Photo courtesy of Studio Gang
The One Hundred tower is a collaboration between a well-known design firm, Studio Gang, and Mac Properties.
A new building slated for 2019 completion in the Central West End will be the first St. Louis work of the legendary Chicago and New York–based Studio Gang Architects. The 36-story project, dubbed "One Hundred," will occupy 100 North Kingshighway, bringing 305 apartments—all corner units, because of the building's unique geometry—as well as stores and 355 parking spots to the corner of Kingshighway and West Pine.
It’s taller than most anything nearby, and its fluted tiers look like a seashell—or a spaceship.
Photo courtesy of Studio Gang
The building will be multi-purpose, with apartments, parking, retail, and amenities.
“We developed the design to optimize the amazing views that this location has to offer, and to provide a healthy and comfortable indoor environment for the residents,” says Juliane Wolf, Design Principal at Studio Gang for the One Hundred.
Photo courtesy of Studio Gang
Studio Gang designer Juliane Wolf says that they designed the building to take advantage of the views, delighting tenants with views of the Gateway Arch to the east or Forest Park to the west.
Studio Gang was founded by MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang. The firm is currently building towers in Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and Amsterdam. Their past projects have included Lincoln Park Zoo's Nature Boardwalk and a tower that won 2009's Skyscraper of the Year competition, and their architects have won awards for sustainable designs and innovative visions. Collaborator Mac Properties is a private real estate company based in St. Louis, Chicago, and Kansas City.
The stories are nested into tiers of four with the façade slanted back, giving the building its distinctive look.
“We scalloped the façade,” Wolf says. “The façade is not a straight line, [in order] to rotate the façade toward the views, but also to provide corner living rooms for all units, meaning exposure to two sides which improves daylighting and natural ventilation.”
Photo courtesy of Studio Gang
The scalloped design allows every apartment to be a corner unit.
The light and ventilation are part of the planned LEED certification for the building. In addition, multiple green roofs will serve to collect and store rainwater for irrigation and to reduce storm water runoff.
The tiers also create space for outdoor terraces at the top of each tier; Wolf says tenants in a quarter of units will have access to their own terrace. The tower’s unique shape also means that the surface is slightly tilted downward, which helps with shading.
While the height and unusual shape are new for the area—and the city overall—Wolf says neither is out of character. “Chase Park Plaza is already a really stunning Art Deco tower, so there is already a precedent,” she says.
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Photo courtesy of Studio Gang
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Photo courtesy of Studio Gang
A city ordinance includes no height restrictions for all lots in the zone that includes the One Hundred on the east end of Forest Park. So, Wolf says, the lofty tower is setting precedent for future buildings.
Studio Gang researched the architectural heritage of the city, as well as the buildings in the immediate vicinity. Wolf says they drew inspiration from the Chase Park Plaza and the Wainwright Building, as well as Forest Park’s signature Jewel Box. “That’s a really great expression of steel and glass,” she says. “It’s an innovative structure.”
At this stage, it’s uncertain if Studio Gang will be handling the interior design of the units themselves. Interior layout is part of the design consideration, and the units’ shapes will determine design to some degree.
However they look inside, the windows will be worth looking through.
Wolf says that Mac Properties has been using drones to scope out the area. “The views are stunning toward the Arch and the park," she says.
