Editors’ Choice

2019 Skyscraper Competition
Arman Salemi, Laura Clark

United States

This project aims to speculate on the potential future of incentivized zoning in New York City. The proposal is for the tallest building in Manhattan, surpassing the new World Trade Center and the slender towers in midtown. This proposed site for this project is Billionaire?s Row, located in midtown Manhattan ? an area known for its extreme wealth. Though New York City is a diverse urban landscape, this area is known for its extreme gentrification, resulting in a neighborhood that is largely commercialized that lacks affordable housing, public space, and a sense of community. The proposal aims to build a Vertical City, one that reflects the diversity of New York City into a single tower. The resulting tower has bespoke villas for the eight richest men in the world ? Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega, Warren Buffet, Carlos Slim, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and Michael Bloomberg. Each of the villas was designed by a different architect, ranging from Robert AM Stern to Bjarke Ingels, that have been matched with each billionaire. The result is a sky-high display case for the world?s greatest starchitects. We are marketing the next level of luxury ? buying air space instead of an apartment. We are aiming to sell air rights to 0.01% ? with our new model of real estate you can now ?buy the sky.? 
The project proposes the tallest tower in Manhattan by using New York City incentiv...