While the signs of economic recovery in Miami's real estate market were being reported last summer in anticipation of the December art and design fairs, the New York property scene was also undergoing something of a renaissance. Grand schemes have been brewing in different parts of town, developers have been in fervent planning and many leading architects are now flocking back to the city after the hiatus caused by the noughties' financial turbulence.
See the residential developments set to reshape New York’s skyline
The result? Construction is booming once again in Manhattan and beyond. And while in Miami the quest lies in creating the most iconic seaside condo with the best ocean views, greenest gardens and most exclusive pool bar, in New York, this friendly competition often turns to height.
The Rafael Viñoly-designed 432 Park Avenue tower - set to be the tallest residential building in the Western hemisphere - is already underway and slated for completion by 2015, while another mega-tower (designed to reach 411 metres high), the 111 West 57th Street by SHoP Architects, will break ground this summer. Also in the pipeline are somewhat shorter - yet still sizable and fittingly glamorous - luxury developments by some of the biggest names of international architecture, such as Zaha Hadid, BIG, Herzog & de Meuron and Shigeru Ban. Many of these flank the celebrated High Line, while others are high-end redesigns of NY classics such as the Walker Tower Residences.
Exclusive boutique projects are joined by larger complexes, such as the Hudson Yards development at the western edge of Manhattan. Diller Scofidio + Renfro and David Rockwell are working on its residential 15 Hudson Yards tower, while the gargantuan 28-acre scheme will also include an SOM-designed mixed use residential highrise, and luxury retail and office blocks. Meanwhile Hunter’s Point South in Long Island City by ODA will be a small town of commercial units and affordable housing.
The first wave of residential projects will see completion by 2015. The Tower Verre by Jean Nouvel is one of the latest additions to the city’s plans, scheduled to break ground in 2019. New York’s new luxury residential selection is growing by the day, joining the city’s big upcoming cultural and commercial buildings, such as the new Whitney Museum Renzo Piano and the landmark One World Trade Centre, which is gearing up for inauguration later this year.
-
How to elevate a rental with minimal interventions? Charu Gandhi has nailed it with her London homeFocus on key spaces, work with inherited details, and go big on colour and texture, says Gandhi, an interior designer set on beautifying her tired rental
-
These fashion books, all released in 2025, are the perfect gift for style fansChosen by the Wallpaper* style editors to inspire, intrigue and delight, these visually enticing tomes for your fashion library span from lush surveys on Loewe and Louis Vuitton to the rebellious style of Rick Owens and Jean Paul Gaultier
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFar from slowing down for the festive season, the Wallpaper* team is in full swing, hopping from events to openings this week. Sometimes work can feel like play – and we also had time for some festive cocktails and cinematic releases
-
Step inside this resilient, river-facing cabin for a life with ‘less stuff’A tough little cabin designed by architects Wittman Estes, with a big view of the Pacific Northwest's Wenatchee River, is the perfect cosy retreat
-
Remembering Robert A.M. Stern, an architect who discovered possibility in the pastIt's easy to dismiss the late architect as a traditionalist. But Stern was, in fact, a design rebel whose buildings were as distinctly grand and buttoned-up as his chalk-striped suits
-
Own an early John Lautner, perched in LA’s Echo Park hillsThe restored and updated Jules Salkin Residence by John Lautner is a unique piece of Californian design heritage, an early private house by the Frank Lloyd Wright acolyte that points to his future iconic status
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom wineries-turned-music studios to fire-resistant holiday homes, these are the properties that have most impressed the Wallpaper* editors this month
-
The Stahl House – an icon of mid-century modernism – is for sale in Los AngelesAfter 65 years in the hands of the same family, the home, also known as Case Study House #22, has been listed for $25 million
-
Houston's Ismaili Centre is the most dazzling new building in America. Here's a look insideLondon-based architect Farshid Moussavi designed a new building open to all – and in the process, has created a gleaming new monument
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fountainhead will be opened to the public for the first timeThe home, a defining example of the architect’s vision for American design, has been acquired by the Mississippi Museum of Art, which will open it to the public, giving visitors the chance to experience Frank Lloyd Wright’s genius firsthand
-
Clad in terracotta, these new Williamsburg homes blend loft living and an organic feelThe Williamsburg homes inside 103 Grand Street, designed by Brooklyn-based architects Of Possible, bring together elegant interiors and dramatic outdoor space in a slick, stacked volume
