505 West 37th Street - West Tower

 skyscraper, apartment building

377-foot, 34-story modernist residential building completed in 2010. Designed by Handel Architects, it is the shorter element of the 2-tower 505 West 37th complex. The two towers are separated by a landscaped courtyard, with the West Tower situated at the southwest corner of the site, and the East Tower at the northeast corner with an 8-story wing extending south.

The tower is clad in blue-green glass with silver aluminum spandrels and thin mullions. The double-height ground floor is clad in beige brick, which also forms a 7-story base on the south and west sides. The main entrance is from the courtyard, and the south facade's ground floor is lined with metal-and-glass storefront bays. The 2nd-7th floors have eight bays of inset windows, all double-windows except the east bay, which has triple panes. Both end bays wrap around the corners. The upper floors of the south facade are set back from the base, and have five angled facets forming a serrated edge. Each facet has balconies with glass railings at its end corner.

The north two-thirds of the east facade projects out somewhat, and black metal air-conditioning vents are built into the window bays of the east and west facades. The north facade is similar to the east and west elevations at its east half, but set at a shallow angle, while the west part is recessed, with a narrow bay of glass balconies at the junction, and a wider set of balconies at the west end angling slightly back to the west facade. A narrow 8-story wing with beige brick spandrel bands between the glass-and-metal curtain wall extends out from the west end of the north facade toward 38th Street. Unlike the east tower, this one has an angled rooftop.

The complex was developed by Rockrose and is now owned by TF Cornerstone, one of its successor companies. The West Tower contains 373 apartment units.

www.505w37.com/