FOR years, New York developers have been trying to maximize the value of residential properties by hiring celebrity architects. At Philip Johnson’s Urban Glass House, Richard Meier’s Perry Street apartments and Jean Nouvel’s 100 11th Avenue, the architects were chosen in part to raise condominium prices.

Now the developer Bruce Ratner of Forest City Ratner is about to determine whether a big-name architect can do the same for rental apartments. His new tower at 8 Spruce Street, just south of the Brooklyn Bridge, was designed by Frank Gehry, who gave it an undulating skin that ripples like the Statue of Liberty’s gown, but in stainless steel rather than copper.

At 867 feet, 8 Spruce Street (which for a time was known as Beekman Tower) is the tallest residential building in the city, surpassing the Trump World Tower. That would make it notable even without Mr. Gehry’s distinctive facade.

In an interview, the architect demonstrated how the folds were conceived, pinching the sleeve of his black turtleneck shirt between his fingers. What is important to him, Mr. Gehry said, isn’t how the folds look but what they do to the interiors, which unfurl in a riot of angled alcoves and bay windows. With more than 600 layouts among the 900 apartments, potential renters may want to see dozens of units before selecting one to live in. That could be a headache for the building’s rental agents, who will begin showing units early next year, said MaryAnne Gilmartin, an executive vice president of Forest City Ratner.