faces, the north face maintained privacy and some material expression, and the east face optimized views and a storefront expression that complemented the scale of the existing brick and glass structures.

Our team worked closely with Adamson Associates Architects to develop an overall massing that responded to the dynamic site, extruding a parallelogram form up more than ten floors and expressing the shifting planes against the sky. An acute corner anchors the building at 13th Street, and six concrete columns are held off each face, offering sweeping, unobstructed views of the High Line, the Hudson River, and the Manhattan skyline with lots of daylight animating each space. The first two floors are retail, and a tall, large glass enclosure was designed along both street storefronts, providing maximum visibility and connection to the open plaza at The Standard Hotel immediately south. The upper eight floors are flexible office space with raised floors.

The design dynamically shifts as you move around the building, telegraphing the clouds and light across each of the vertical faces, and responding to the public energy of the High Line and the neighborhood. A changing streetscape and landscape seamlessly weave through the first and second floor spaces, embodying the shifting seasons and ebbs of energy that pulse along the cobble stone streets of a transformed site.

860 Washington Street is LEED SILVER, incorporating modern systems for energy efficiency and tenant comfort, and reflecting a commitment to operationally sustainable building standards.