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Santiago Calatrava and Frank Gehry may be tapped for second phase of Hudson Yards

Hub on Hudson

Santiago Calatrava and Frank Gehry may be tapped for second phase of Hudson Yards

An aerial rendering of the completed Hudson Yards. (Courtesy Related + Oxford)

Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and Los-Angeles-based Frank Gehry have been chosen to design an undetermined number of residential towers for phase II of Manhattan’s Hudson Yards megaproject, reports the Wall Street Journal. According to “a person familiar with the matter,” the two sometimes-controversial architects were among a crop of designers chosen by the project’s co-developers, Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group.

As the first phase of Hudson Yards, development on the eastern half of the 28-acre site, has been racing towards the 2019 finish line, Related and Oxford have begun looking ahead to the project’s residential western portion.

Master plan diagram of Hudson Yards. (Courtesy Kohn Pedersen Fox)

Phase one saw the rise of Thomas Heatherwick’s pinecone-shaped Vessel, the eventual completion of four surrounding office buildings, a subway extension on the 7 line, and the High Line-straddling cultural Shed. The second phase will see the rise of 4 million square feet of residential space spread out across seven towers, and another 2 million square feet of office space. The western portion of the site is bounded by the High Line to the west, and is where the elevated park dips to street level. Phase II will likely wrap up by 2024, the projected deadline for the entire project.

New York by Gehry/8 Spruce Street (Maciek Lulko/Flickr)

Handing the reins over to Calatrava and Gehry is an interesting choice by Related and Oxford, as neither architect has realized many residential projects in New York City. While the billowing metal façade of 8 Spruce Street (aka New York by Gehry) is a familiar site on the skyline, Calatrava is most well known in New York for the soaring curves of the Oculus transportation hub. Gehry hasn’t shied away from his tepid opinion of the High Line, saying “The High Line is a rusty rail bridge and they put some plants on it.” Whatever flair either architect brings to the project will also need to fit within the context of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed master plan for the site.

AN has reached out to the relevant parties for confirmation and will update this post when more information becomes available.


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