State of the Art Plaza

MArchI, Moscow Architectural Institute – State Academy

Project idea

The State of the Art Plaza is the new stage in high rise architecture which rethinks conventional attitudes towards skyscraper development and offers a fresh approach in building design. It demonstrates that such extraordinary architecture is able to reflect particular issues and resolve them. Besides its functional consistency, the building has an opportunity to become a significant landmark thanks to its elegant and sophisticated appearance.

The concept of the State of the Art plaza derives from a vision to design a structure with a contemporary institute, residential, office, and public parts. These areas are separated from each other and represented in three volumes ( art, residential, and office) and a public plaza. Such division of the functions helps office, residential volumes and the plaza to perform original function properly. What is more, they are prevented from unnecessary mixing when needed. However, they are intersected in the art volume where people from other parts come and meet each other. In more detail, people from residential and office volumes should use their elevators to reach the art volume while people from the plaza can come through a metal bare core by public tram. Thus, art volume is a kind of an island gathering people of different professions, interests, and positions. Such interconnection creates a diverse and vivid environment inside the art island.

Project description

The environment
Another thing is that the building acts like a city-friendly structure preventing surrounding buildings from excessive shadow from the project. It is achieved by placing three different areas (residential, office parts and the bare core) at a sufficient distance from each other which opens space for the light and the scenic view to nearby buildings.

As for plaza, it is an open space for different public events and retail activities. Five story parking lot is easily accessible to visitors, workers, and residents from the plaza.

The site
The State of the Art plaza is situated in Manhattan, Murray hill near East river. The site is surrounded by magnificent examples of architecture of different ages including the United Nations Secretariat Building designed by a group of architects led by Le Corbusier. In this way, the introduction of a new building into city fabric, huge in scale and strong in image, is permissible only on condition that this building is the leading one and surpasses all other buildings of the location in its architectural quality.

The program
The program of the building contains a large number of different functions (189800 m2 in overall) which are represented in the project. These functions are depicted layer by layer in the left graph reminding typical structure of high-rise buildings. Such regular system is not always functionally convenient. Correspondingly, it is decided to distinguish functions in four parts; office - 107800 m2, residential - 44100 m2, the art island - 32100 m2, and parking - 5800 m2.

The scheme
Separated parts are put into a composition like a constructor to fulfil proper functional zoning. The art Island is placed on the top of the structure to emphasize the art as the main feature of project. Other separated parts go towards art institution to meet and cross inside it. This scheme is a basis of further appearance of the building.

The public island
The art island is a 3 story multifunctional institution above office, residential towers, and the bare core. On the first level it has food court where people from other parts of the building are able to taste the cuisine of different countries and spend their time. Also there are a tram lobby, receptions, public services, and a large public space. If we talking about the second level, its main function is education. Correspondingly, the floor has education classrooms, two auditoriums, and spacious library. In this place, people can take part in different workshops, enjoy reading books, and listen to any lectures and discussions. The last level devoted to museum with 11 galleries and a huge open exhibition hall. This it the heart of the project allowing public to enjoy various exhibitions and performances.

The plaza
Besides art, office and residential parts, the project contains an important part - beautiful plaza. This attractive public space has distinctive features that complement the whole project. First of all, there are a lot of street pavilions with retail and entertainment functions. This contributes to the flow of a large number of guests visiting the building. The plaza is also a nice place to observe the opposite bank of East river from the ground level. Moreover, under the art island above the plaza people can see a huge mirror made of polished metal sheets. The mirror acts like a functional element of the bottom side of the art institution covering constructions. In addition, it is also an esthetic feature which reflects the plaza with its activities. In that way the mirror is also an art object creating a new experience among people.

The bare core
On the plaza we are able to see the bare core. This constructive structure serves as load-bearing support for the art island and important transport node for people. This is the only way to reach the art institution for visitors because people from the street are not permitted to use office and residential elevators so as not to disturb residents and office workers. The bare core has a large tram which has a capacity of 120 people at once. The tram runs at time intervals of 15 minutes and can transport almost 20000 people per day. On top of that, the bare core also acts like distinctive element

Technical information

The building is made of reinforced concrete, iron, glass.

Documentation

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