In 2015, Heatherwick Studio was commissioned to design a new residential building in New York’s neighbourhood of Chelsea in Manhattan, beside the High Line at West 18th Street. The studio wanted to create a new type of residence; one that is reminiscent of the area’s existing historical buildings, designed and built for permanency in contrast to new glass apartment blocks that have sprung up along the High Line.
Inspired by the humbled bay window that is often found in late Victorian and Edwardian era buildings and reimagining the motif, the studio crafted a double-height, stacked bay window helf between robust brick piers. Freed from corner columns, the three-dimensional windows give residents spectacular views from rooms flooded with natural light at the same time providing domestic sensibility.
The studio assembled materials from Chelsea’s rich industrial heritage in an imaginative way through the Lantern House’s plain glass panes and vertical metal mullions and brick facades. They developed a special range of brick, giving the project a unique patine, married with careful detailing that includes bullnose edges and real brick soffits. The everyday, robust materials give the apartment a sturdy feel.
Split in half by the High Line, the studio gave the two towers a shared, memorable entrance. The lobby is positioned between east and west, pierced by massive steel railway columns and draped with distinctive lantern-like windows. On the ground level, retail spaces forgo the overwhelming size of New York’s plate-glass windows with bay windows that wrap the corner site to give human-scaled shops with divisible tenancies.
Divided with two towers, one 10-stories and the other 21-stories, the Lantern House houses 181 luxury residences; it has recently passed 55% sold.