56 LEONARD
If you are looking at the skyline of lower Manhattan, you can’t miss this building. It’s 56 Leonard Street designed by the Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron with Goldstein Hill & West Architects. It’s an apartment tower of 60 floors in the Tribeca neighborhood with 145 units. Some people call it the Jenga tower because of the offsets of the floors. The developer bought the site in 2006 including air rights from adjacent sites, but the recession delayed the project for several years. It was finally completed in 2017.
The tower is 831 feet tall with a width to height ratio of 1:10.5 joining a number of new towers that have been built recently in New York. The architects explained that they felt that other towers were anonymous and repetitive so they conceived of the design as a stack of individual homes developed from the inside out. The lower portion of the tower conforms more closely to the street while the top staggers from side to side. There are 7 zones of the tower with 2 mechanical equipment zones that have additional structural bracing. The expressive top of the tower appears to be carefully balanced with substantial terraces. The concrete floor slabs and beams are thickened to support the cantilevered terraces. A sculpture by Anish Kapoor next to the lobby is planned to squeeze in between the floors and the sidewalk, but it hasn’t been installed yet.
When you are in the Tribeca neighborhood, look around at the 19th century buildings. I’m fascinated by the steel canopies and there are many of those nearby. 56 Leonard is located at the corner of Leonard and Church a short walk from the Franklin Street stop on the 1 train.
You don’t have to go far to find food or drink. Right across the street is Two Hands, a cafe that takes its inspiration from Australia’s culinary scene. Come for breakfast or lunch, coffee or a beer. The neighborhood has so many places with The Odeon at 145 West Broadway a landmark from 1980 still around.
56 Leonard’s design by Herzog and de Meuron stands out for the jenga-like offset upper floors. The architects explained that they felt that other towers were anonymous and repetitive so they conceived of the design as a stack of individual homes developed from the inside out.
The apartments are designed to fit within the tower floor area with a mix of sizes calibrated to the market. At the same time, the architects adjust the mix of apartments within the tower, typically with larger units on the upper floors and the most desirable locations.
56 Leonard has mechanical equipment floors at two intermediate locations with additional structural bracing.
Beams are added below the flat concrete slab construction for the wider cantilevered balconies.
The design of the lower portion of the tower conforms more closely to the street while the top staggers from side to side. The projections at the top seem just barely balanced and express the idea of individual homes.
Check out the design of this tower in New York City.
https://www.herzogdemeuron.com/index.html
Here is a link to Two Hands Restaurant:
https://www.twohandsnyc.com/tribeca/
The Grandaisy Bakery is a great place for a coffee or a quick snack: