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New York’s skyline is getting serious Scandi style. Among the handful of significant new-construction residential towers currently coming online is a trio of buildings by a triumphant triumvirate of Danish and Norwegian designers.
One of the most striking newcomers to the Manhattan skyline is Five Points Development’s 26-unit, 52-story 262 Fifth Ave.
The tallest all-residential building on Fifth Avenue, it’s nearing completion now. The developer tapped Copenhagen-based Norm Architects to craft a Nordic “sanctuary in the sky.”
“There’s an appreciation for the minimalism, craftsmanship and exceptional quality of Norm Architects’ Scandinavian design,” says Nikki Field of Sotheby’s International Realty, who is operating the exclusive sales team for the building, where prices range from $7.5 million to $18 million for a duplex.
Norm used natural materials like oak and Grigio Alpi stone, as well as stainless steel in its design of these column-free “vertical villas.”
“At extreme heights, natural materials become grounding elements and tactile finishes counterbalance the panoramic views of Manhattan,” says Norm partner Peter Eland.
Steps from Lincoln Center, and half a block from the park, Oslo-based firm Snøhetta is making its US residential debut at 50 W. 66th St.
The 70-story tower is now the tallest on the Upper West Side after developer Extell completed construction in August.
Snøhetta is known for grand venues, like the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and the Shanghai Grand Opera House, but here they’ve aimed for intimacy.
Despite its height, the building blends into the existing streetscape with a warm palette of hand-set, textured limestone and bronze-and-glass storefronts.
Meanwhile, the residential entrance welcomes owners with burnished bronze and limestone.
The goal: “an approachable neighborhood character.” Higher up, things become more geometric and sculptural, with the building’s opposing corners sliced away to create balconies and a “zipper of loggias” running the length of the facade. “Fifty West 66th will glow as a warm lantern, a new friend in the New York City skyline,” the firm states. The building’s top listing is asking $85 million with a team of brokers including Extell Marketing Group, Beth Benalloul and Hilary Landis of Corcoran, and Janice Chang of Douglas Elliman.
Finally, in Chelsea, New York’s favorite designing Dane, Thomas Juul-Hansen (sorry Bjarke Ingels), is the architect of 550 W. 21st St. The new 23-story, 83-unit by Legion Investment Group, located on the Hudson, is slated to complete construction next year, with one- to four-bedroom homes currently on the market ranging in price from $2.25 million to over $30 million with Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group.
Juul-Hansen drew on his experience growing up on the waterfront among historic brick warehouses in Denmark in his design. To create calm, he developed a palette of light-toned limestone, alabaster, bronze and natural stone. A reference to the neighborhood’s industrial history, a brick gatehouse fronts the entrance to a private motor court with a grove of birch trees, planted beds and a bubbling fountain.
Need serenity now? Perfect, it’s a Scandi design principle.