Architecture

Welcome to the Vertical Village: Discover the World’s High-Rise Luxury Homes

Savvy urbanites are moving into a new generation of high-rise developments offering a contemporary way of living where facilities such as rooftop gardens and private dining come as standard

Having a home in one of the new generation of skyscrapers that are shooting up around the world doesn’t just give you a stunning vista, it also provides a fresh perspective on contemporary city living. Welcome to the era of the “vertical village.”

These innovative high-rise communities are enriched and bound together by a wide range of communal spaces and enticing hotel-style amenities. The whole notion of vertical living is being radically redefined in cities such as New York, London, and Singapore, as an intensified reach for the sky reshapes the urban landscape.

While Manhattan’s soaring skyline has long been molded by the lack of available land, the same is now happening in many other key cities around the globe. The ever-increasing price of real estate in desirable, central locations, combined with the energetic revival of many city centers, creates a burgeoning demand for homes, which pushes developers and architects to create landmark, statement towers that engage and inspire in relatively small footprints.

Vertical living is about a luxury lifestyle that is now a global experience

Residential towers are no longer simply a collection of apartments behind closed doors. The definition of “home” has been broadened to include a whole range of communal spaces, from lounges and bars, to gyms, swimming pools, spas, and “sky gardens,” as well as more contemplative spaces such as libraries.

“There is now an expectation to have these kinds of facilities,” says Simpson Haugh of architectural firm Simpson Haught and Partners, the designers of One Blackfriars, a sculptural tower under construction by the River Thames in London. “Vertical living is about a luxury lifestyle that is now a global experience, and it’s good to have things such as a screening room, wine-tasting spaces, or meeting rooms close by.”

Christie’s International Real Estate’s 2015 report, Luxury Defined: An Insight Into The Global Prime Property Market, revealed that “brokers reported an increased interest in brand new residences, with buyers happily paying a premium for security, concierge, and other luxury amenities.”

The Acqua Iguazu development, by Yoo, located in Manila, will rise to more than 50 stories and be topped by a distinctive crown called the “Cielo,” a multi-level amenity deck with swimming pool, bar, DJ booth and dance floor.Yoo, the residential and hotel design company founded by John Hitchcox and Philippe Starck, has long been at the forefront of the evolution of the luxury vertical village. Collaborating with development partners and a “family” of designers, including Marcel Wanders, Jade Jagger, and Steve Leung, Yoo has developed high-rise communities in cities such as Miami, Panama, and Mumbai. Yoo’s buildings are not only defined by their design quality, but also by a philosophy of communal living.

Communal amenities – sky gardens, pools, daycare facilities – are a familiar aspect of most Yoo projects and are increasingly found in other developments around the world that share a wider philosophy focused on creating a vibrant neighborhood of like-minded people, drawn to a building by similar tastes. These developments often include a range of differently scaled and priced apartments in “the village,” from one-bedroom homes to family apartments, helping to create a more dynamic social mix but with common interests.

Residents of London's riverside One Nine Elms development enjoy access to a communal viewing deck, though they may also admire the view from their own enclosed "winter garden" terrace.Many of these amenities, along with statement reception areas and concierge services, were once the preserve of the world’s best hotels, but today help set the new generation of vertical villages apart from their mid-20th-century forebears – both the sleek modernist skyscrapers of the US, and the high-rise housing towers of France, Britain, and Europe, inspired by pioneering architect and artist Le Corbusier and his famous Unité d’Habitation housing complex in Marseille.

Yoo is one company that works in the residential and hotel sectors, and there are a number of hoteliers – such as André Balazs and Ian Schrager – who are now also working on residential projects. “I like the model of apartments alongside hotels,” says Schrager, who has included residences next to his EDITION hotels in Miami and Bangkok, developed in association with Marriott International. “It’s a modern way of living. You get the benefits of ownership but with the services of a hotel.”

New-generation towers are becoming increasingly ambitious in their design and architecture, creating bold new statements on the urban skyline and climbing ever higher. In New York, Christian de Portzamparc’s One57 tower will climb to 90 stories; Herzog & de Meuron’s 56 Leonard will reach 60 floors up. Both will include a wide range of communal amenities.

“There is definitely a growing expectation and pressure for these kinds of facilities among buyers at the top end of the market – concierge service, private dining rooms, gyms, playrooms for children,” says New York real estate specialist Hall Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales, LLC, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate. “This has put pressure on the old co-op buildings to come up with some of these amenities. It has changed the whole marketplace.”

Service comes as standard at 551W21 (551 West 21st Street), a Norman Foster-designed development in New York that Willkie is marketing. Residents don’t just benefit from a doorman and concierge, but valets and porters as well, plus a residents’ lounge, state-of-the-art fitness center, and “his and her” spa.

Amenities at Herzog & de Meuron's 60-story 56 Leonard, in New York's Tribeca, include a library, theater, daycare, and a landscaped outdoor sun deck.Architectural firm UNStudio is also designing a number of new vertical cities – albeit on a slightly more humble scale – including The Scotts Tower in Singapore (31 stories) and Canaletto in London (30 stories). Both these projects have a generous provision of social and outdoor space, including private balconies and “sky gardens.” “Adding these components to residential projects means that the building is no longer there simply to house people,” says UNStudio’s Ben van Berkel. “It extends the living experience by accommodating residents’ leisure time. It offers a high degree of freedom as it eliminates the need to travel to the gym, swimming pool, or park – residents can quickly fit in a workout or a swim before or after work, or spend time relaxing on the sky terrace.”

UNStudio's Canaletto development, in London, offers its "vertical villagers" a private members' club, pool, spa, gym, theater, and concierge service.
UNStudio's Canaletto development, in London, offers its "vertical villagers" a private members' club, pool, spa, gym, theater, and concierge service.
Strutt & Parker, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, also believes that the availability of outside space is hugely important: “Discerning purchasers in skyscrapers want the same things as those buying low-rise new builds. However, I think the higher up you are the more attractive outside space becomes.” Strutt & Parker is currently marketing the exclusive 56-story River Tower at One Nine Elms on the banks of the River Thames, complete with a residents’ club on the 50th floor featuring an extensive outdoor terrace and bar.

Singapore’s Ardmore Three building also offers generous outside space. A close neighbor of The Scotts Tower, this development of 231 luxurious apartments offers residents an outdoor dining terrace, a gym, lap pool, and private gardens, making it “the epitome of luxury living,” according to Stephanie Tay, group general manager of marketing at Wheelock Properties.

Residents of Scotts Tower in Singapore benefit from amenities including pools, sun decks, a kitchen pavilion, barbecue deck, and "sky lobby".
Residents of Scotts Tower in Singapore benefit from amenities including pools, sun decks, a kitchen pavilion, barbecue deck, and "sky lobby".
Renzo Piano, who designed the new Whitney Museum of American Art, strongly believe that building vertical communities in urban centers is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly form of design. It’s not only that including more amenities within the village cuts down on the need to travel around, or that vertical villages are usually well served by public transport networks, it’s also that well-built, well-designed, and well-engineered towers cost far less to heat and cool than a mass of low-rise buildings.

“There is a nostalgic, almost romantic, idea that it is more ecological to make a small building – forget it,” says Piano, architect of The Shard in London, the tallest tower in Western Europe, which has a mix of apartments, offices, and restaurants, as well as a five-star hotel. “It’s much more socially and environmentally correct to intensify the city and free up space on the ground because this is a wiser use of land. We woke up at the beginning of the new century and finally discovered that the earth is fragile and must be defended. The first thing to defend is land.”