Oiio Studio
Forget the tallest building in the world, these designers are going after a different kind of accolades – the longest. Concept drawings for The Big Bend – a new, 1.2km long skyscraper in Billionaire’s Row on 57th Street, New York – have been revealed showing a structure that curves over the city’s skyline.
Oiio, the design studio behind the idea, have explained their reasoning behind the incredible feat of engineering. “New York city’s zoning laws have created a peculiar set of tricks through which developers try to maximise their property’s height in order to infuse it with the prestige of a high-rise structure,” they write.
“If we manage to bend our structure instead of bending the zoning rules of New York we would be able to create one of the most prestigious buildings in Manhattan.” It will even feature an elevator that will be able to traverse the entire structure through an innovative track changing system, allowing it to move horizontally and around curves.
“The Big Bend can become a modest architectural solution to the height limitations of Manhattan,” Olio states. “We can now provide our structures with the measurements that will make them stand out without worrying about the limits of the sky.”
