EIGHTY FOUR STORIES UP IN THE FIRST RESIDENTIAL TOWER OF THE HUDSON YARDS MEGA COMPLEX, THIS RESIDENCE IS WONDROUSLY CLOSE TO HEAVEN ON EARTH

BY MATT SCANLON

The largest private real estate development in the nation, Chelsea’s Hudson Yards, which will ultimately encompass 16 structures in an area formerly used for Long Island Rail Road train storage, unveiled the first of its two phases last year. Principal developers Related Companies and Oxford Properties topped out the 910 foot 15 Hudson Yards tower last spring, the first completed residential project in the $25 billion (forecasted) Yards complex, and located on Tenth Avenue and 30th Street at Phase One’s southwestern corner. The 88 story LEED Gold standard building, with a dramatic “corset” at its middle and culminating in joined half cylinders (which form a quatre leaf ) was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, as was the Hudson Yards Cultural Shed (aka “The Shed”) performance and arts space the tower is connected to. Interior public space and amenities design including a rooftop terrace, health club and indoor pool, business center, dog spa, chef kitchens, and party and screening rooms were the responsibility of The Rockwell Group.

“Over the past decade, we’ve had the opportunity to shape an urban ensemble comprised of recreational, cultural, and residential projects for three diverse clients working with the city on the High Line, with The Shed on a new cultural start up, and now with Related on the first residential tower at Hudson Yards,” said Diller Scofidio + Renfro Partner, Elizabeth Diller. “The tower morphs from the orthogonal logic of the city streets upward into a contoured cloverleaf, with quadrants oriented to capture 360 degree views of the surrounding skyline. The glass facade renders a typically brittle, rigid material as organic and supple. The fluid transition results in uniquely shaped amenity floors that mark the shift from rental to condo residential units.”

More than sixty percent of the tower’s 285 residences have been sold (priced from $3.9 million for a two bedroom to $32 million for a duplex penthouse), with contracts totaling more than $800 million. This residence, 84A, is still available at press time; encompassing 3,385 square feet, it boasts four bedrooms and four and a half baths and is priced at $13,845,000. Its interior was conceived by the French company, Liaigre founded in 1987 by Christian Liaigre and which specializes in interior design, furniture, artwork, and architecture for luxury private residences and public spaces, as well as yacht interior design.

“The home epitomizes both Liaigre’s and firm creative director, Frauke Meyer’s, insistence upon maintaining the brand’s timeless sense of style while incorporating modernism through serenity, soft lines, details, and harmony, and we are thrilled to be part of this exciting project…one that no only reshapes the Manhattan skyline, but the whole community,” said Liaigre CEO, Thais Roda. “The combination we have been able to accomplish here is appealing to those wanting to live in contemporary interiors as well as holding on to the excellency of the French furnishing tradition.”

Also outfitting the apartment with brand furniture (made in France as well as the U.S.), Liaigre, with a showroom on 102 Madison Avenue, chose anchoring pieces like the oak based and eight and a half foot Augustin Sofa and the Aspre Lounge Chair and accompanying ottoman for the living room, the former in navy, the latter in blue/gray. A witty piece of space dividing functionality is provided by the just over seven foot long Bench Boréal curved seating, in Liaigre leather and with a black patina metal base. Art seen in the great room was also handled by the company its curator, Carlos Sicilia, commanding an affinity for the “international environment of contemporary work.”

In the master bedroom (see next page), dominated by a leather upholstered Malibu Bed, the firm chose to showcase the subtle curves of its Shelter Chair, in high gloss Macassar Ebony, upholstered in Lisse Petrole leather, and with polished brass feet. Also of Liaigre manufacture is that chair’s Trepied Bronze Side Table, two Cordobes Cabinets (in wire brushed oak), as well as the bedside Gauguin Side Tables (likewise in wire brushed oak, with black patina metal details), Coquillage Table Lamps, and 100% silk hand knotted rug. In the master, as in other areas of the home, the firm offers smaller touches, too, such as the Hugo Trays seen on the bed.

As with an increasing number of ultra-high end developments, 15 Hudson Yards is very much a self-contained mecca of amenities that other New Yorkers typically have to trek to enjoy. The 40,000 plus feet of in building facilities include lounges with four compass point views of the Hudson River, Statue of Liberty, and the city skyline, while the entire 50th floor is dedicated to wellness, including an aquatics center with a 75 foot long swimming pool, private spa with treatment rooms, beauty bar outfitted for hair and makeup services, fitness center designed by The Wright Fit, private studio for yoga and group classes, and a “children’s imagination center.” The 51st floor is devoted to entertaining and cultural pursuits, and features a club room, two corner private dining suites, a sound proof screening and performance room, golf club lounge, wine storage and tasting room, a business center, and a collaborative work space. In late spring, a new suite of amenities on the Skytop level will open.

“For 15 Hudson Yards, our goal was to create interior spaces that are simultaneously calm and strong,” said Rockwell Group Founder and President, David Rockwell. “We developed a rich, meticulously detailed palette of natural materials, making the most out of the building’s orientation to underline the extraordinary views of the city’s dynamic, ever changing skyline.”

15 Hudson Yards, Apartment 84A – $13,845,000
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