This hypothetical horseshoe-shaped building has gone viral.
A rendering of a 4,000-foot-long skyscraper in Midtown, designed by architectural firm Oiio, has gone viral. The hypothetical building — dubbed “Big Bend” — looks like two 432 Park Avenues joined together at the top in a curve. If built, it would also be the longest skyscraper in the world.
Online reactions to the proposal have been, well, mixed.
Designs are unveiled for a U-shaped skyscraper called "The Big Bend" https://t.co/mLL6klP5jw pic.twitter.com/RoI0ygnEun
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 24, 2017
The Big Bend is a curved, 4,000 foot-long skyscraper planned on Manhattan's Billionaire's Row https://t.co/lepRepHe1C pic.twitter.com/gPUmbtI8Nd
— CNN (@CNN) March 24, 2017
New York could be getting the longest building in the world, the Big Bend https://t.co/iP8S18NHMa pic.twitter.com/xLWTP1ghR4
— CNN International (@cnni) March 24, 2017
But don’t get too riled up: It would take a miracle for this bendy building to rise in NYC. That’s not necessarily because it’s structurally impossible — the firm’s architect, Ioannis Oikonomou, thinks it’s an “achievable scenario.” Instead, you can blame (or thank) the city’s strict zoning laws for keeping this off the skyline.
Still, Oiio dares to dream of a time when the arch could rise. “The Big Bend can become a modest architectural solution to the height limitations of Manhattan,” the firm wrote in a statement. “We can now provide our structures with the measurements that will make them stand out without worrying about the limits of the sky.”