'A standing monument to Donald Trump's ingenuity...'.

Architect Costas Kondylis was the guest speaker at the monthly luncheon of the Associated Builders and Owners Oct. 12. His topic was the nearly completed Trump World Tower, the largest residential tower in the world, which is under construction near the UN.

Although the greater part of this presentation will focus on the design of Trump World Tower, I wanted to provide a brief overview of high-rise residential development in New York City today. My goal in doing so is to put Trump World Tower and the high-rise residential development scene from which it is born into context.

Simply stated, New York City is experiencing an unprecedented boom in high-rise residential building. As a result of this boom, the concept of luxury high-rise residential living is being reinvented every day. Two pivotal characteristics of this phenomenon that distinguish it from times of marked residential growth in the past (most notably that of the "go-go" eighties) are as follows:

First of all, major residential development is occurring in every sector of Manhattan. We have major projects in neighborhoods considered new to residential development such as Wall St., 14th St., the 42nd St. corridor, and Ladies Mile, as well as the more traditional residential neighborhoods of the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, and parts of Midtown.

Secondly, the recent shift from "tower in the park" zoning guidelines, most commonly associated with the real estate development during the eighties, to the recently enacted contextual zoning guidelines will fundamentally redefine the urban fabric of New York City.

As a result of this widespread development throughout New York, our work as architects has become more and more challenging and increasingly diverse. As both an architect and urban planner, I have always been highly cogent of the impact the design of our buildings has on the broader fabric of the city -- at the street level, as well as in the skyline. The current trend toward building through out Manhattan, however, has presented us with an unusually broad spectrum of urban situations and building vocabularies in which to design.

From the international style of the towers found in the neighborhood surrounding the United Nations to the cast-iron facades of former industrial buildings found in the neighborhood along Ladies Mile, our task remains the same -- to maximize the unique architectural opportunity, as well as to create highly marketable and successful projects for our clients.

New York's recent acceptance of contextual zoning guidelines will change the face of high-rise urban development in the City. Although I will go into further detail about respective zoning approaches in my discussion of Trump World Tower, I would like to briefly define the principles associated with each zoning concept.

The "tower in the park" zoning guidelines that characterized high-rise residential construction in the 1980's, lent itself to building highly efficient, tall, extruded towers surrounded by open plaza spaces. Born in the 1960's, the "tower in the park" concept was clearly reflective of the modernist utopian ideals prevalent at the time. Under the tenets of this zoning plan, developers could further increase the height of their buildings by purchasing air rights of adjacent properties, as well as providing plazas and open green spaces at the street level for public use. This zoning approach served up a building envelope that was, in many ways, a developer's dream.

Despite its positive intentions and somewhat visionary roots, the "tower in the park" zoning regulations soon came under fire by critics who maintained that those guidelines lead to an erosion of urban fabric, windswept streets, and neglected open plazas. Even worse, the towers were accused of robbing pedestrians of any real sense of human scale in relationship to the built environment. Subsequently contextual zoning guidelines were developed as a backlash to the "tower in the park" concept.

The recently enacted contextual zoning prescribes that any new building must retain the existing street wall of up to 150 feet, at which point the building must setback from the street. The ramifications of these guidelines is that all residential high-rise buildings must stand as definitive reflections of their surrounding contexts, regardless whether those contexts are good or bad.

In addition to the new zoning guidelines and a number of contextual vocabularies shaping the massing and facades of our buildings now, each neighborhood presents different lifestyle options with regard to the layouts of the interior residential units. In many ways, one could say that the interior layouts of apartments are becoming just as contextual as their exteriors. Whether designing new apartments analogous to the popular loft-style apartments found in SoHo or those analogous to the more traditional pre-war units found on the Upper East Side, each design problem now poses its own unique set of challenges.

To complete the overview of high-rise residential development in New York City today, it is helpful to point out three key trends that now impact the positioning of these projects from the developer's point of view, as well as from the architect's point of view.

To begin with, in today's marketplace, the emphasis is on large, luxurious units. Unlike in the 1980's, in which the focus of people's lives was centered on going out, the focus of people's lives today is on the idea of the home. Rather than seeking a pied-a-terre as they did in the eighties, people are seeking stability and permanence. This phenomenon has lead to a tremendous -- almost insatiable -- demand for large family units.

As part of the trend toward large, gracious apartments, the pre-war style of apartment lay-outs has become highly desirable. As we will see in the case of Trump World Tower, whether it is sheathed in a contemporary expression or a more traditional one, the classic pre-war design, with its implicit adherence to a hierarchy of spaces, elegant proportions, and quality detail is widely considered today's gold standard with regard to luxury residential living.

