Client: BLDG Management

Overview

Summit of Manhattan, a landmark NYC sculptural installation

Summit of Manhattan, a landmark NYC sculptural installation, was created by Todd Stuart for BLDG Management. During the construction of Summit, a new 43-storey luxury residential tower at 222 East 44th Street in Mid-Town Manhattan, BLDG Management undertook a global search for a sculpture or installation of monumental proportions to landmark the grand entrance. The subsequent collaboration with Todd Stuart resulted in Summit of Manhattan, a sculpture constructed from high grade #316 stainless steel polished to a mirror finish (Length-17.6’ x Width-7.2’ x Height-12.2’ ). The design is an upward tending play on a traditional garden design trope in which a circular feature (a pond in English gardens or a basin in Japanese temple gardens) inhabits a square enclosure. Counter rotation of the circular form produces a symbol of infinity, and the resulting conjunction is drawn skyward to form an airy summit. Viewers enter an exchange in which arcing outlines evoke visions of ascent, convex and concave curves produce a dance of morphing forms, an angular frame balances the round form it protects, while a bridge between worlds rises to a shared summit.

Goals

The principal goal of the project was to create an artwork that would enhance the grand entrance of BLDG Management’s luxury Summit residential tower. The desired result would be warm, inviting and uplifting, consistent with how residents should feel upon returning home. In addition, the successful artwork would be capable of connecting with individual visitors and residents from diverse backgrounds, activating the imagination, and thereby contributing to an enriched sense of belonging and connection to place. Another important consideration was the necessity of seamlessly incorporating the serene reflection pool and ensuring that the final form was equally engaging and meaningful from multiple viewing angles: upon approach, from the main entrance, from the lobby, and from below by way of reflection. Overall appropriateness to location was critical, as was the need to create an experience that met or exceeded BLDG Management’s project goals.

Process

Having identified a promising sculpture design by Todd Stuart, Lloyd Goldman, founder of BLDG Management, initiated a collaboration that also involved BLDG Management’s development team. Taking the initial sculpture design as a point of departure, Stuart instigated a comprehensive diagnostic process, at the completion of which it became clear that to successfully conform to the aesthetic, emotional and practical goals of the project, the initial sculpture design would need to undergo formal and proportional redesign work. The final form of Summit of Manhattan was therefore informed by the results of the diagnostic. It was likewise informed by a consideration of international freight conventions, port to site transportation regulations, and building weight restrictions. Ongoing collaboration between Stuart’s production team, logistics partners, engineers, the BLDG Management’s development team, and the installation team, ensured that the final emplaced form met all BLDG Management’s project goals.