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On the eve of the completion of Raimund
Abraham's winning design (of 226 entries) for the Austrian Cultural
Institute New York (ACI) on 52nd Street
in Manhattan we present his design and the second, third and
fourth place finalists from the 1992 open competition. Architect's
and jury's comments are included for each design.
Raimund Abraham: The lateral compression
of the site defines the latency of its vertical thrust. Three
elementary towers: The Vertebra / Stair Tower, The Core / Structural
Tower, The Mask / Glass Tower. Signifying the counterforces of
gravity: The Vertebra - Ascension, The Core - Support, The Mask
- Suspension. The entire tower rests on the cavity of its public
spaces.
Jury: The jury found this scheme to
possess a strong formal resolution and to convey at the same
time a powerful sense of institutional form. The rich articulation
of the inclined infill mass was considered to be both innovative
and compelling, particularly in relation to the adjacent set-back
facades and the scale of the street. The placement of the vertical
circulation to the rear of the site was felt to be felicitous
since it enabled the full width of a narrow frontage to be utilized.
It was noted that the louvered "mask" facade would
require careful detailing and...the balconies on the street should
be more fully integrated with the usable floor space. |
