Rafael Vinoly Explains Design Motivations for 277 Fifth Avenue in New Film

By Ondel Hylton | From Future New York Wednesday, June 27, 2018

277 Fifth Avenue renderings (Courtesy of Lendlease and Victor Group)

Since designing the world's tallest residential building, Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly has secured several big-ticket commissions across the city. Among the most notable is 277 Fifth Avenue, a dapper 55-floor condominium that is now the skyline fixture of its evolving NoMad neighborhood. Yesterday, the project team led by The Victor Group, Lend Lease, and Shokai released a short film explaining Viñoly's vision for the project. Viñoly likens his approach to architecture to music, saying, "You can listen to Bach yesterday or today, and you always discover something new. That's what I think good architecture is, it's like good music"

277's straitlaced design brandishes vertical striations of floor-to-ceiling windows offset by cast indigo-colored panels fabricated in Finland. At several points in the facade, double-height loggias are inserted into the pure rectangular mass, yielding private open-air spaces for leisure and entertaining. "We wanted to make a building that could be more timeless in terms of its approach to form," says the architect.

277 Fifth's nearly-finished curtain wall basking in the afternoon sun (CityRealty)

Looking up at 277 Fifth and Sky House in early May

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You can listen to Bach yesterday or today, and you always discover something. That's what I think good architecture is, it's like good music. -Rafael Viñoly

From 212 Fifth Avenue

Sales launched last September on the building's 130 one- to four-bedroom residences fine-tuned by Jeffrey Beers International. Available spreads start from $2.225 million, which is a 29th-floor one-bedroom measuring 828 square feet. Other listings include a 49th-floor three-bedroom with multiple exposures flaunting the best views the city can offer. At nearly 700 feet tall, the building is one of the highest between the Midtown and downtown skylines and flawlessly presents postcard views of both.

Spanning several floors, 277 Fifth’s amenities include a lobby library with a double-height bookcase wall, an entertainment suite featuring a bar and private dining room with catering pantry, a fitness club opening onto the furnished Fifth Avenue Terrace, a game lounge, and a kids' club.