Asymptote Architecture facts for kids

Asymptote Architecture is an American architecture company based in New York City. This company is famous for its unique building designs. They often use new digital technologies in their work.

History

Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture, a husband and wife team, started Asymptote Architecture in 1989. They began by designing buildings in the United States. Later, they worked on projects all over the world.

People often describe Asymptote's building style as "futuristic." This means their designs look like they are from the future. The company is known for mixing architecture with computer technology. This creates a special, hybrid style. Rashid and Couture believe that a building's shape and form give it meaning. They also think their buildings show features of the areas around them.

For example, the Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi has a smooth, curvy shape. This design makes you think of speed. This is because Formula One car races happen right under the building. Another example is 166 Perry Street in New York City. This building has wavy glass on its outside. It looks like a flowing waterfall.

Projects

One of their first famous designs was in 1988. They won a competition for a project called "Steel Cloud" in Los Angeles. Many designers from around the world chose their idea. However, local people did not like the monument. So, it was never built because there was not enough money. In 1992, The New York Times newspaper asked Asymptote to design a pretend building for Times Square.

NYSE Virtual Trading Floor

In 1997, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) asked Asymptote to create something special. The NYSE is a big place where people buy and sell stocks. Asymptote was asked to design a way to see numbers and information about stock trading in real-time. They got help from Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC).

This project was the first large virtual reality space for the New York Stock Exchange. It was built at the same time as a new trading center on Wall Street. The project finished in 1999. It resulted in a control room with very advanced screens. This work was an early example of different fields working together. These fields included architecture, how people use computers, showing data visually, and designing good user experiences.

Yas Hotel

The Yas Hotel is in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was finished in 2009. This hotel has 500 rooms and is very large. A Formula One car race track, the Yas Marina Circuit, surrounds the building. When the hotel was finished, the UAE held its first Grand Prix car race there in November 2009.

The building has a natural, flowing shape. It has two towers, each 12 stories high. Its design is meant to show ideas of speed and movement from car racing. It also includes patterns from Islamic art. This hotel is now called the W Abu Dhabi on Yas Island. It used to be known as the Yas Viceroy Hotel Abu Dhabi.

Missoni Baia

The Missoni Baia is a group of homes being built in Miami, Florida. The OKO Group is developing this project.

Other Architecture Projects and Works

Asymptote's first project built outside the United States was the Univers Theatre in Aarhus, Denmark in 1997. This project won an award from the Architects' Association of Denmark.

They also designed the HydraPier Pavilion in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. Asymptote built main stores for several companies, like Carlos Miele and Alessi. More recently, Asymptote has built tall skyscrapers. These include the 190 Váci Budapest Bank Commercial Towers in Budapest, Hungary. They also designed the FCD Yongsan Landmark Tower in Seoul, South Korea. The company also designs buildings for art places, shipping areas, and homes.

In the early 2000s, they worked with the Knoll furniture company. They helped design the A3 office system.

Exhibitions

In their early years, Asymptote created experimental art shows and exhibition designs. These often used multimedia technologies. Examples include the Virtual Museum (2000) at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. They also worked on DOCUMENTA XI in Kassel, Germany, the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, and a project for the Ministry of Public Works in Madrid, Spain.

In 2003, Asymptote had its first big solo exhibition. This show looked at all their work at the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI).