Dive Brief:
- "Starchitect" Jean Nouvel’s New York City "vision machine" condominium building at 100 Eleventh Avenue has turned into a wind machine for residents, The Telegraph reported. One of the residents, marketing and cosmetic executive Loren Ridinger, is suing developer Cape Advisors for $20 million over building defects, allowing wind and water to make their way into the building.
- The lawsuit alleges the building’s luxurious design was poorly executed and that the sub-par construction of windows has left gaps, which, in some areas, allow a draft so severe that wind whistles through the panes and have caused hydronic heating pipes to freeze and burst.
- Developers completed construction on the 23-story, mosaic-styled tower — built along the Hudson River — in 2010. One-bedroom units were initially marketed at $1.4 million, and the penthouse is currently on the market for $20 million, plus $6,800 a month in maintenance fees.
Dive Insight:
Lawyers for Ridinger told The Telegraph the case was based on engineering reports.
"Much to the surprise and bitter disappointment of the condominium’s unit owners, the building’s ambitious design was poorly executed and subject to cost-cutting measures which left the lauded glass curtain wall with fatal construction defects," attorney Steven Sladkus said.
Jonathan Epstein, lawyer for the developers, told The Telegraph that Ridinger's claims were "factually and legally without merit."
"Our clients will be vigorously defending this matter," Epstein said, "and we believe we will prevail in the case."
Nouvel was the architect for the One New Change behind major office and retail development One New Change in London, the Reina Sofia museum extension in Madrid, and the Philharmonie de Paris.
The current building boom in New York City is expected to break the $40 billion in construction spending barrier next year, with private sector residential development accounting for 38% of all dollars spent.