As 53W53 climbs toward its full height in Manhattan, mockups of the building’s iconic diagrid facade have been stress-tested in a Miami laboratory. The elegant Jean Nouvel design was subjected to extreme weather conditions, including hurricane-speed winds and arctic blasts of cold. The team of developers behind 53W53 spared no expense when ensuring that the building is capable of withstanding the harshest conditions. After weeks of testing, Construction Research Laboratory passed the tower with flying colors, meaning that no major changes to the building’s glass-curtain facade were needed.

The tapering tower at 53 West 53rd Street has reached 1,005 feet, technically making it “supertall”, although it is still a little ways short of topping out. When complete, the Jean Nouvel-designed 53W53 will contain 145 luxury residences with spectacular views of Central Park stretching out below. The building’s facade, which is already half-installed, will be sleek, black, and cross-cut with Nouvel’s signature diagrids, which functions as both a structural and decorative component.

53W53, the new supertall residential condominium from renowned architect Jean Nouvel, has reached its 82nd floor, an important milestone in the construction process. New photos from New York Construction Photo show the tower, which is rising above The Museum of Modern Art, coming to its final form. Although the building has yet to officially top off, 53W53 will be home to 82 floors of luxury condos when it has reached completion by year’s end.

Jean Nouvel’s latest masterpiece is set to open in Abu Dhabi this month, representing another in a string of groundbreaking designs for the French architect. The Louvre Abu Dhabi will be the Arab world’s first universal museum, where artifacts and artwork from across time and around the globe will be housed beneath a Nouvel-designed, 7,500-tonne domed roof. 53W53, another example of Nouvel’s signature modernist style, can be seen rising on the other side of the world in Midtown Manhattan.

New renderings show off Jean Nouvel’s ambitious design for 53W53, the beautiful tower rising above The Museum of Modern Art. The building, which currently stands 58 stories tall, will take a graceful, tapering shape when complete at an impressive 82 stories. The building is constructed of concrete encased in a steel exoskeleton referred to by architect Nouvel as the “diagrid”, which will create a unique floor plan for each of the 145 residences.

On November 8th, Haute Residence featured 53W53 in their article, “53W53 Condos Above MoMA Will Blow You Away”. Such an endorsement couldn’t be further from hyperbole: the tower currently rising above The Museum of Modern Art is so beautiful that it might deserve a spot in one of the museum’s galleries. 53W53 was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, whose signature futuristic style is in full effect: the tower will taper as it slices skyward, winnowing away to a point at the very top.

The new tapering tower from Jean Nouvel has reached its fiftieth floor and is already beginning to peek above the skyscrapers around it. Upon completion in 2018, 53W53 will stand 82 stories tall and be home to 145 luxury condos with exquisite views of Central Park and Downtown Manhattan. The facade features Nouvel’s signature diagrid design, which uses steel beams to create an exoskeleton that blurs the line between the structural and aesthetic aspects of construction.