October 2007

Vanity Fair

The 2007 New Establishment

Fanfare

Jean Nouvel’s geometric façade, with nearly 1,700 panes of glass of different shapes and sizes, for 100 11^th Avenue in New York City.

Nouvel’s New Wave

The curtain wall is a trademark of the New York skyscraper. Ever since Lever House was completed in 1952, the glass building has reigned supreme in the city. It has taken more than 50 years to produce another knockout punch. It’s here now, delivered by Jean Nouvel. The 23-story residential building at 100 11^th Avenue (opening next year) has the most technologically advanced curtain wall in the city’s history.  It is also one of the most beautiful, made of approximately 1,700 pane of clear glass, each a different size, and titled at a unique angle. The result is a Mondrian-like stained-glass effect, which the architect says is inspired by the 13^th century church of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.