Take a flying tour of Bjarke Ingels' New York 'courtscraper'

by Kim Megson | 11 Dec 2015

Bjarke Ingels Group's hotly-anticipated New York ‘courtscraper’ is nearing completion, with dramatic new video footage – captured by a GoPro camera attached to a crane – showing the final panels being added to the structure’s cladding.

Located on West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan, the 80,000sq m (860,000sq ft) development, called W57, will have 709 apartments and 4,000sq m (45,000sq ft) of leisure, retail and commercial space.

BIG’s design imagines the compactness and efficiency of a courtyard building combined with the airiness and the expansive views of a 467ft (142m) tall skyscraper. The resulting building is an asymmetric tetrahedron, the form of which changes depending on the viewer’s vantage point.

Speaking about the concept, Ingels has said the location suggested the solution. "The site is sandwiched between a power plant, a waste management facility and New York City's West Side Highway," he said.

"In that location, they really needed an oasis. I considered the kind of place my dad lived when he was growing up in Copenhagen – a house with a courtyard.”

Leisure amenities will include a pool and gym, a golf simulator, a basketball court and a cinema.

The GoPro footage was posted on YouTube by Kevin Crowley, an executive board member of New York labour union Iron Workers 580, who are working on the project.

A previously released video (see below) from communications company Darkhorse captured drone footage of the building taking shape.