Fast Company — "Tall Buildings are Leaving Cities in Darkness. These Architects Have a Radical Fix."
‘Viewed straight-on from the Hudson River, 40 Tenth looks like a simple rectangle. Shift to the right or left, though, and the building cuts inward, creating a dramatic faceted facade. The new development is part of Gang’s exploration into “solar carving,” a marketable term the firm uses to describe its process of shaping buildings based on the sun’s location and its desired effect. Architects have done some form of this for thousands of years, but Gang has advanced the practice by using software to create detailed solar path diagrams that allow the studio to shift, tuck, and slant a building’s massing into an optimized shape.
…40 Tenth [is] a glimmering reminder of how buildings, despite their relative permanence, can respect the dynamism of a city. Cities shift, morph, expand, and sometimes even contract. Buildings, by contrast, stand resolutely in place, often for decades at a time. It’s getting easier for architects to ensure that discreet buildings are designed with an eye toward the long-term livability of cities. “With the technology we have now, we’re in a position where we can really make bespoke specific responses to unique site conditions,” Walker says.'”
