Yardsmania #5: Tishman Speyer Calls a Forum

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Developer: Tishman Speyer
Architects: Helmut Jahn and Peter Walker
Biggest building: Three million square feet
Housing: 3,000 units
Public space: 13 acres
High Line?: Saved!
Online?: Nope!

Tishman Speyer's Hudson Yards bid may be the most jarring on impact, but a closer look reveals it to be somewhat less oppressive than originally thought. Sure, 13 million square feet spread over 13 new buildings is a lot, but there are really only four megabuildings—including a new headquarters for Morgan Stanley—and the Empire State Building would still be visible from the Hudson River. There are some very interesting things going on in this proposal, but we're not sure that Tishman's heart is truly in it. They have the smallest model (by far!) on display, and they just bought Stuy Town and tore down our favorite old gay porn spot. Surely that has taken something out of them.

One funky design element is the Forum, adjacent to the new cultural venue and forming a main plaza in the Eastern Rail Yards. It would serve as a new "town square" for the whole West Side, in Tishman's eyes, and would include retail, art and various public events—sort of like the Washington Square Park fountain without all the dime bags. Of the 13 million square feet of buildings, 10 million of it would be office space, making this the anti-Vornado/Durst proposal. The seven residential buildings would get lower in height as they approach the Hudson River, and some would cantilever the High Line. The High Line would also connect to a footbridge over to the river and park. A new school would go in the Western Rail Yards. Here's what we're looking at:

The site plan. Click to expand.
· Yardsmania #4: Vornado/Durst Enlist Mother Earth [Curbed]
· Yardsmania #3: Related Sends Out a New Friend Request [Curbed]
· Yardsmania #2: Extell's Suspension of Disbelief [Curbed]
· Yardsmania #1: Brookfield Properties Goes Splittsville [Curbed]
· Yardsmania: It's Hudson Yards Bid Day! [Curbed]

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