Natan Wise

From a purely aesthetic perspective, I’m a fan of the new direction that skyscraper design is going.  They’re stylish, sleek and scream modernism.  I don’t know much about the physics behind building skyscrapers, but I’d imagine they’re impeccably engineered as well.  They look like a gust of wind could topple them over, but as long as they don’t, the flimsy look is pretty damn cool.  I’d also imagine that they’re better for NYC’s shade problem, allowing rays of sun to peak through the gaps between these slender skyscrapers and shine upon the sidewalks below.  From the street, I support the move towards skinny-scrapers, but I can’t help but wonder how life inside a super-slim tower will change.

I live in a 3 floor walkup with only one unit on each floor.  I love the noise-related freedom  that having no horizontal neighbors affords, but am well aware that life in NYC without neighbors is not the norm.  After googling the floor plans for One57, it became clear that skinny-scrapers will have far more single unit floors then most regular towers.  I fear that this will only isolate those who live in 24-hour doorman buildings further, and the neighborly vibe often associated with Manhattan will be further diluted.  From a commercial aspect, the fear is similar: with narrower floors, individual groups within corporations will continue to be divided, and the “team” environment of a company with many different operations will further be challenged. I’m aware that these are only 6-12 buildings and the majority of buildings will never be skinny-scrapers. But as a trend, I feel funny supporting anything that further isolates New Yorkers from one another.