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When Size Really Matters

United Kingdom Architecture News - Oct 23, 2014 - 13:20   3407 views

Manhattan’s New Condominium Towers Are Dwarfing Other Skyscrapers

When Size Really Matters

A view from the 75th floor of 432 Park Ave. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

My friend Aris, who has a way of expressing things succinctly, describes Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise as “wrestling for women.”

He was similarly profound this summer as we sat in Central Park partaking of certain liquid refreshments from an athletic squirt bottle. Discussing the megalith luxury condominiums that are rising along the south end of the park, he nailed their effect. “They’re turning the park into a courtyard,” he said.

Central Park has always served as a leafy oasis, a refuge from city life. But these skyscrapers are so tall—One57 is over 1,000 feet, and 432 Park Ave. recently topped off at 1,396 feet, overtaking the World Trade Center (minus its antenna) and leaving the Empire State Building in the dust. You can almost feel the breath of the billionaires they’re being marketed to on the back of your neck.

Here’s how out-sized 432 Park is: It makes One57, which previously appeared as if it was giving Central Park the finger, appear modest, even demure, by comparison. If I were a plutocrat who had already plunked down $50 million or $100 million, or whatever penthouses in the building are going for these days, I might be suffering buyer’s remorse.....Continue Reading

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