New York City’s Futuristic Buildings

Here are some of the most futuristic buildings in New York City, looking at them you may feel that these buildings are out of Sci-Fi films. All of these buildings are built after 2010.

Via 57 West

Via 57 West is a residential building on the western end of 57th Street, facing the Hudson River. The building takes up a full city block between 11th and 12th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.


The building's tetrahedral shape and the pixel-like pattern of its outer facades make it clearly stand out against neighboring buildings.
The unusual form of the building is said to be a hybrid between the Manhattan skyscraper and the Copenhagen courtyard building, the tetrahedral shape is made by keeping three corners of the courtyard building low, and pulling up the northeast corner up to a sharp point at 467 feet off the ground. This shape is designed to provide views of the Hudson River for as many units as possible, and also preserve the views of the river for the adjacent tower Helena 57 West, which is situated immediately east of Via 57 West.
The courtyard of the building features a rectangular green garden, which has the same proportion as the nearby Central Park.

56 Leonard Street

56 Leonard Street is a residential skyscraper in Tribeca, in Lower Manhattan.


Designed by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, the building is comprised of an assemblage of irregularly stacked cuboids, which become increasingly offset from one another towards the top. The unusual form of the building resembles the wooden blocks used in game Jenga.

Outdoor terraces are irregularly placed on the building's facades, adding to the building's Jenga-like appearance.

Mercedes House

This is another building in Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in Midtown, the building is also for residential use but is only for rent.


From the sky, the whole building appears like a letter Z, formed by a series of stairsteps-like terraces that go up and down the building, the terraces provide generous outdoor spaces for residents in 50 units in the building.

The building has a total of 854 units and is in high demand, in the moment less than ten of them are available for rental.

111 West 57th Street

Also known as Steinway Tower, 111 West 57th Street is a residential skyscraper on 57th Street near Sixth Avenue. The skyscraper is one of the tallest buildings in New York City, and more notably, it's the skinniest skyscraper in the world, with a width-to-height ratio of 1:23.


The tower rises straight up to the pinnacle on its northern side, but on the southern side it gently set back in a series of steps, making the tower eventually gets thinner and thinner until becoming just a glass wall at the top, appearing like a stairway to heaven.

As of early 2020, 111 West 57th Street is still under construction, but has already topped out. The completion date is set to be in late 2020.

Aerial of Steinway Tower
Aerial of Steinway Tower

Vessel in Hudson Yards

Also known as Hudson Yards Staircase, Vessel is a landmark structure in the Hudson Yards Public Square, the honeycomb-like structure is 16 stories and 150 feet tall, comprising of 154 connected staircases, 2,500 steps, and 80 landings, the total length of the stairs exceeds one mile.

Vessel functions similar to an observation tower, visitors can climb through those staircases and landings to the top to enjoy the aerial view of the Hudson River, as well as the structure itself. Some people see the structure as Manhattan's answer to the Eiffel Tower.


The structure also has an elevator for disabilities and people who don't want to climb, to access the top in a short time.

Vessel was opened to public in March 2019, and is now a popular attraction in New York City, and one of the city's mostly seen places on Instagram.

SEE ALSO: 21 most Instagrammable places in New York City

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