A Hadid in Midtown Manhattan?
John Hill
22. maart 2017
Image: Kushner Companies/Zaha Hadid Architects via WSJ
A rendering for the conversion of 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City by Kushner Companies – the former firm of Jared Kushner, aka Donald Trump's son-in-law – has been released, revealing a supertall design by the late Zaha Hadid.
Reports on the building, which Kushner bought a decade ago and hopes to convert into a mixed-use luxury tower, have focused on the financing of the multi-billion-dollar project rather than the form it might take. Details include the potential involvement of China's Anbang Insurance as a major investor, the buyout of the current office tenants' leases, and some hefty debt refinancing, with a realistic completion date of 2025 – if all goes to plan, which seems unlikely.
Nevertheless, the rendering hints at what a Zaha Hadid-designed tower for Midtown Manhattan would look like, in this case one that would cover the steel structure of the existing building and extend it up to 1,400 feet. If built, the address would change from 666 to 660 Fifth Avenue, dropping any devilish associations, and it would sit about a half-block from Jean Nouvel's 53W53 now under construction next to the Museum of Modern Art.