The future of New York City can be hard to visualize; while renderings do a decent job of depicting the city’s evolving profile, accurate images are few and far between. YIMBY stumbled upon the Instagram of Adrien Berger back in 2013, and his drawings of buildings capture details that renderings often leave out; the following images are the first of many that will illustrate the future skyline in all its supertall glory.

The first set of images are drawn from the perspective of the San Remo, looking south; the changes encompassing the Central Park skyline will be dramatic, as 57th Street develops into one of the densest corridors on the planet. From right to left, the drawing includes 220 Central Park South, 217 West 57th Street, One57, 111 West 57th Street, the Torre Verre, and 432 Park Avenue.

Each of the new towers will be enormous, but collectively, they herald a new era for Manhattan; for the first time, buildings standing over 1,000 feet will become a common sight in New York City, adding another dimension to the urban plane. The developments span across the entire island, from the World Trade Center all the way to Central Park.

While Manhattan and Chicago have been the traditional homes of the skyscraper, New York is pulling away from its Midwestern second cousin in the super-tall department — and while cities in developing nations have temporarily taken the mantle for ‘supertall’ superlatives, Manhattan’s skyline may soon re-take the crown. Besides the towers rising along 57th Street, 175 and 200 Greenwich will add to the Downtown skyline, while the emerging Hudson Yards will create a new vertical forest on the Far West Side.

All told, there are approximately twenty towers of over 1,000 feet either proposed or under construction; New York is booming, and the market in Manhattan is entirely market driven, a feature that developing cities cannot boast. While NIMBYs have battled against new developments, the tide is turning, a point that Adrien’s illustrations drive home.

All of Adrien’s prints — including a variety of other sketches — are for sale on his website.

For any questions, comments, or feedback, email [email protected]

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