NEW YORK | MiMa (440 West 42nd Street) | 617 FT / 188 M | 63 FLOORS - Page 21

sbarn · #**401** Posted **Mar 18, 2011, 2:58 PM**

"MiMa"?! Good lord, that is a stupid name.

While I can't say there's a lot of great architecture on West 42nd Street, I seriously think they can do better than this. It doesn't have to be something crazy, just something that is moderately aesthetically pleasing.

Obey · #**402** Posted **Mar 21, 2011, 10:18 PM**

Meet MiMA, the Luxury Funhouse Set to Test the Manhattan Market
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/03/21...use_set_to_test_the_manhattan_market.php

Quote:

The Related Companies can go on pretending that MiMA stands for "Middle of Manhattan," but to us, the 63-story tower's nickname is an acronym for "Magical Island of Many Amenities." Magical because this ginormous mixed-use building (which includes 500 rentals, 151 condos, a Yotel cabin-style hotel and off-Broadway theaters designed by Frank Gehry) was built in about two seconds; island due to the somewhat isolated far West 42nd Street location; many amenities because, well, we've been over this. Not only will MiMA staff sort out your life, but they'll also pamper your pooch. The Hell's Kitchen of West Side Story, this is not.

MiMA is a throwback to pre-Lehman real estate decadence—with prices to match—and that has made the building's debut one of 2011's most anticipated moments. And heck, the inclusion of a Dog City probably doesn't hurt the buzz. The rental portion of the building, 500 studio, one- and two-bedroom units on floors 7 through 50, is now open for business, and late last week we got a peek inside. Check out the results in the photo gallery above. Studios start at $2,895, one bedrooms start at $3,495, junior 4s start at $4,895 and two bedrooms begin at $5,995 a month. Mama MiMA! There will be an additional fee tacked on to enjoy all those amenities.

While the glassy tower itself was designed by the Miami-based Arquitectonica, the apartment spaces were carved out by local boy Ismael Leyva, and the interiors (i.e., all those crazy lounges) designed by the Rockwell Group. As for the building's other moving parts, the Yotel New York will open in May and the Signature Center theaters will bow in early 2012. Look for the condos, dubbed One MiMA Tower, to hit the market soon. So, has the Manhattan rental market recovered enough to absorb two new super-luxury behemoths at the exact same time? We can't wait to find out.

Click on the link for a lot of photos. A lot.

NYguy · #**403** Posted **Mar 28, 2011, 3:04 PM**

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...1221718.html?mod=rss_newyork_real_estate

In Manhattan, a 'Rubik's Cube' .

March 28, 2011
By ROBBIE WHELAN

Quote:

The exterior of Related Cos.' new Middle of Manhattan, or MiMA, project falls short of the building's ambition.

Rising from a single block along 42nd Street between 10th and Dyer avenues, MiMA's 63-story, glass-walled residential tower stands in stark contrast to both the cheap-looking brick- and stone- apartment towers nearby and the adjacent mishmash of traffic and chaotic transportation infrastructure near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel and the Port Authority's bus station.

Gleaming and smooth, MiMA, in the manner of Related's other mixed-use tour-de-force, the Time Warner Center, looks far more like a statement office building than an apartment building, and in doing so seems garishly ordinary among all the grit.

Another problem is the way the modernistic facade is weighed down by brownish limestone slabs of the podium, which hug the building around its bottom stories like a drab squid, and are the primary eye-catching element from 42nd street.

But in other ways the design succeeds. Designer Bernardo Fort-Brescia, of Miami-based Arquitectonica, says the building was a "Rubik's cube" of a project because of the challenge of providing access to all four of MiMA's uses—500 rental apartments, 151 condos, a 669-room Yotel-brand hotel with tiny, pod-like "cabins" and a complex of three Off-Broadway theaters—along a single block of street-side storefronts. One of those access points, the entranceway to the theater lobby, is slated to have a typically whimsical Frank Gehry-designed awning. "We don't want the layman to feel like they are arriving to a site of complexity," Mr. Fort-Brescia says.

