One of Zaha Hadid's final New York City apartment buildings has robot valets and a private IMAX theater

Leanna Garfield

2017-03-06T16:30:00Z

Zaha Hadid, one of the most visionary architects of our time, died at age 65 in March 2016.

Over the span of her career, the controversial and uncompromising architect created award-winning museums, condos, stadiums, and pavilions. In her last years, she took on a new challenge: designing a luxury condo complex over the High Line, Manhattan's famed elevated park.

The new condo building will be impressive, with an intricate metal and glass facade sculpted piece by piece. Inside, the high-rise will boast a parking garage with an automatic vallet system and the city's first private 3D IMAX theater.

Developer Related Companies broke ground in 2014. Samantha Zola, a spokesperson for the building, tells Business Insider that the building will open in June 2017. Approximately 50% of the units are in contract, according to StreetEasy.

Since it was Hadid's first NYC building and one of her last designs, it will remain a testament to her legacy.

In 2016, Business Insider toured one of the model units. Take a look inside.

Hadid's 135-foot-tall building lives at 520 West 28th Street on Manhattan's far west side. It's two blocks away from Hudson Yards, the new $20 billion neighborhood set to open in 2024.

Hadid was known for her curved buildings, many of which featured geometric forms.

3D-printed models of Hadid's buildings. Leanna Garfield/Tech Insider

520 West 28th Street is no exception.

The stainless metal exterior wraps around to form an L-shape. To create the curves, each panel of cladding was laser-cut.

The 11-story building will feature 40 condos, including two $50 million penthouses with floor-to-ceiling windows.

This is the view from the window of one of the model units. You can see the High Line and West Chelsea down below.

When I walked in, I immediately knew it was Hadid's work.

Everything in the model apartment is top of the line. The windows open via apps and the lighting is energy-efficient. The furniture is beautiful, but the smart home gadgetry is fun, too.

The kitchens will each come with two ovens by Gaggenau: One is a typical oven, and the other is a steam oven (a cross between an oven and a microwave). The ovens swung open when I pressed the button on the side.

If residents have a wine collection, they will be able to store up to 99 bottles in a temperature-controlled rack like this one.

The bathrooms (also a collaboration between Boffi and Hadid) will include marble floors, rainfall shower heads, and six-foot-long tubs.

The walls that enclose the toilet are especially fancy. The transparent glass frosts over with the flip of a switch.

The building's living rooms will open to private balconies that overlook the High Line and a 2,500-square-foot sculpture garden. The art will be curated by High Line Art, a public program that presents artwork on and around the walkway.

The apartments will range from about 1,700 to 6,600 square feet, with two to five-bedroom layouts. All of the ceilings will stretch over 10 feet high.

The building also will include a parade of amenities, including an automated 12-car garage. When residents arrive, they will notify the garage via a key fob, which will automatically open the door. Residents will then drive onto the platform, and a kiosk will ask them if they have their belongings. Once everything checks out, the platform will lift the car to its parking spot like an elevator, but for a car.

Doormen and a concierge will staff the lobby 24-7.

Through the lobby, there will be a private IMAX theater that seats 12 people. The developers hope to show films at the same times they premiere in theaters, McDonough told Business Insider.

On the same floor, there will be a private spa, fitness center, and 75-foot pool with a skylight.

The building will also feature four elevators (unusual for many NYC apartments) that run next to each other in two elevator shafts. Residents will hardly ever need to wait.

Residents who live here won't have to breathe normal city air. Before they move in, NYC's dirty air will be filtered four times in every condo.

The building will be impressive, but so is the neighborhood that surrounds it. Future residents could easily walk to Chelsea Market, the Hudson River running trail, the Whitney Museum ...

nyc bucket list whitney museum — View from the top of the Whitney Museum. Melia Robinson/Business Insider

... and the numerous shops, bars, and restaurants that are only a few blocks away.

montemarte — Montmartre, a French bistro near Hadid's building. Related Companies

Prices for the apartments range from $4.9 million for a two-bedroom apartment to $50 million for the largest penthouse.

Hadid competed against other well-known architects to design 520 West 28th Street. Her style "is an optimistic view of the future," Gregory Gushee, Related's executive vice president, told The New York Times. "It’s modern and taking advantage of curves, which is hard to do in real estate — it’s expensive to do, frankly — but the design was so compelling that we decided to spend the money."

Source: The New York Times

Hadid, the first woman and Muslim to win the Pritzker Prize (widely considered the Nobel Prize of architecture), changed the industry forever with her futuristic buildings. 520 West 28th Street will serve as a testament to her creative vision.

New York City