New York Skyline Has World's Thinnest Building
2022-08-22
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1A new building stands out from the rest in New York City's skyline.
2America's largest city is known for its many extremely tall buildings, also known as skyscrapers.
3The newly completed Steinway Tower is not New York's tallest.
4But it is the skinniest, meaning very thin.
5The 84-story Steinway Tower is a housing structure.
6It was designed by New York building company SHoP Architects.
7The project was started in 2014 and completed earlier this year.
8The building is being called the "most slender skyscraper in the world."
9This is because it has a width-height relationship, or ratio, of 1-to-23 1/2.
10Gregg Pasquarelli is a founding member of SHoP Architects.
11He told The Associated Press that any time a building has a 1-to-10 or more ratio, it is considered a slender building.
12He said anything 1-to-15 or more is considered "exotic" and "really difficult" to build.
13"The most slender buildings in the world are mostly in Hong Kong, and they're around 17- or 18-to-1," Pasquarelli added.
14The 60 living spaces in the tower range in cost from $18 million to $66 million.
15They offer 360-degree views of the city.
16The building sits just south of Central Park, along a stretch of Manhattan's 57th Street known as "Billionaires' Row."
17At 435 meters, Steinway Tower is the second-tallest housing structure in the Western Hemisphere.
18The tallest is the nearby Central Park Tower at 470 meters.
19For comparison, the world's tallest building is Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which rises 828 meters.
20Steinway Tower is so thin at the top that a strong wind can cause the upper floors to sway by about a half meter.
21"Every skyscraper has to move," Pasquarelli said.
22"If it's too stiff, it's actually more dangerous - it has to have flexibility in it."
23To prevent the tower from swaying too far, designers created a counterbalance with steel pieces.
24In addition, about 200 rock anchors provide support from the ground.
25Steinway Tower has a long history as the former site of Steinway Hall, which was built in 1924.
26JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group bought the building in 2013.
27The company said it is now looking to the future.
28Pasquarelli said of the new site, "I hope it holds a special place in all future New Yorkers' hearts."
29I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A new building stands out from the rest in New York City's skyline. 2America's largest city is known for its many extremely tall buildings, also known as skyscrapers. 3The newly completed Steinway Tower is not New York's tallest. But it is the skinniest, meaning very thin. 4The 84-story Steinway Tower is a housing structure. It was designed by New York building company SHoP Architects. The project was started in 2014 and completed earlier this year. 5The building is being called the "most slender skyscraper in the world." This is because it has a width-height relationship, or ratio, of 1-to-23 1/2. 6Gregg Pasquarelli is a founding member of SHoP Architects. He told The Associated Press that any time a building has a 1-to-10 or more ratio, it is considered a slender building. He said anything 1-to-15 or more is considered "exotic" and "really difficult" to build. 7"The most slender buildings in the world are mostly in Hong Kong, and they're around 17- or 18-to-1," Pasquarelli added. 8The 60 living spaces in the tower range in cost from $18 million to $66 million. They offer 360-degree views of the city. The building sits just south of Central Park, along a stretch of Manhattan's 57th Street known as "Billionaires' Row." 9At 435 meters, Steinway Tower is the second-tallest housing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The tallest is the nearby Central Park Tower at 470 meters. 10For comparison, the world's tallest building is Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which rises 828 meters. 11Steinway Tower is so thin at the top that a strong wind can cause the upper floors to sway by about a half meter. 12"Every skyscraper has to move," Pasquarelli said. "If it's too stiff, it's actually more dangerous - it has to have flexibility in it." 13To prevent the tower from swaying too far, designers created a counterbalance with steel pieces. In addition, about 200 rock anchors provide support from the ground. 14Steinway Tower has a long history as the former site of Steinway Hall, which was built in 1924. JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group bought the building in 2013. The company said it is now looking to the future. 15Pasquarelli said of the new site, "I hope it holds a special place in all future New Yorkers' hearts." 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 18_____________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20slender - adj. very thin 21exotic - adj. unusual, interesting and often foreign 22sway - v. to move back and forth 23stiff - adj. hard and difficult to bend 24flexibility - n. the quality of bending easily without breaking 25anchor - n. a piece of equipment that is used to prevent an object from moving 26_______________________________________________________________ 27What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.