Bizarre NY building set to be ‘longest’ in world

While Dubai is still home to the tallest building in the world, New York could take out the title for the world’s ‘longest’ building. 

Architecture firm, Oiio Studios, have conceptualised The Big Bend, a 1,200m inverted ‘U’ shaped tower that, rather than being built up tall towards the sky, is bent over and heads back towards the ground.

The architects dreamt up the unique shape to make the building ‘long’ rather than ‘tall’ as a means to get around the current Manhattan height restrictions, and to make the shape something a little different.

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If the building is approved, it will be placed among other luxury towers on West 57th Street, in the strip known as Billionaires Row.

The Big Bend will be nestled on either side of the Calvary Baptist Church, with the tower’s two sides connecting high above it.

The two sides of The Big Bend will be either side of the Calvary Church. Picture: Oiio Studios

It would also be next to two of the tallest buildings in New York – the luxe residential apartments at One57 and the Central Park Tower, a new high-end residency that will be completed in 2019.

One57, known as The Billionaires Building, is 306m tall while Central Park Tower will become the tallest residential building in the world at 472m.

While The Big Bend wouldn’t be the tallest in the world, it would join the list of the world’s “mega-tall buildings over 600 meters”, NY Curbed reports.

The renderings show the tower looming over all of its neighbouring properties, including Central Park Tower.

If the plans go ahead, the elite building would join New York’s elite Billionaires’ Row. Picture: Oiio Designs

It’s envisaged that the tall and ‘long’ building would use new elevator technology, designed by German company Thyssenkrupp, allowing the lifts to travel in loops – both vertically and horizontally.

While it’s unclear how the interior’s ‘curve’ would be designed, Oiio Studios says it can be done.

The Big Bend isn’t the first grandiose design architects have dreamt up for Manhattan – and is still yet to be approved by council and to find a developer daring enough to take on the project.

While not all locals are impressed with the design, calling it ‘a waste of money’ and ‘dangerous’, one thing’s for sure, it would certainly make for yet another interesting tourist attraction for the Big Apple.