This luxury condominium tower, referred to by Jean Nouvel as a “Vision Machine,” is located in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and features a unique façade intended to reflect light in a fragmented manner, reminiscent of reflections off the Hudson River.  To achieve this, the façade design utilizes aggregated picture windows, at slightly different angles to create the desired effect. The 23-story tower includes 72 residential units totaling approximately 144,236 ft² (13,400 m²).

During design, the seemingly randomized picture window pattern was rationalized into 32 different window frame types, with 4 discrete angles of glass rotation, 3 different types of reflective glass, and 4 different directions of rotation. Furthermore, these windows were aggregated into mega-panels, efficiently installed at the site as a unitized curtain wall. Front collaborated with the design team beginning at the early concept stage and continued to develop the design throughout schematic design, design development and construction administration phases. To facilitate design and engineering of the complex façade conditions Front developed innovative rule-based associative digital models. These models allowed the design team to quickly test various design iterations by adjusting model input parameters and assessing the aesthetic and performance results. Additionally, the design was further tested and developed through the construction of visual and performance mock-ups.