Skyscrapers are not a rarity in New York City, but Eight Spruce Street stands out

Let me be clear. I’ve never liked a Gehry project. In fact, I have long considered him a one-trick pony whose buildings didn’t take context into consideration. His work seemed to me as out of place as Philip Johnson’s Glass House would in the middle of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Then Gehry designed Eight Spruce Street, a highrise residential building in New York.

I haven’t yet been converted to think that all of his work was done by God, but God has that building given me reason to look further into Gehry’s work. His first skyscraper, a 76-storey, 870ft-tall building that opened last spring, claims the title of New York’s tallest residential building. Some say it’s the tallest building in the western hemisphere, but I’m not a fan of superlatives so I haven’t researched that.

Its programme further includes doctors offices, a school, pool and fitness facilities, grilling terrace, private dining room, library, and children’s playroom.

Surely one reason I like the building is because it’s a skyscraper. Being a Chicago girl, I’m rather fond of the heavenly form. Yet many recent skyscrapers should never have left the model stage.

The tower’s composition isn’t overly articulated. The pyramidal shape appeals, especially in contrast with the sudden horizontal apex of the roofline. The southern façade was left flat. Its steely façade enhances its structure and height. Depending on your vantage point and the time of day, the building presents a visual softness like a rain-rippled pond or wind-carved stone. Its skin contains 10,500 differently-sized and -shaped steel panels that lend the building a fluid language and articulate its accordion-like rhythm.

The material and utter aesthetic pleasure bring to mind my favourite New York building: the Chrysler Building, a steely symbol of Art Deco. Given that and Gehry’s nod to the nearby Woolworth Building, built almost a century ago, the starchitect wove this project into the city’s skyline. Therefore I see his address of context as gracious.

To be sure, I’m a bit disappointed that this building is a luxury residential tower. Only the one per cent can therefore use it. Given today’s Occupy movement and the need for America’s rigid corporate regulation, it’s a tough notion to delve into. It’s also a frightening concept how many writers exalt this project as a metaphor for individualism; that smells too much like Ayn Rand to me. But for now I’ll focus on appreciating the aesthetics.