Herzog & de Meuron, 56 Leonard, New York

Photograph courtesy of 56 Leonard.

New York City has no shortage of luxury condominium towers, but despite the various prominent architects, the city typically ends up with a decidedly restrained work of high-end housing (think, for instance, of Zaha Hadid’s scheme for 520 W. 28th Street, which lacks the expressive geometries of her work in China). Herzog & de Meuron is an exception. The Swiss firm follows its compelling 40 Bond Street building with a structurally ambitious 60-story high-rise in TriBeCa. Far more interesting than the Anish Kapoor sculpture near the building’s entrance are its cantilevered terraces, which result from a variety of irregular floorplans and give the entire complex the dramatic silhouette of a Jenga tower. The long (and long-delayed) construction process is finally near completion; the structure will be fully occupied in 2017.