Twin towers are popping up all around the city. These duos are more driven by up-zoning and real estate speculation than architecture. From BIG’s XI project twisting across the High Line, to SHOP architects’ conjoined American Copper Building, to COOKFOX’s Tetris-like Domino Towers, designers have responded with a ride range of formal strategies in the twin typology.
OMA’s contribution, Greenpoint Landing, just broke ground in August. Using the operative word “dance,” the two towers step to create zig-zagging terraces and cantilever across a dramatic void. In my interview with the partner in charge, Jason Long, he admitted that the metaphor of “dance” is so generic, it could mean anything from winking across a room to a fist fight, but that the firm also wanted to establish a clear relationship between the two towers that was varied and interesting from different vantage points in the neighborhood. Twin tower blocks can be so wildly out of scale with their context, the massive pairs can seem lost in a dance, creating a relationship only with themselves rather than the neighboring blocks of townhouses. OMA challenges this outcome by faceting and splitting the massings, with contextual façade textures, and with a notched, accented street wall.
Changes to the Greenpoint waterfront will include several more double tower blocks. While massive, the new projects will open neighborhood access to a new ferry station and public riverfront greenspace design by James Corner Field Operations. The OMA towers are early to the party, and set a considerate tone for the rest of the guests.