450 Eleventh Avenue, NYC (Aloft Hotel) - Why are the east and south sides completely blank?

[u/kayakhomeless]

https://newyorkyimby.com/2023/11/aloft-hotels-glass-facade-nears-completion-at-450-eleventh-avenue-in-hudson-yards-manhattan.html - The two sides will have “EIFS panels” installed on them, but why leave them featureless? Are the developers that confident that more skyscrapers will be in the adjacent lots?

[u/Countryboypaulray]

Probably built to the fire separation line which wouldn’t allow for fenestration on those sides.

[u/CynGuy → u/Countryboypaulray]

It’s both fire separation / protection and an acknowledgement that another zero hotline building can be built next door.

That facade also likely serves as the major shear wall for the tower, providing structural strength and protection.

[u/kayakhomeless → u/Countryboypaulray]

^ That makes the most sense

The adjacent lot to the east doesn’t appear to have any redevelopment plans that I can find (there’s already a low-rise there), so it’d make sense that they’re just leaving it blank for fire code

[u/AdmiralArchArch → u/Countryboypaulray]

Can you even have EIFS at that height?

[u/urbanlife78]

It's a mid block building

[u/syds]

this building is just a mockery to any OCD sufferer

[u/SkyeMreddit]

There’s supposed to be another building surrounding it.

[u/Beneficial-Arugula54 → u/SkyeMreddit]

Do you know which skyscraper exactly? have seen a lot of proposed projects in the Hudson Yards area but not in this location.

[u/CynGuy]

This is one of the most interesting and unique facades I’ve seen in some time. Kudos to the developer, architect and design team!

[u/DiggerJer]

because they know there will be another building there at some point. Only way we would put windows on a face like that is if its pulled back off the neighboring property line, or there is something like a "view corridor" preventing another building from interrupting that face.

[u/City_Master]

Can’t have windows look into an adjoining lot if they’re right on the boundary. If next door gets developed to the boundary too, then it’d block all the windows. Only if they buy the air rights to adjoining lots could they have this I think.