Transitions between the different segments of the building are smooth, despite the underlying complexity of Related's plans. MiMA's designers laid out the building in a way that accords with a future plan to connect the complex to a planned extension of the No. 7 subway line that would run under it.

Another strong point: the interiors, designed by David Rockwell, a New York architect who has done restaurants for a number of the city's most famous chefs, and who recently redesigned John F. Kennedy International Airport's JetBlue terminal. Mr. Rockwell's design emphasizes a subtle segregation of each lobby or common space into parts, using dividers made out of artfully twisted finished wood described as "twizzlers" after the licorice candy.

Between these and a series of hand-blown reflective glass bulbs arrayed below the ceiling of the rental apartment's lobby area and an almost aquatic, bubbly aesthetic of repeated curvilinear shapes on the building's wallpaper and fabrics, the interiors are a light-hearted compliment to the exterior's severity.

nycdagreatest · #**404** Posted **Mar 29, 2011, 12:07 AM**

They put banners up at the top,here's pics I took with my phone

NYguy · #**405** Posted **Mar 30, 2011, 12:58 PM**

^ Mamma Mima....

http://ny.racked.com/archives/2011/03/29/relateds_mima_enhances_the_map_of_manhattan.php
Related's MiMA Enhances the Map of Manhattan

Tuesday, March 29, 2011, by Larry

Quote:

Soho. Noho. Tribeca. Dumbo. New Yorkers are always on the lookout for the next great place to live. Well, say hello to MiMA, a new 63-story tower of luxury that is turning the Middle of Manhattan into New York’s hottest new destination. Developed by Related, creators of Time Warner Center, MiMA is more than incredible new rentals and spectacular condominiums (the condos start on the 51st floor!), it’s also M Club – 44,000 square feet of amenities that include a residents-only fitness club by Equinox® featuring an indoor lap pool and full-size basketball and volleyball court, screening rooms, game rooms, reservable party rooms, outdoor terraces and more. MiMA is also home to Signature Theater Company’s new Signature Center designed by Frank Gehry, YOTEL, and Dog City pet spa.

http://www.related.com/destinations/MiMA/

Lecom · #**406** Posted **Mar 30, 2011, 5:33 PM**

That neighborhood, between 40th and 43rd streets and from 8th Avenue to the West Side Highway, may be one of the most unpleasant parts of middle Manhattan. The combined traffic from the tunnel, PA Bus Terminal and 42nd Street creates permanent gridlock and generates lots of constant noise. Such an autocentric environment is simply uncomfortable for mass pedestrian use. The area has long been a recipient of crappy architecture. Since the Manhattan Towers project went up in the middle of the 20th century, mediocre lowrise industrial buildings and uninspired, bland condo towers made this stretch of 42nd into one of the ugliest parts of the skyline. Aside from the Silver Towers, Church of St. Cyrillus and Methodius, and possibly the Atelier and the Orion, the whole area has no redeeming architecture. The lowrise Hell's Kitchen district directly to the north has a much more pleasant and vibrant urban environment. I still think real change will come once they extend the 7 Train to the West Side, whether they build the additional station at 42nd Street or not.

NYguy · #**407** Posted **Mar 31, 2011, 5:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lecom

That neighborhood, between 40th and 43rd streets and from 8th Avenue to the West Side Highway, may be one of the most unpleasant parts of middle Manhattan. The combined traffic from the tunnel, PA Bus Terminal and 42nd Street creates permanent gridlock and generates lots of constant noise. Such an autocentric environment is simply uncomfortable for mass pedestrian use. ...I still think real change will come once they extend the 7 Train to the West Side, whether they build the additional station at 42nd Street or not.

I think real change is already happening, just walk down 42nd. But there is a lot to be done, and the City agrees.

