The Trump Organization, probably the world's best-known high-rise developer, teamed up with
Daewoo to build one of
New York City's tallest buildings. It is located at 845
United Nations Plaza, just up the
East River from the UN headquarters complex. At 72 stories and 861 feet, the TWT is New York's sixth-tallest building, and the second-tallest all-residential building in the world after
Seoul's
Samsung Tower Palace Three.
There are 374 condominiums in the tower, all of which have views of Manhattan and/or Brooklyn. Prices range from $950,000 (for one-bedroom units on the bottom) to $17 million (for a four-bedroom unit on the top with a fireplace and maid's quarters). Residents have access to a private pool, wine cellar, and restaurant, as well as valet parking (of course). You don't even have to wipe your ass, because the master bathrooms come with bidets.
Architecturally, the best feature of TWT is its curtain wall, which makes the tower look as if it were made from one giant piece of glass. The glass in the curtain wall is bronze-tinted to make the black building flash in gold when sunlight hits it. Like many other tall, thin buildings, the TWT also has a pendulum on its top floor to keep it from swaying in the wind. The chief architect, Costas Kondylis, has designed many apartment complexes in Manhattan, and was also in charge of the renovation of the Trump International Hotel in the mid-1990's.
Of course, many New Yorkers in other high-rise buildings didn't want to lose their views. Walter Cronkite, for instance, used to have a view of the Chrysler Building from his apartment: now, all he can see is a big black box. He tried everything to stop the TWT's construction, all the way up to asking Kim Dae Jung to halt Daewoo's investment plan. Eventually, though, Trump's team prevailed over the protestors, and construction began when the city gave Trump a zoning permit in 1999. In 2001, when it was completed, TWT briefly enjoyed the honor of being the world's tallest apartment building.