A residential club

Upper West Side is a neighbourhood on the New York island of Manhattan that connects Central Park with the Hudson River and is named for its location at the upper end of Manhattan Island and on the western side of Central Park. Like Upper East Side, West Side was originally a residential and commercial neighbourhood and is known as the area of New York City with the largest number of residents working in culture and the arts. This area of New York is home to Waterline Square, a luxurious waterfront residential development consisting of three towers: One Waterline Square, designed by the architectural firm Richard Meier & Partners; Two Waterline Square, created by the practice Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; and Three Waterline Square, designed by the famous architect Rafael Viñoly. Last but not least, the Waterline Club connecting the three buildings is a Lobby with amenities for residents designed by Rockwell Group. In addition to the bar and spaces for business meetings, art exhibitions and events, this connecting building features an indoor tennis court, a swimming pool for adults and children, a spa pool, basketball, squash and five-a-side football courts, a rock climbing wall and a large fitness centre.
For the layout of the Lobby, inspired by New York City’s most iconic circulation routes from the Guggenheim to the Central Park reservoir, the architecture and design firm Rockwell Group created two bridges and a freestanding spiral stair that connect the three towers to the amenity centre.
As project leader, architect Craig Chowaniec, explains: «We designed numerous professional amenities, including dedicated meeting spaces and offices, and artistic and sports amenities, and created areas that would promote the formation of micro communities. New Yorkers have a wide range of very active interests, so we adopted an all-embracing concept of recreational and intellectual well-being for the inhabitants of these modern new buildings.»
Headquartered in downtown New York and with a satellite office in Madrid, international architecture and design firm Rockwell Group specialises in a wide variety of project types, from hospitality and culture through to healthcare and education.
Florim ceramic tiles were chosen for all the surface coverings in the lobby. The Italian group is a Benefit Corporation, a BCorp certified company that generates profit while having a virtuous impact on the environment and people.
The porcelain slabs are also certified according to the LEED protocol.
The company recently published its 13th Sustainability Report and has implemented a comprehensive system of energy-saving measures for its production processes as well as reducing the environmental impact of its entire supply chain.
Numerous Florim collections are used both in the large lobby area and the swimming pool deck: Stone Marble Marquinia, in the colour Gray; Stones & More 2.0, Stone Calacatta; Stone Marfil; Selection Oak Cream; Walks 1.0 in the colours Black and White; I Classici di Rex Statuario; Timeless Travertino.
They are all characterised by muted tones that leave space for the interplay of wooden cladding on the bridges and staircase and the wood panelling in the bar.