New York, New York, USA
Winy Maas and his design team at MVRDV together with Stonehill Taylor Architects and interior firm WORKSHOP APD have completed The Radio Hotel and Tower for developers YoungWoo & Associates located in the Washington Heights neighborhood on the upper part of Manhattan Island.
Color is certainly the hallmark of the new project: Eight different colors of glazed bricks were used and appear as a colorful vertical village that interprets and embraces the soul of the neighborhood.
The colors are also echoed and characterized by the interior design of the Workshop APD studio.
In a short time, the building has become a recognizable and prominent landmark in Upper Manhattan, taking up and enhancing the existing urban character.
The concept developed by the architects is based on a composition of volumes stacked one on top of the other, thus discarding the idea of a single, large building.
This design choice made it possible to create a building that does not overpower the context in which it is set, and which appears as a vertical village made up of blocks of different colors and sizes.
The organization and distribution of the volumes enabled each block to take advantage of external space, corresponding to the coverage of the volume underneath.
The colors, from the softer tones of the street level to the brighter ones at the top, are inspired by the setting and shops of the lively New York district.
For the architect Winy Maas, founding partner of MVRDV, the Radio Hotel, and Tower is a beacon that celebrates this part of the city.
The building, with its 221-room hotel, retail space, offices, event rooms, and panoramic views of Manhattan, caters to the high demand in the area due to the activities of nearby Yeshiva University and New York Presbyterian Hospital.
In addition, on the ground floor, the building houses the Jalao NYC restaurant, which celebrates the neighborhood’s Dominican culture, and a courtyard/garden dedicated to live music and other activities.
This is the first project undertaken by the MVRDV architectural firm in the United States.
Project: Radio Hotel and Tower
Architects: MVRDV
Lead Designer: Winy Maas
Partner: Frans de Witte
Design Team: Fedor Bron, Mick van Gemert, Mark van den Ouden, Samuel Delgado, Ronald Kam, Fouad Addou, Daniele Zonta, Yassin Matni, Giuseppe Carosini, and Giuseppe Campo Antico
Visualizations: Antonio Luca Coco and Kirill Emelianov
Executive Architects: Stonehill Taylor Architects
Interior Designers: WORKSHOP APD
Hotel Management: Sightline Hospitality
General Contractor: Cosentini Associates
Structural Engineers: GACE consulting engineers dpc
Façade Engineers: CANY Technical Services, LCC
Geotechnical Engineers: Langan Engineering
Civil Engineers: AKRF
Client: YoungWoo & Associates
Photographers: Ossip van Duivenbode
