Hotel & Residential
The Visionaire
+ expand detailNew York, New York, USA
500,000 square feet / 46,000 square meters
2008
The Visionaire is Battery Park City’s most environmentally responsive residential building. Rising above the Hudson River and New York City Harbor, the 35-story tower and its 10-story base is a strong presence along the southwestern edge of Lower Manhattan. The LEED Platinum building is the third of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects’ residential towers for Battery Park City.
The Visionaire assimilates public and private entities into one integrated example of green living. The mixed-use development includes 250 condominiums with below-grade parking, a 370-square-meter local organic market, and a 4,180-square-meter headquarters for the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, the agency that maintains the Battery Park City Esplanade and public open spaces.
Energy efficiency and indoor air quality are the most important and fully incorporated environmental features of the Visionaire. The most visually expressive element of the building’s energy efficiency is its high-performance envelope, a terracotta rain-screen curtain wall with silver-coated low-e insulated glass and 418 square meters of integrated photovoltaic paneling.
The distinguishing shapes of the building’s massing respond to views, daylight and natural ventilation. The Battery Park City Authority’s master plan provided guidance for the building’s general orientation, but the specific building plan emerged from programmatic needs. The tower’s interlocking curves shape residential layouts, optimizing outward views and cross ventilation. Dramatically bending facades of banded terracotta and sky-reflecting glass animate the river’s edge.
The Visionaire includes a variety of resident amenities, including a children’s playroom at ground level, a full-service spa, a fitness center, a sky-lit pool, and two roof gardens.
