Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)’s Via 57 West seems to have already assumed an iconic status on Manhattan’s west side. Look no further than the trailer for Marvel’s Doctor Strange which—in addition to having 15 million views—prominently features the rental development in its opening setting shot.
Tenants began moving into the building this past March; units range from studios to four bedrooms. Bounded by 12th Aveneu, West 57th Street, and West 58th Street, the development features a new pedestrian passageway that runs from north to south on the building’s eastern border. (Just next door is FXFOWLE’s The Helena; both the Helena and Via 57 are Durst Organization projects.)
Residents primarily enter from the southeastern corner, and 45,000 square feet of retail space is spread across the ground floor. The building’s interior courtyard is modeled on the proportions of Central Park; it features a path through a meandering garden that culminates in an open, tree-shaded plaza. As BIG’s diagrams in the slideshow reveal, the building is a hybrid of a European-style low-rise courtyard building and a tower-and-pedestal typology. The building dramatically rises to 467 feet at its peak. A special system of rails, see at the edges of the building, will enable workers to clean Via 57’s curved aluminum cladding.
The building’s amenities (including an extensive lounge, poker room, children’s playroom, basketball court, swimming pool, gym, screening room, and parking) are located on the lower floors, absorbing the loudest ambient noise generated by the nearby West Side Highway.