New York architect Oiio proposes “longest building in the world”

A proposal to build twin residential towers in the form of a very tall croquet hoop has been put forward by New York practice Oiio.

The Big Bend, which is as much a satirical dig at New York’s high rise building boom as a serious plan for a building, would have a total "length" of 4,000 feet.

The architect said: "What if we substituted height with length? What if our buildings were long instead of tall?  If we manage to bend our structure instead of bending the zoning rules of New York we would be able to create one of the most prestigious buildings in Manhattan.

"We can now provide our structures with the measurements that will make them stand out without worrying about the limits of the sky."

The design is targeting the current state of building design in New York, with firms buying the air rights from other buildings in the area and creating "super-slender" structures on small plots of land. One extreme example is SHoP Architects’ West 57th Street, which is being built on a 13m plot.

Architect Steven Holl has said that New York’s supertall superslim buildings show the "worship of wealth" and local residents have formed the Stand Against Shadows group who propose a ban on structures over 183m high.

Images courtesy of Oiio