Architectural Record — "Solar Carve by Studio Gang"

“‘We wanted to show how a building could be a good neighbor,’ Jeanne Gang tells RECORD of her firm’s new speculative office building beside the High Line in New York, called Solar Carve. The Studio Gang founding principal admits to being ‘shocked’ at what zoning would have allowed them to erect at the site. The parcel is situated in an already densely built section of the High Line, at the corner of 14th Street facing the busy West Side Highway in one direction and two other buildings—including the broad, 18-story Standard Hotel—that straddle the elevated park in the other. ‘If we were to have built our building as of right, it would have shaded the gardens and killed all the plants that were already there,’ says Gang.

Instead, the firm undertook a lengthy approvals process to build a taller, more slender tower that did not conform to the standard zoning envelope. The code did not require any setbacks, aside from a 5-foot gap from the former rail structure. But Studio Gang shaped its 11-story tower, which is targeting LEED Gold certification, in response to solar access, working with consultant Arup on the carving scheme to produce a narrow L-shaped volume that angles back at two corners with striking faceted facades—the northwest corner toward the highway, the southeast one overlooking the High Line, but separated from it by a large terrace. Along the rest of the length of the building, 16-foot-tall flat glass panels span the full floor-to-ceiling height, creating brightly daylit office spaces. (The off-axis elevator core is tucked into the darkest part of the parcel, allowing open floors that can flexibly accommodate various work spaces.”

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