New York by Gehry

At 870 feet tall, it is the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.

Opened in February of 2011, New York by Gehry (originally known as Beekman Tower) is a 76-story skyscraper designed by Canadian born architect Frank Gehry.

Gehry, who hails from Polish Jewish ancestry, was recently selected by a panel of architectural experts brought together by Vanity Fair as “the most important architect of our age.”

Located at 8 Spruce St. in Lower Manhattan the sparkling stainless steel skyscraper contains 903 luxury residential units. The first five floors of the building are home to an elementary school attended by 600 children.

The building is a breathtaking addition to the Manhattan skyline. Its exterior facade looks like it is being blown by the wind.

Although Frank Gehry created the outside, he was not responsible for the interior design. Nevertheless, it’s still worthwhile to have a look.

The interiors are sleek, simple and warm.

Ladies and Gentleman…New York by Frank Gehry.

What do you think?

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Life…According to Photog Marcin Moka

Check out these great photos by Toronto based photographer Marcin Moka.

Marcin (who has been shooting for 7 years) specializes in “creative photojournalism” but does a fair bit of wedding photography as well.

We recently asked him how he got into photography in the first place and what his favourite places to shoot are:

I was lucky enough to have lived on the French Riviera while in University, which in my view is one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera to capture the memories so when I came back to Canada, I picked up my first point & shoot camera. I immediately fell in love with photography and have been at it since.

If I had to pick my three favourite places where I’ve shot, they would be:

1. Manhattan’s Lower East Side – I love the graffiti, the grime and the endless details that you encounter in that dense urban area.

2. Old City of Jerusalem – the atmosphere, the history… the tension. It’s difficult encapsulating it all in photos, but it’s exhilarating to try.

3. The quaint, sleepy towns of South Western France – far from the droves of tourists, they have this romantic-nostalgic feel that’s hard to find elsewhere. 

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