[The world’s slimmest skyscraper] Like a stairway to heaven.

While the Steinway Tower is an architectural masterpiece that pushes the boundaries using the latest technology, it is also a building filled with the craftsmanship, history, and philosophy that are inherent in New York’s traditional skyscrapers. The east and west facades of the tower are adorned with terracotta, glass, and bronze work, recreating the texture, materials, and attention to detail of historical New York towers.

The tower features multiple setbacks, with the north side being higher and the south side lower, resulting in a wing-like silhouette rather than a stepped shape. As it rises, the width narrows, making the top almost linear. When viewed from below, the design appears to disappear into the sky, earning it the nickname “Stairway to Heaven.” The setbacks also serve as spaces for placing decorations at the tops of the terracotta columns that soar onto the east and west facades. This technique, in line with classical tower traditions, contributes to the building’s sense of unity.

5 Minutes With the 22 Vanderbilt Team

I’m so proud to have been part of the incredible team that radically transformed this building. To see it become a place where people genuinely want to be—to come to work, or to meet, grab a coffee or a drink—is unbelievably rewarding. And the environmental impact and benefit to the community that was realized by repurposing the existing structure makes it even more meaningful.

Ready for Launch

The use of terra cotta, which is a common material found along Woodward, was adopted for the tower. It wasn’t so much about designing any particular style; it was more about referencing elements that are uniquely Detroit and bringing (them) into the 21st century.

SHoP Expands to 56K SF at Woolworth Building

“There are no other buildings in Lower Manhattan with the cache and history of the iconic Woolworth building,” [Brian] Siegel said in a statement. “Having been SHoP’s NYC headquarters for well over a decade, the building’s prime location and creative energy continues to suit the growing firm as it now expands further into the space.”

New world’s tallest timber skyscraper smashes height records

Atlassian Central is designed by SHoP Architects and BVN, and is part of a larger development in Sydney, Australia. To put its scale into perspective, Milwaukee’s Ascent has until now been considered the world’s tallest hybrid timber skyscraper and reaches a height of 86.6 m (284 ft). Atlassian Central will top out at 183 m (600 ft), making it over twice as tall and – according to the CTBUH, the premier authority on building heights – the world’s tallest, excepting proposals that haven’t yet been approved.

Its hybrid structure means that, unlike Norway’s Mjøstårnet, for example, it makes use of significant concrete and steel, allowing it to rise much higher and still maintain its stability.

How models make architects’ ideas real

SHoP founding principals Bill and Chris Sharples love models of both their buildings and planes, which grace the firm’s Manhattan headquarters. But models are not just a means of decorating an office or displaying history: Their use can set a firm apart.

The New York Skyline Is Bursting With Iconic Buildings

Brooklyn’s first super-tall is hexagonal in shape, and clad in stone, bronze, and stainless steel where it ascends from the bank roof. The original banking room interior was preserved and on its roof, residents can take a swim in the three new pools and spas that abut the historic dome.

ASU’s under-construction McCain library aims to be civic commons rather than quiet archive

The Jan. 29 event marked the groundbreaking for the John S. McCain III Library and Museum, a project years in the making and one rooted as much in purpose as in memory.

The Best of the New New York Architecture

Two other supertalls, both by SHoP, puncture the atmosphere without disdaining the block. Both 111 West 57th Street, the world’s skinniest skyscraper, and 9 DeKalb Avenue, a.k.a. Brooklyn Tower, grow out of the early-20th-century landmarks at their feet, projecting their deluxe graciousness into the sky.

Warren & Wetmore’s 1925 Steinway Hall presides over 57th Street, a limestone memory of classical music’s glory days, and SHoP’s vertical addition draws out its poise, its rhythm, and its showy ease. Up at the top, the crown falls away, feathering to nothing, like a long pianissimo trill, a feat of attention-getting lightness. This is a huge accomplishment, offering a way out of the battle between contextualism and contrast.

Rhijnhaven Rotterdam: How Urban Development Can Succeed

The 220-meter-high Codrico Tower, designed by SHoP Architects, with its striking projections and recesses, also adheres to an appearance reminiscent of the Rotterdam port expansion era.