在经历了几个月“纠结的”公共审查过程，BIG引人注目的曼哈顿西57号公寓建筑被城市规划委员会批准了。这个建筑非典型的设计很快就因为它有斜度的凸起在国际上引起了关注，从三层到三十八层艰难的围成了一个四面体形状。很聪明的命名为W57，这个独一无二的工程是“为逻辑而生”，纽约客杂志的Justin Davidson这样形容到。它的特点是有一个巨大的，足球场大小的天井可以看到Hudson河，门外的台阶供753住户可以拥有生机勃勃的街道生活并且可以很方便的靠近Hudson河公园。

“我们的批准将促长一个有重大意义的，新式的，有一个特殊的金字塔形状的公寓建筑的建立，并且将周围住宅、公共设施、商业设施都整合到整个街区当中。”城市规划委员会成员Amanda Burden在投票之前就对这个项目充满了兴趣。

在通过评审之前，委员会要求了解这个项目的一些细节，主要在于怎样让这个建筑融合在街道中。为了缓和对于58大街的压力，建筑设置了接近一个街区长度的建筑立面，开发者Douglas Durst和BIG一起工作设法在那个立面建立一个拥有门厅的零售空间，为了让更多的“目光集中在接到上”。此外，为商品、植物或者雕塑的玻璃陈列窗被整合到了立面的空白空间当中，为了建立一个更加引人注目的街景画。

Durst质疑了这样是不是最好的解决方法，因为百年一遇的洪水高度影响了联合爱迪生公司变电所的转移，这就要求了那个立面上连续不断的入口和使用部分，从街道等级和现有的58大街的状况来看，使得这部分空间出租给零售商店变成了不可能的事。

此外，Durst同意了限制标识系统和障碍系统将零售空间在57大街和西部高速上排成一排，为了保证人行等级上的透明度和活跃感。

前面的审核细节包括：拓宽人行道，在57和58大街之间缩小车行道，提供景观美化和座位，改善与59大街上Hudson河公园的联系，一个现在穿越西部高速的北部街区。

在最终评审之前W57只有一个更重要的挑战需要克服，选择一个价格在承受范围之内的房子。这个公寓将在城市的80/20项目的时候被建造，意味着20%的公寓将被提供给中低收入的家庭。现在那些单元只可以“付得起”35年，但是委员会要求的是永久的可以支付。


妥协是一个显而易见的必须，当地议会议员Gail Brewer威胁要“破坏这个项目”，如果她选民的需求没有被满足。

特别鸣谢翻译一组6号 俞路 提供的翻译，译稿版权归译者所有，转载请注明出处。

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After months of an “arduous” public reviewing process, BIG’s eye-catching West 57th apartment building in Manhattan has been approved by the City Planning Commission. The atypical design quickly gained international attention with its abruptly sloped, tetrahedral shape that rises from three stories to thirty-eight stories on an awkwardly sized single block site. Cleverly titled W57, the unique project was “born of logic”, as New York Magazine’s Justin Davidson would describe. It features a massive, football-sized courtyard with stunning Hudson River views and outdoor terraces for all 753 residents, along with a vibrant street life and close proximity to the Hudson River Park.

“Our approval will facilitate development of a significant new building with a distinctive pyramid-like shaped design and thoughtful site plan that integrates the full block site into the evolving residential, institutional, and commercial neighborhood surrounding it,” stated City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden before voting in favor of the project.

Find out what it took to get W57 passed, after the break…

Before granting approval, the commission required a few modifications to the project, primarily addressing the how the building is experienced at the street. In order to alleviate fears of deadening 58th Street with nearly a block-long stretch of almost a blank facade, developer Douglas Durst worked with BIG to establish a retail space within a lobby located in that section of the building to ensure more “eyes on the street”. Additionally, glass vitrines – for merchandise, plants or sculptures – where integrated into the blank parts of the facade to create a more engaging streetscape.

Durst argued that this was the best solution, as a 100-year flood plane restrains them from moving the Con Ed substation, which requires constant access and occupies part of that facade, from the street level and the existing condition of 58th street makes leasing impractical for retail spaces.

Additionally, Durst agreed to limit signage and obstructions lining the retail spaces on 57th Street and the West Side Highway in order to ensure transparency and a sense of activity at the pedestrian level.

Previously modifications made throughout the reviewing process include: widening the sidewalks, narrowing the driveway between 57th and 58th streets, providing seating and landscaping throughout the site, and improving the connection to Hudson River Park at 59th Street, a block north of the development that currently passes under the overpass of West Side Highway.

W57 has only one more important challenge to overcome, before final approval, that addresses affordable housing. The development is being built through the city’s 80/20 program, meaning 20 percent of apartments will be reserved to low and moderate income families. Currently, those unites will only remain “affordable” for 35 years, yet the community board demands permanent affordability.
A compromise is an absolute must, as local Councilwoman Gail Brewer has threatened to “torpedo the project” if her constituents’ demands are not met.