Finally, although intangible, a key component of New York City's luxury residential market is the concept of "service." Previously reserved for only the finest hotels, premium service is now becoming a staple of luxury residential lifestyle. Whether it is in the case of the visionary mixed-use towers such as Trump International Hotel and Tower or the exclusive 610 Park Ave., extensive concierge, gourmet food, and butler services are now part of the venue available to residents.

It is also important to note the increasingly competitive and aggressive nature of today's development market. As our design of high-rise residential projects has become increasingly sophisticated, so has the marketing know-how associated with the development of such projects. So finely tuned are these projects to meet the needs and aspirations of its target buyers, that developers have at most a six month window of opportunity to get their product to market and sell.

The luxury market is reinventing itself so rapidly in today's economy, that if that window passes the developer by, his product becomes obsolete. Not unlike a car, a building must be designed and brought to market in a compressed time line to ensure its desirability and success. A building which has spent three years on the boards and two years in production is sure to miss the boat when it finally comes times to sell.

Subsequently, the success of architects such as myself is contingent upon two key factors:

Our ability to deliver projects within an extremely rigorous schedule of deadlines. As in the case of Bridge Tower Place, the foundations had already been poured and the building fully designed when the owner flipped the building to the Brodsky Organization. As a result, we were redesigning each floor of the building -- inside and out -- as it was going up. Drawings would be faxed to the field office and literally walked across the street to trades waiting to build them.

In addition, our ability to act as the conductor of an orchestra synthesizing the requirements and disciplines of all factions of a building team is also essential.

Our role as architects is to bring both structure and harmony to the entire process on behalf of our clients and the greater urban fabric.

The design of the ninety-story Trump World Tower simply called for the reinvention of high-rise residential design as we know it. Regarded as the tallest residential structure in the world, Trump World Tower offered us unprecedented challenges as the conceptual equivalent of three residential towers stacked on top of each other.

The ultimate success of the project hinged upon two commitments -- that of the client, Donald Trump, to create the best residential tower in the world; and second, that of our design and technical professionals to create a thoroughly integrated solution of the highest architectural and engineering integrity.

Trump World Tower (845 U.N. Plaza) is situated on the former site of the United Engineering Center Building between 47th and 48th Streets on First Ave. The anticipated completion date of the 860-foot reinforced concrete tower is 2001.

Although the actual design of the building has remained uncontroversial among architecture critics, the height of the building will probably remain controversial for decades to come.

Trump World Tower is the last "tower in the park" scheme to be built in Manhattan before the new zoning regulations went into effect. As such, the building is a standing monument to Donald Trump's ingenuity and ability to interpret the city's zoning laws.

Basic development rights to the site under the "tower in the park" guidelines provided for a tower two-thirds smaller than Trump World Tower. However, Trump's manipulation of height bonuses resulted in Trump World Tower as we see it today.

By adding a public plaza, Trump was able to increase the size of his building by 20%. In order to build a tall, thin tower of elegant proportions, he bought the unused development space, known as air rights, above the seven ad-joining buildings and then transferred it to his lot. Although these air rights enabled Trump to build higher, it should also be noted that the purchase would prohibit the redevelopment of any of these sites to include a high-rise tower.

Because the expanded air rights are calculated in SF of floor space, Trump was finally able to increase his tower's overall height by raising the ceilings of the units inside by almost 20%t -- some of them will be 16 feet high, while most luxury apartments have 10 foot ceilings.

If the new contextual zoning resolution were in effect today, the Trump World Tower would be capped at 495 feet, or a little more than half of its current projected height.

Seemingly sheathed in a single sheet of glass, the pure geometric form of Trump World Tower is timeless in its simplicity and elegance. Inspired by the measured parity of such great architectural hallmarks of as the Seagram Building, the design of Trump World Tower is consistent with the context of abstract glass towers found in the U.N. neighborhood. Rather than compete with the fanciful articulated tops of such skyscrapers as The Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, Trump World Tower is a foil to New York City's skyline.

Despite the building's height, the stacking diagram for Trump World Tower is comparable to any other high-rise residential building in New York City. The premium apartments with the most spectacular views are typically the larger units located at the top of the tower. One-bedroom and studio units are typically located in the lower portions of the building, with a mix of one- and two-bedroom units situated in the middle. Although previously considered undesirable, studio and small one-bedroom units on the lower floors are often sought after in today's market by the buyers of the larger units seeking either an apartment for their staff or a pied-a-terre for a college-age son or daughter.

