The Standard, High Line

Straddling the High Line, an abandoned section of a 75-year-old elevated railroad line, which passes over the buildings of the district and has been developed as a new linear public park, the building responds to its context through contrast.

Sculptural piers, whose forms clearly separate the building from the orthogonal street grid, raise the building fifty-seven feet off the street, allowing the horizontally-scaled industrial landscape to pass beneath it and natural light to penetrate to the street.

The two slabs are “hinged,” angled to further emphasize the building’s distinction from the city’s grid and its levitation above the neighborhood. The juxtaposition of the building’s two materials – poured-in-place, board-formed concrete and glass – reflects the character of New York City: the gritty quality of the concrete contrasts with the refinement of the water-white glass.

The Standard High Line defines a new paradigm in hotel design, challenging the conventions of private and public in a daringly modern structure. This exterior wall breaks with the traditional architecture of hotels, replacing opacity with transparency, privacy with openness.

The low-scale environment affords the building unique visibility from all directions, and unobstructed 360-degree views of the city are ensured from the building. Responding to the client’s mandate, the design conceives the hotel as a public place, incorporating gathering spaces for guests and community members. The south plaza becomes an urban living room, enlivening the street and contributing to the vibrant traffic of the Meatpacking District.