Hines Unveils 75-Story Building Design

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[IMGCAP(1)]NEW YORK CITY-Hines has formally selected Paris-based architect Jean Nouvel as the designer of a new 75-story building slated for a key parcel in Midtown Manhattan, adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art. Nouvel’s design will rise 75 stories from the 17,000-sf site between 53rd and 54th streets just west of MoMA.

Currently, a mix of uses is contemplated for the building including: a 50,000-sf expansion of MoMA’s galleries, levels two to five; a 100-room, seven-star hotel and 120 highest-end residential condominiums on the upper floors. The project will likely commence pre-sales in late 2008.

David Penick, VP of Hines development, tells GlobeSt.com that Hines purchased the site in early 2007 for an undisclosed cost. As of now, Penick does not have a projected project cost, however he does note that since it is almost 2008 now, there needs to be at least a year for planning, design and final approvals. Construction should commence in early 2009, he says.

[IMGCAP(2)]Nouvel’s design maximizes the site while considering the city’s zoning envelope, according to a Hines release. The proposed building’s silhouette tapers as it rises to a spire and will have a steel and glass facade.

Gerald Hines, chairman of Hines, explains in a release that Nouvel’s concept has the potential to become an international architectural design icon. The Hines firm has collaborated with Nouvel on both 40 Mercer in New York’s SoHo neighborhood and on the C1 Tower currently under development in Paris. Penick tells GlobeSt.com that it is because of the 40 Mercer experience that the firm was attracted to Jean Nouvel for this particular project.

Hines, who developed Philip Johnson’s “Lipstick Building” at 885 Third Ave., has been active in New York City since 1981. The company has three other residential projects under way in the city including One Jackson Sq. in Greenwich Village.

Among Nouvel’s completed buildings are the Arab World Institute, Paris; Lyon Opera House; Cartier Foundation, Paris; Galeries Lafayette department store, Berlin; Lucerne Culture and Congress Center; Tours Conference Center; the Hotel in Lucerne; Andel office building, Prague; Nantes Justice Center; Dentsu Tower, Tokyo; museum of archaeology, Périgueux; the technology center in Wismar; Agbar office tower, Barcelona; extension to the Queen Sofia museum, Madrid; Quai Branly Museum, Paris; Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis; Brembo’s research and development centre; and the Richemont Corp. headquarters in Geneva.