HL23: Iconical Birth / The Superslice

In 2006, at the MOCA Skin + Bones: Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture show, I was immediately drawn to a six foot section model of a futuristic tower by Neil Denari. At the time, The HL23 was simply something nice to fantasize about, a luxury condominium overlooking an elevated park in the middle of bustling Manhattan. The design and program was akin to an overly ambitious thesis project by an architecture student. Fast forward four years later, HL23 is now a reality. On June 1, 2011, the HL23 completion will coincide with the opening of Section 2 of the High Line.

Building a residential project in Manhattan is an arduous process that is filled with red tape. Architects must enter a steel-cage deathmatch with stingy developers, nickel-and-diming/corner-cutting contractors, corrupt building officials, endless streams of opposition-mounting activists and protestors of all sorts. A nod, a salute, proper respect should go toward both architects and developers for sticking to their guns on this one. Not to mention, the immaculate execution that was displayed; it is a challenge to decipher between the initial renderings and the real-life photos (displayed below). Like the High Line, the HL23 reasserts and reestablishes the City of New York on the global stage for architectural modernity.

The New York Times’ Nicolai Ouroussoff interprets HL23: Nostalgia Wrapped in Steel

-YB

UPDATE: Architizer co-founder Marc Kushner talks with architect Neil Denari about HL23, his new building on New York’s High Line. Video via Architzer.