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
Wallpaper* Newsletter
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.
-
Byredo holiday collection draws inspiration from Wim Wenders and Georgia O’Keefe
Byredo’s creative image director Lucia Pica speaks to Wallpaper* in an exclusive interview, revealing her off-kilter design process
By Mary Cleary Published
-
2024 Pantone Color of the Year is looking deliciously peachy
Peach Fuzz is Pantone Color of the Year – time to refeather your nest in a comforting hue?
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Design Miami 2023 explores how design responds to the world around us
Design Miami 2023 (until 10 December), curated by Anna Carnick, is guided by the theme of ‘Where We Stand’
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
‘Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania’: two exhibitions bring new life to historic designs
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania and Fallingwater designs, realised and unrealised, are celebrated in two exhibitions, at The Westmoreland and at Fallingwater itself
By Audrey Henderson Published
-
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival design by Studio Gang revealed
The first images for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival by Studio Gang have been unveiled
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Learnings from the Architecture Sarasota MOD Weekend 2023
Architecture Sarasota MOD Weekend 2023 highlights local midcentury architects’ timeless responses to sustainability and a site-specific approach
By Angella d'Avignon Published
-
Roy Lichtenstein studio is now home to the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program
The 1912 Roy Lichtenstein studio has been updated by Johnston Marklee to include individual artist studios, a seminar room and other facilities
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
This artist’s studio on Long Island is carefully placed amidst a wooded site
Architects Worrell Yeung designed the Springs artist's studio to blend into the trees, with leafy views from the lofty atelier
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Lever House in New York gets a 21st-century makeover
Some 70 years after its completion, SOM returns to Lever House in New York, bringing the high-rise landmark to the 21st century
By Diana Budds Published
-
FRPO’s Oregon house explores modern materials and a circular plan
This single-storey Oregon house in the Pacific Northwest offers a radical new take on suburban living
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Camino House is a revived 1960s home in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley
Lindsay Gerber’s tactful refurbishment of Camino House brings a quiet glamour to the wood-panelled 1960s home in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley
By Shonquis Moreno Published