Off-grid living: architect Soo K Chan reveals Soori High Line interiors

By any yardstick, New York is a city that seems hell-bent on reinventing itself at every turn. A case in point is the High Line. Twelve years after it was first unveiled to universal applause for its imaginative transformation of a moribund part of West Chelsea, the 1.5-mile-long stretch of elevated gardens continues to fascinate – property developers especially.
So, when the opportunity came to design a private condominium in a prime plot of real estate on West 29th Street with the New York-based real estate developers Siras Development and Singapore-based Oriel Development, the Singaporean architect Soo K Chan jumped.
The complex features 31 one- to five-bedroom apartments
Over the last 20 years, Yale-trained Chan has been developing a nuanced approach to housing design in a built-up environment, his SkyTerrace at Dawson public housing development in Singapore being the most recent example. The new Soori High Line, which is due to complete next spring, represented, he says, a chance to further test that approach, this time in New York’s highly regulated setting.
The result is a silhouette of softly gleaming metal that comprises 31 one- to five-bedroom apartments, its slimness the result of complex interlocking grids. Inside, surprises abound, not the least of which are impressive double-storey ceilings where full length windows bring in light and views of the Empire State Building, the Hudson River, the High Line Park and the Hudson Yards development. Elsewhere, there are vast garden courtyards in the ground floor sites and saltwater lap pools in 16 units.
The aesthetic of the interiors is in tune with the sleek metallic interlocking design of the building
Chan says his concept of spatial plasticity and transitional spaces gave him the ‘flexibility to create interesting interlocking sectional spaces’. The architect also took control of the entire design, from the customised glass curtain wall and fins on the building’s facade, to creating a special line of furniture for Poliform including sofas, coffee tables, chairs and pendant lamps.
For Chan, Soori High Line represents something of a homecoming, having started his career with Kohn Pedersen Fox. ‘I had the opportunity to design and develop something of my own in one of my favorite cities in the world,’ he says. ‘West Chelsea has innovative architecture, and incredible energy. This is easily one of New York’s most exciting new neighbourhoods.’
The architect designed a line of furniture for Poliform called ’Soori Living’ which includes sofas, coffee tables, chairs and beds
The apartments feature interlocking sectional spaces
The architect took control of the entire design
Saltwater lap pools feature in 16 homes
The metallic facade with its interlocking, light-reflecting grid
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the SCDA Architects website
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Tuneshine is a new way of bringing back the lost art of the album cover
The compact Tuneshine screen uses LED tech to illuminate the artwork of whatever you’re currently streaming
-
Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for dance
Jacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season
-
What to see at Rencontres d’Arles 2025, questioning power structures in the state and family
Suppressed memories resurface in sharply considered photography at Rencontres d'Arles 2025. Here are some standout photographers to see
-
Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for dance
Jacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season
-
A Rancho Mirage home is in tune with its location and its architect-owners’ passions
Architect Steven Harris and his collaborator and husband, designer Lucien Rees Roberts, have built a home in Rancho Mirage, surrounded by some of America’s most iconic midcentury modern works; they invited us on a tour
-
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House – a project built with accessibility at its heart
The dwelling, which you can visit in Illinois, is a classic example of Wright’s Usonian architecture, and was also built for a client with a disability long before accessibility was widely considered
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface