New York, NY
441 Ninth Avenue
Situated at the gateway to the Hudson Yards submarket, this repositioned, LEED Platinum office tower maintains the expression of the site and neighborhood while attracting creative tenants to its new Class-A workspace.
KPF renovated the eight-story warehouse and designed a new, 17-story building to rise from the podium. On the exterior, the podium’s lowered brick spandrels and new ribbon windows effuse greater natural light into the space. Inside, a preexisting grid of fluted, concrete columns uphold their form and function. In the tower, cellular beams and corrugated ceiling textures evoke the industrial quality of the podium while a pattern of concave extrusions on the façade add depth to the glass grid, all the while harking back to its surroundings through its duotone, white-grey detailing.
The building’s 25 rentable stories cater to the needs of diverse tenants, with nearly every level sporting private terraces or balconies, and the top floor combining its double-height space with a landscaped terrace. The tower’s side-core configuration preserves city and river views, while an exposed stairway encourages daily use and communication between floors and contribute to the interior’s bright, open expanse.
By reusing an existing structure, the design preserves embodied carbon and reduces the project’s potential environmental impact. Over 85% of the existing building’s envelope and structural elements were reused, while the team achieved an 80% diversion rate of construction and demolition debris. Regional and recycled content, as well as FSC-certified wood and low-emitting materials, also minimize the project’s carbon impact. Expanded and floor-to-ceiling windows enhance daylight coverage of each floor, such that 90% of regularly occupied spaces offer views of the outdoors.
Status: Built
Location: New York, NY, US
Firm Role: Architect
Additional Credits: Client: Cove Property Group LLC
