One Vanderbilt's “Air”

Design Concept Analysis

By Gelmira Gourgel

©Gourartch

The SUMMIT One Vanderbilt's “Air” in New York City is a quite engaging experience. Initially, at face-value, it may seem solemnly as an observation deck 90 stories above the city. However, the point behind this experience is beyond just the gaze of the New York city scape. The experience aims to strip away reality and the physicality of the space, leaving you with a psychologically impactful space. Once you leave the elevator hallway, you are forced to remove yourself from the ground as you walk across the mirrored floors, leading you to face the mirrored ceilings and walls that infinitely multiply themselves in the observable room and only provide relief with windowed views of the surrounding city.

The optical illusion of the space creates the impression of floating in the void amongst strangers, yet your physical senses are trying to ground yourself by telling your brain yes, there is matter beneath you. Even so, the people around you begin searching for normality within the space, that assurance that the physical environment exists, and sit or lie down and are forced to interact within the unknown.

The space brings different manifestations of people into the public realm. They are allowed visible uncertainty of expectations in space and experience it as a collective. One experiencing this environment seeks to explore the space and understand the reversed, intricate reality of it. It provides insight into how people may cope during new spatial experiences within “normal” architectural spaces, where social cues and customs are expected.

Furthermore, the expansive, floor-to-ceiling windows remind you of the city, it exists with weather and time.

"AGREGATE REEL VISION" The air Series | Digital Video collage © Gelmira Gourgel

These external factors inform realizations within the space, too. The project evokes emotion and provides a shared experience that, when viewed through an architectural lens, provides a deeper understanding of how everyday experiences may look without the built environment.

Bellow is a brutal and honest artistic and architectural interpretation of the Summit special experience.

"AndroCity" The air Series | Digital collage art work © Gelmira Gourgel