The Virgin Hotel New York broke ground in the NoMad neighborhood on Monday.
Located on the southwest corner of 30th Street and Broadway the 39-story, 500,000 s/f tower is expected to open in 2018.
VOA, the architect and interior designer, has been working closely with owner/developer the Lam Group and Virgin Hotels to create a new lifestyle hotel concept that will become an exciting destination for both travelers and locals.
The 465-key hotel will include 30,000 s/f of amenities: banquet, meeting, conference and open workspace located in the cellar, multiple food and beverage outlets on the lower tower floors, rooftop skybar, expansive outdoor terraces, pool and spa, complemented by 90,000 s/f of retail.
Virgin’s commitment to creating a new “lifestyle” hotel product required VOA to consider how their program should inform the architectural solution.
The overall design is a selectively sculpted tower over a three level podium, maximizing the open-air program and providing ample amenity floors.
“The design of the tower was conceived from the inside out, taking cues from the hotel room guest floors,” said Brian McFarland, a principal of VOA and the lead architectural designer on the hotel.
“Efficiently cellular in nature, the tower originally dictated a simple building form. Deconstruction of this otherwise simple tower was achieved through selective massing being removed and reapplied to create a more interesting form and offer more corner rooms and greater views.ˮ
Major structural elements are located along perimeter zones where daylighting was not required. Further accentuating the design is the tower cladding; a colossal scale mosaic of differing embossed stainless steel panels which visually elongate the building vertically, making it appear more slender.
Extruding the reflective glazed areas out between the metal solids creates a reading of crystalline cubic solids emphasizing the three dominant hotel exposures.
VOA Architecture NY Managing Principal, Len Cerame commented, ”The Virgin Hotel New York’s distinctive look is sure to play a key role in the NOMAD neighborhood’s transformation process.”
The breadth of the Broadway frontage – designed as a continuous surface of glass storefronts – will feature premier retailers.
