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Got wood? NYC developers planning radical Chelsea high-rise
SHoP Architects-designed 475 West 18th Street backed by federal prize money
The future of New York City residential development is here, and it looks like… wood?
Backed by a federal grant, a partnership of local developers, architects and environmental consultants are developing plans for a high-rise residential building, at 475 West 18th Street in Chelsea, constructed entirely of wood.
The project, dubbed 475 West, is a collaboration between 130 134 Holdings LLC, Spiritos Properties, SHoP Architects and environmental consultancy Atelier Ten, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Rendering of 475 West 18th Street in Chelsea (credit: SHoP Architects)
Rendering of 475 West 18th Street in Chelsea (credit: SHoP Architects)
The development is one of two that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, working alongside lumber industry groups, announced last week as winners of the first U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize Competition.
Both 475 West and the other winner, a 12-story project in Portland, Ore., will split a $3 million prize meant to fund research into the use of engineered wood, or man-made composites, in high-rise construction.
“The science of wood construction has come a long way in the past several decades,” Chris Sharples, a principal at SHoP, said. “Every element of the building, right down to the elevator core, can be constructed in wood.” [WSJ] – Rey Mashayekhi