A port cochere between 47th and 48th Street allows for taxi and limousine drop-offs, thus alleviating a great deal of traffic congestion that would otherwise be experienced if the entry fronted First Ave. A landscaped garden for the residents' use is situated on the 48th St. side of the building and a landscaped garden for the public is situated on the southern 47th St. side. A gourmet, four-star restaurant will be located on the southwestern corner of the ground level as well. Residents and guests will be welcomed into Trump World Tower upon entry into a monumental, 30-foot high lobby, finished in honey beige marble and rich wood paneling. The effect will be a classic, yet streamlined entry, bathed in light.

Apartments at Trump World Tower offer a modernist interpretation of today's much sought-after classic pre-war luxury design. Buildings designed by such great architects as Candela and Rosario remain the standard of luxury today. With their classic proportions, clear procession of spaces, unusually spacious rooms, and superior details, these pre-war classics are unsurpassed in their excellence and appeal. At Trump World Tower, we have taken the precepts of these layouts and interpreted them within the parameters of a strictly modern envelope. The true success of our layouts lies in the flexibility these units will offer. For example, some have chosen to retain the partitions that we have designed, thus achieving an apartment layout directly reminiscent of the pre-war classics. A clear sequence of spaces is clearly defined as you move through the apartment with a series of framed, breathtaking floor-to-ceiling views of Manhattan. Other residents, however, have chosen to remove these partitions, creating a larg ely open plan. By pulling the exterior views so directly into the space, the cityscape of Manhattan is used to define the essential living experience of the apartment.

As an architect, I feel that the ultimate success of the building lies in the freedom it gives its inhabitants to define their own living experience without compromise to the architectural integrity of the apartment or its function.

Architectural features of the 376 apartments ranging from one- to four-bedroom units include a streamlined approach to formal entry foyers, sweeping living and dining rooms, lavish master bedroom suites, and libraries.

Although the structural system of Trump World Tower had to address substantial wind and seismic requirements, it also had to be as unobtrusive as possible inside and out. Other key factors informing the design of of Trump World Tower, included the height of the tower coupled with the proportions of the sight (145'x 76') and its resulting slenderness ratio of 11: 1.

The basic structural diagram created by Mr. Rahimian and his team consisted of two parallel sheer walls running east-west connected via two additional walls running north- south, both taking advantage of the walls around the elevator shafts. The thickness of the sheer walls and hammerheads was fundamentally minimized -- first, by pioneering the use of 12,000 psi strength concrete in the sheer walls and columns at the lower levels of the tower; and second, by creating a system of concrete walls in the perimeter of the 22nd floor.

Acting like "a belt" around the tower, this system of concrete walls serves to engage all perimeter columns, thus exponentially increasing the structure's ability to resist wind and any seismic forces, as well as minimize the structure's sway.

The four-sided structural glazing curtail wall can only be described as a system "beautiful in its simplicity." A cinnamon brown, highly polished glass, the finished curtain wall promises to capture every nuance of Manhattan's changing light from dawn to dusk.

The first step of creating the curtain wall for Trump World Tower consisted of defining the performance criteria as well as aesthetic requirements of the curtain wall as determined through extensive wind tunnel tests and meetings with Mr. Trump, the architect, and the engineers. Rather than design the entire curtain wall to sustain the worst load anticipated overall, the building is tailored to sustain the worst loads anticipated at each point. Once contracts were bid and large-scale mock-ups produced to refine the design, painstaking attention was paid to every detail of the curtain wall's fabrication. Once the assembly was completed, every inch of glass was checked from the outside to make sure that the final product was impeccable -- without pits, chips, or flaws.

As a landmark chapter in the on-going invention of New York City, we anticipate that Trump World Tower will be fully complete and occupied by next winter.

In closing, Trump World Tower brings to the foreground an essential issue -- the importance of the tall building to the vitality of our cities and the aspirations of its builders, architects and inhabitants. Controversy aside, I firmly believe that Trump World Tower has been conceived and designed in the finest tradition of tall buildings that this city has to offer. As the ultimate machine for living, the skyscraper is the truest embodiment of the spirit that drives us forward every day. It is precisely this pursuit of the newest, the best, the tallest, and the most thrilling that has historically defined the richness of New York City's skyline and our urban experience, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to contribute to this miraculous invention of time and place. throughout my career.