admin
A Canadian company has been selected to design an observation deck at the top of New York City’s newest skyscraper and the company is hoping to take the project above and beyond the traditional observation deck experience.
Montreal-based GSM Project is collaborating with developer SL Green Realty Corp. on the design of the deck which will be part of One Vanderbilt, a 1,401-foot skyscraper scheduled to open in 2020 in Manhattan. It will be located right beside Grand Central Terminal.
"Certainly with all these experiences, the view is first and foremost the reason that people go up. They want to be standing on top of the city and have an overview of everything around them," explained James Pappadopoulos, GSM Project director of business development.
"That’s an important starting point for us. Given the competitive nature of the city that they’re in, they’re going to be the fourth or fifth deck open in the city. It’s really something where we’re pushing the thinking regarding the differentiating aspects of what is going on in the space…thinking about the space more holistically as a destination to have something where you would want to go there not only for the view itself, but for the experience that it provides as you go through it."
The observation deck will sit more than 1,000 feet above the city, feature an indoor and outdoor experience and provide access to views of Grand Central.
"We are in the very early stages for the development of the design," said Pappadopoulos, adding many of the details have not yet been finalized. "We’ve been working a lot with SL Green in regards to the base building issues and how we can incorporate a few different things into the base building design that would be useful for the observation deck."
"In particular, the big stuff that has been done as of late is bringing an outdoor space into the experience," he added. "We’ve now been able to mark up something that looks like it’s going to be multiple floors with one of those being outdoor. It will be really nice to actually get people outside and give them a view from basically right up high over Grand Central in all directions."
With their past experience building observation decks, the company has become a valuable resource tool for the project, he added.
"We have quite a good feel for things that do and don’t work and what we might need to think of in advance versus what we can wait for further on," said Pappadopoulos.
"Recently we have been having ongoing discussions with them (SL Green) and we are working on developing designs for the overall concept of the deck. We’re really trying to look at stuff that is different, and not your typical observation deck fare."
"It’s always better when you’re working on a new development for any of our projects really because you have the opportunity to influence a lot of the base building components prior to having those finalized," said Pappadopoulos. "We definitely want to remain true to the design and architectural vision of what the architect is putting forward and doing our best to integrate what we can while respecting that as well as the use for all the tenants of the space."
While their background and expertise is working on cultural institutes such as expos, pavilions, museums and art galleries, this is not the first observation deck the company has designed.
GSM Project has led the design of many observation deck experiences beginning with the full execution for At the Top Burj Khalifa in Dubai (2010, 2014), Au Sommet Place Ville Marie in Montreal (2016) and ION Sky in Singapore (2011) as well as experience concepts for SkyRise Miami, U.S. (2016) and the Shard London Bridge in London, England (2012).
"The development of this part of our business has been something that we are really looking to push because we do see an opportunity globally. People are doing observation deck experiences more than they have in the past and a lot of the data indicates it’s something that hasn’t reached its saturation, certainly there’s an appetite for it," said Pappadopoulos. "For us, it’s another in a list of projects that we’re super proud to be associated with."
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed