The American Copper Buildings are a bold new presence on Manhattan’s East River skyline.

Evoking the proportions of the nearby United Nations Secretariat, the sculptural design—two copper-clad towers that bend in the middle to meet at a skybridge—brings a new dynamism to an overlooked area of the city.

The skybridge, the highest in New York City and the first to be built in decades, houses a lap pool, lounge, and other shared amenities for the towers' 761 apartments, 20% of which are offered below market rates.
SHoP also completed the interior design of the lobbies and public areas, as well as the units, including millwork, cabinetry, and finishes. A second pool and lounge are sited on the roof of the east tower, while the top of the west tower hosts a facility for emergency electricity generation. Occupying a riverside site inundated during Superstorm Sandy, the complex is designed to achieve service self-sufficiency, with in-house power supplied to every unit.
  • phase completed
  • size 902,000 sf
The American Copper Buildings are an important new node in the city's expanding ferry network.