Just one of the many changes planned for the disconnected area...
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=5094824&postcount=300

NYguy · #**408** Posted **Apr 8, 2011, 10:21 AM**

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011...es_to_make_splash_with_yotel_near_t.html

European hotel chain known for tiny rooms hopes to make splash with 'Yotel' near Times Square

BY Joaquim Andrade and Samuel Goldsmith
April 8th 2011

Quote:

A European hotel chain known for its itty-bitty rooms hopes to make a big splash this summer when it opens its first U.S. location west of Times Square.

Called Yotel, the futuristic 669-room hotel on 10th Ave. and 42nd St. offers "everything you might find in a luxury hotel in under 200 square feet," executives say.

"I wanted Yotel to use innovative radical design to create a mixture of luxury, fun, comfort and excitement at an affordable price," Yotel CEO Gerard Greene said in a statement Thursday.

Rooms - which the chain calls "cabins" - start at $149 a night for two adults. At 167 square feet, the low-end "Premium Cabin" offers a retractable queen-sized bed, cramped walk-in shower and mini-workstation.

Premium Cabins with a bunk bed over the queen will cost $179. That's a pint-sized price, considering most hotel rooms in the tourist-heavy area go for more than $200.

Yotel's three locations in London and Amsterdam feature even smaller rooms, which can be booked for as little as four hours at a time. All three are attached to major airports.

At London Heathrow Airport, $145 buys 24 hours in a 75-square foot cabin with a single bunk bed and small shower.

Yotel in Times Square will include a restaurant designed like a Japanese sumo-wrestling platform with long, shared tables and a giant outdoor terrace with fire places, cabanas and two bars.

The compact quarters fill 27 floors of a new building on 42nd St. between Ninth and 10th Aves. called Middle of Manhattan - MiMA for short. The building includes 500 apartments, 151 condos and several theaters.

Tourists wandering Times Square had some reservations on Thursday about booking a room at Yotel.

"As a tourist, if it's convenient, clean and safe, definitely it would be a good deal," said Leo Yal, 32, a vacationer from Shanghai. "As a business traveler, it's not a good deal. My company pays for bigger hotels."

Christopher Meirelles, 24, a model who lives in Brazil, wondered whether the rooms were a bargain.

"It sounds very practical, but I don't think the price is cheap enough for such a small room," Meirelles said. "It doesn't sound like a good deal, and I wouldn't stay there."

But Sue Rider, 65, of Wisconsin, sized up the price and gave a thumbs up.

"You don't come to New York to stay in your hotel," she said. "All you need is a place to sleep and take a shower. I'm looking for cheap, so I would stay there."

Some beds fold into the walls.

The shower and bath barely have an inch to spare.

Decked out in a purple and white theme.

Fabb · #**409** Posted **Apr 16, 2011, 9:07 PM**

April 16

Troubadour · #**410** Posted **Apr 17, 2011, 2:57 AM**

I like that color-segmented building nearby. There's not enough of those in the world. I would have chosen different colors, but the concept needs to be explored more promiscuously.

northbay · #**411** Posted **Apr 18, 2011, 5:13 PM**

very nice. very sleek.

JSsocal · #**412** Posted **Apr 18, 2011, 5:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Troubadour

I like that color-segmented building nearby. There's not enough of those in the world. I would have chosen different colors, but the concept needs to be explored more promiscuously.

I believe that you sir are in the utmost minority on that one. That may very well be the ugliest building in Manhattan, in my opinion. (possibly second to the verizon building)

Zerton · #**413** Posted **Apr 20, 2011, 10:10 AM**

Why couldn't the facade rise above the mechanical! One of my pet peeves. Regardless, this building is so much better than the initial renderings.

RobertWalpole · #**414** Posted **Apr 20, 2011, 11:40 AM**

The yellow pieces of junk will be replaced with a tower designed by Handel Architects. The stores in them closed, and funding now seems available for residential and hotel towers.