The foundation for 605 West 42nd Street had been poured when the credit crunch kicked into high gear. Moinian, the project’s developer, put construction on-hold, and the empty pit has been collecting debris since 2009. Luckily, there seems to be a sign of life at the long-vacant concrete basin, in the form of a project re-design.
The original architect of the project was Costas Kondylis, and they designed a 65-story glass box to be known as the ‘Atelier II,’ accompanying the neighboring ‘Atelier’. That design now appears to have been shelved. New renderings of a structure with a similar shape but a different facade have emerged, perhaps a sign of life for one of the West Side’s most notable ‘zombie buildings‘.
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| 605 West 42nd Street, Image from Real Estate Forum |
Real Estate Forum had the above image in its September issue, showing a redesigned 605 West 42nd Street. Whether that means the building will rise or not remains to be seen, but updated renderings of a project that’s been stalled for so long could only be a good thing. For now, only trees are growing out of the foundation.
The below image is the original design, which was more interesting than the new design but not in a good way. It’s the difference between a glass box that looks like it belongs in Hong Kong (the new design) versus something that should be in Moscow (the old).
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| Costas Kongylis design for 605 West 42nd, Image from Curbed |
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