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 i…