Radio Tower and Hotel is a new mixed-use high-rise in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood. Located on a flat stretch of Amsterdam Avenue, on the site of a former gas station, the 23-storey building combines a 221-room hotel, retail, and office functions distributed over 213,666 ft². The building with an L-shaped footprint sits on a prominent corner plot, overlooking Highbridge Park. Its massing rises from 180th Street toward 181st Street to leverage open views toward lower Manhattan and Queens while providing a landmark gateway at the Washington Bridge connection to the Bronx.
Creating a tower in this location asked for a sensitive approach, respecting the area’s history, mix of incomes and backgrounds. So, from the beginning, the project set out to serve the community first. The project’s design philosophy and program were articulated in consultancy session with local community representatives, addressing the lack of amenities, hotel options and publicly accessible high-quality outdoor space for the community.

Architecturally, the design can be seen as a condensation of the characteristics unique to Washington Heights’ existing urban fabric. The building is composed of a stack of blocks that match the size of the largely six stories pre-war brick buildings in this part of upper Manhattan, clad in eight different colors of glazed brick. It creates a vertical village without the overwhelming effect that many larger developments have. The building’s bright colors are a further nod to this part of the city, referencing the shopfronts of the vibrant neighborhood. The brightest colors are found on the upper blocks, while more muted colors greet visitors at street level.