Snøhetta has completed a four-story observation complex at One Vanderbilt, New York City. Titled SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, the architects describe the scheme as one which “calms the observatory experience with a choreographed procession of connective social spaces.”

Snøhetta’s observatory sits more than 1000 feet above Midtown Manhattan. The attraction is accessed at Grand Central Station, with visitors passing through a wood-paneled waiting area and mirrored elevators on their way to the observatory’s entrance on the 91st floor. On arrival, an illuminated walkway named the Hall of Light seeks to convey the real-time weather conditions outside, be it through cool and dewy lighting on cloudy days, or blueish white light on sunny days.

Beyond the walkway, visitors encounter a two-story mirrored gallery installation titled "Air" by artist Kenzo Digital. The installation alters the visitor’s perception of the skyline by “reflecting the city into infinity” in a move which Kenzo Digital says "shares the intoxicating sense of aspiration and inspiration that New York gives me with everyone who visits it — a beacon of possibility that pays tribute to all that New York is, can be, will be." The areas surrounding the walkway and gallery serve as transitional social spaces marked by changes in material, softly-rounded corners, and curving soffits to counteract the angular edges of the observatory, and the external façade.

Meanwhile, at the top of the observatory, the Summit Lounge contains a sculptural, heavy timber panorama bench and hanging fireplace seeking to reflect the warm atmosphere of a ski lodge. Beyond the lounge, an outdoor L-shaped terrace holds dark granite bar tables carved from monolithic stone and solid wood benches.

“SUMMIT One Vanderbilt grounds the observation experience in delight and comfort through the introduction of supple geometries, warm materials, and custom-designed objects that visitors can sit on or stand by,” explained Anne-Rachel Schiffmann, an Interior Architecture Director and Senior Architect at Snøhetta. “This approach creates an episodic interior landscape unified by experiences that enliven the senses. The transitional spaces Snøhetta has designed train our attention on our bodies, and in doing so, help restore a sense of equilibrium to our experience of the skyline as we take in the best views across this amazing city.” 

The opening SUMMIT One Vanderbilt comes months after Snøhetta completed a new extension and landscape for the Ordupgaard Museum in Denmark. The firm has also recently unveiled designs for a sweeping new opera house in Düsseldorf as well as Milan’s first-ever “green district.”