Construction Update: 2420 Amsterdam Avenue - Radio Tower and Hotel
Southeast corner from Amsterdam Avenue.
Facade installation is nearing completion at Youngwoo and Associates’ 22-story mixed use development the Radio Tower and Hotel in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Designed by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, the 235,000 square foot project combines hotel and retail program at the base and an office tower above in an asymmetrical stack of boxes. This is the firm’s first major US project.
Each of the development’s program volumes are designed to reflect the scale of nearby buildings and feature a variety of window sizes that also draw on the variety of the surrounding context. Ceramic bricks clad the boxes, with a different color selected for each volume.
Looking up at the east facade from Amsterdam Avenue.
East facade from Amsterdam Avenue.
Northeast corner from the Washington Bridge.
Northeast corner from Amsterdam Avenue.
Northeast corner from Amsterdam Avenue.
Architect: MVRDV (Design Architect), Stonehill & Taylor Architects (Executive Architect); Interior Design: Workshop/APD; Structural Engineer: GACE Consulting Engineers; Building Systems: Cosentini Associates; Developer: YoungWoo & Associates; Program: Hotel, Offices, Cultural, Restaurant; Location: Washington Heights, New York, NY; Completion: 2022.
CUMC Vagelos Education Center
Looking west on West 171st Street.
New York's latest, high-profile education building has opened on the campus of Columbia University Medical College in Washington Heights. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Gensler, the 14-story Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center houses classroom, simulation and training facilities for the college.
Close-up of the "Study Cascade" at the southeast corner.
Southeast corner from Haven Avenue.
Looking up at the east facade from Haven Avenue.
The building's iconic feature is the "Study Cascade," a south facing 14-story space, connected by a grand stair, with a variety of indoor spaces for individual and group interaction, outdoor rooms and terraces that foster collaborative learning amongst students and faculty. With the "Study Cascade" DS+R has sought to subvert the normative medical building typology by rethinking its circulation strategy, which the studio has focused on in a wide range of projects over the past few decades.
The "Study Cascade" at the south facade.
Southwest corner of the "Study Cascade."
GFRC paneling and Douglas fir wood clad the solid forms of the "Study Cascade," while the transparency of floor-to-ceiling glass with glass fin supports allows for open views of Manhattan and the Hudson River.
Close-up of the "Study Cascade" at the south facade.
West facade.
Looking up at the west facade.
Looking southeast from an outdoor terrace on the 13th floor.
View south from an outdoor terrace.
Grand stair at the lobby.
Architects: Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Gensler; Structural Engineer: Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA); Program: Education; Location: Washington Heights, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
