The eternal beauty of a Greek temple or the solemnity of a cathedral-these are the first images that come to mind when faced with a monumental marble colonnade. Certainly not the frenetic modernity of a business district in Manhattan. Yet there are aesthetic stylings that transcend the boundaries of time and conventional iconography. Evidence of this is One Vanderbilt, a skyscraper in the heart of Midtown Manhattan next to busy Grand Central Station, the hub of the city. Recently inaugurated but already firmly established in the city's imagination.
Seen from the outside, with its 427-meter height and tapered tip piercing the sky, this crystal giant changes the face of the neighborhood, winking at the noblest examples of New York architecture, such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler. But it is inside that the vertigo of the skyscraper appropriates an even more sophisticated language, entrusting marble with the task of interpreting, with plastic minimalism, its majesty.
The credit for this success, certified by the prestigious AIANY Merit Award in Urban Design, lies first and foremost in a team effort, led by the firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) with developers SL Green and Hines, but one that also speaks a little Italian. Yes, because the marble robe that graces the lobby of One Vanderbilt comes from the Apuan Alps, more specifically from Rocchetta, a quarry owned by MGI Group, the local company that has been quarrying, chiseling and exporting the world's finest stone for seventy years.
To give substance to their idea of timeless elegance, the designers chose Statuario Caldia®True White marble in a polished finish, which illuminates the two lobbies, the three corridors and the elevator shafts with its whiteness. But it is above all in the seven imposing columns called upon to guard the entrance that the quality and wonder of this Italian work is strikingly explicit. The purity of stone is a gift of the earth, but to bring it from the belly of the mountain to the heart of Manhattan required an enormous effort, which added to that natural treasure the mastery of ancient know-how and state-of-the-art technology.
Up to 15 meters tall, with a diameter of about 2 meters and inclinations varying from 1 to 3 degrees, these columns are the result of a highly articulated process, which began with the selection of large blocks of Caldia® marble, from which concave panels of varying thickness were cut. Next, the propagation of the veins in the stone was hypothesized using 3D simulations, and special tools were made to fit the curved shape to optimize surface finishes. In this way, MGI Group experts were not only able to predict the aesthetic performance of the columns, but also reduce machining waste by 30 percent. After all, the key to the success of this Italian company lies precisely in the direct control of every production step, from extraction to installation, passing through all creative and implementation phases. Excellence requires meticulousness, and so after shaping the columns, the team also carried out a pre-laying in a dedicated test space, to study the final effect and check that everything was flawless.
This is how we arrived at the superb composition that can now be admired as you cross the threshold of the skyscraper: a mix of classic and contemporary, where the statuesque austerity of marble meets the assertive character of metal, only to be warmed by the enveloping wood of the ceilings and the swaggering gleam of brass. The undisputed protagonist of the scene, Caldia®True White marble conveys the idea of rarefied luxury. With its veins in shades of gray drawing gentle textures, this solid and refined shell at once introduces visitors to an enveloping atmosphere that bewitches without intimidating, the ideal calling card of a place that wants to become the social, not just the commercial, hub of this emblazoned slice of Manhattan.
And once again, with this project among the most challenging and complex in its long history, MGI Group is making its way onto the international stage, continuing to elevate with research and technology its art, an age-old knowledge that does not feel the weight of time at all, but rather is cloaked with new vibrations and meanings each time.
Photocredits: Raimund Koch
Source: Elle Decor