Kicking off our annual countdown of the 31 tallest construction projects in New York is 1 East 57th Street, the new 485-foot-tall Louis Vuitton flagship store in Midtown, Manhattan. Developed by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the project involves the 5-story vertical expansion of the current 20-story tower. The property is located on Billionaires’ Row at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 57th Street.
Interior demolition is progressing on the superstructure, which remains covered in its elaborate system of scaffolding made to resemble the company’s iconic luggage trunks. This covering, designed by Shohei Shigematsu of OMA, is replete with the Louis Vuitton monogram print, metallic buckles, corner protectors, and handles, creating a striking impression at the busy retail corner.
1 East 57th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
1 East 57th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
1 East 57th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
1 East 57th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The below diagrams show the proposed building surpassing the height of 745 Fifth Avenue, the current tallest structure on the western edge of the city block. The drawings also showcase its profile in the context of the broader Billionaires’ Row corridor between One57 and the Four Seasons hotel.
Louis Vuitton’s upgraded retail space will span ten floors, including a cafe on level eight with an outdoor terrace. There will also be four levels of exhibition spaces, showroom suites, multiple restaurants, a spa, a rooftop bar, and a garden. The first 420 feet of the tower will be occupiable, while the remaining 65 feet will form the upper mechanical crown and bulkhead.
1 East 57th Street and Fifth Avenue.
1 East 57th Street and Billionaire’s Row.
1 East 57th Street floor diagram.
The following two diagrams also hint at the construction of the façade, which appears to feature a glass curtain wall with a twisting grid of mullions across four segments. The second drawing reveals a gentle curved geometry at the corners of the tower.
1 East 57th Street building massing diagram.
1 East 57th Street overhead diagram.
Below are two diagrams depicting the project with and with no-action plan, the latter of which would produce and more traditional looking setback design commonly seen in New York City.
1 East 57th Street’s action- condition diagram.
1 East 57th Street’s no action-condition.
Louis Vuitton is continuing to operate under a seven-year lease at 6 East 57th Street. This space, which also served as a temporary home for Tiffany & Co. during its overhaul, opened for business in November 2024 and includes an LV Cafe, the only one in North America.
6 East 57th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
6 East 57th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton applied a similar scaffolding scheme on its flagship store at 107 Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. This building, shown below, is expected to open next year.
Louis Vuitton’s future hotel and flagship property at 107 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Photo by Michael Young.
Louis Vuitton’s future hotel and flagship property at 107 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Photo by Michael Young.
Louis Vuitton’s future hotel and flagship property at 107 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Photo by Michael Young.
LVMH is planning to apply for a floor-area bonus of nearly 25,000 square feet in exchange for upgrades to the nearby Lexington Avenue–59th Street subway station, including the construction of an ADA-accessible elevator.
An architect and target completion date for 1 East 57th Street have yet to be announced.
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So many retail levels may prove problematic. Generally, vertical “malls” had not done well in NYC as people tire of travelling up so many levels. The old Lord & Taylor was quite a climb in its day.
The temporary construction covering is clever.
Wait, that was scaffolding?! I thought it was just there for an art project only. I’m surprised, I thought the city had regulations that you had to make it a certain color.
How often does one hope that the building which emerges, lives up to its scaffolding..
Definitely bizarre at best. Cute at first but so out of touch .
By the way in documentaries the cost for those $5000 bags is less then $100 so it’s all about keeping the consumer brainwashed by hiring celebrities for advertising.in Vegas every casino has these shops and they are all empty, next they will make designer bags for robots. .l Lol!
Who else sees a Frank Gehry design in these drawings, especially the overhead massing?
The scaffolding really is a nice addition to 5th Ave and as others here have mentioned, it will be sad to see it go, so the replacement better live up to the hype!
Excited to see the rest of the countdown!
I definitely see a resemblance to Frank Gehry’s work. The diagrams make it look like a vertically extruded version of the IAC Building in Chelsea but with less of the sharp edges
Given that LVMH has worked with Gehry on other stores, including Beverly Hills, one can hope!
Yes, I’m feeling Frank Gehry, especially after seeing the ‘action-condition’ diagram at the beginning of this report..
Agree, just keep the scaffolding in place!
Excuse me but didnt we just witness a horrific tragedy in Hong Kong with 150+ fatalities due to flammable scaffolding wrapping 8 high rise apartment buildings? Are you gonna tell me that scaffolding wrap isnt flammable???
I personally saw the property at 107 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, this past October.
The original store looked great-Have to understand their reasons to build new while the old has the charm
This project is taking a very long time.
That scaffolding must have cost a ton, then it goes to landfill. The new building design doesn’t seem to be anything special, but we will see. It would seem they intend the building to be an all-day boredom buster for the idle rich.
Nice images Mr. Young, and those shots of the LV building in Paris too!
Have you thought of taking photos in other cities like Los Angeles with the new George Lucas Museum or Norman Foster’s upcoming towers in Beverly Hills?
“25” Floors of Retail for one brand?? I don’t know. Hmmmm
If you read the article, you would see that the new retail space would only take up 10 floors, not 25.
A trunk fell off the back of a truck. You must be kidding
I thought we were done with the silly Postmodern designs of places like The Longaberger Company? This will not age well.
Very creative cover for construction. I’m impressed. I personally think going 5 stories up to much but I’m no expert