ONE MADISON PARK , NEW YORK CITY - The "Saya" - 617 ft/188 m - 60 fl - by Cetra Ruddy

Well if I may lend my opinion, for a much maligned building it is somewhat unique and interesting.

The "SAYA" One Madison Park, is fore-mostly unique because of its address at the foot of arguably one of the most famous streets in Manhattan - and in the world - Madison Avenue.

Second, the building is one of the most slender skyscrapers for its height, and while not stretching any laws of physics or rules of building construction, does have a unique place in Manhattan for that reason.

Third, the Saya is certainly very planar, but without being bland or monotonous. Assymetry can be seen from more than one point of the compass, without it becoming a lopsided distraction, although to those lucky enough to be able to lean close to the glass to peer from one of its protruding sections (maybe you, dear reader) , it may feel as if there is something more to the assymetry.

The concern that many felt during ithe Saya's design and construction is similar to that which is going on now with 15 Penn Plaza - its proximity to a similarly aged landmark and architecturally significant wonder : in the Saya's case - the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower, which was at one stage - like the Empire State Building (soon to be made near-Lilliputian by its neighbor to be, 15 Penn Plaza) - the tallest building in the world.

Nothing is new, it seems.

Great essay as usual ArchNYer.

I do remember the fanfare associated with the opening of this building and back in 2007 the brokers tried to get a butler for one of the apartments. I'm not sure how it worked out but here's the story.

NYTIMES

NOV 25 2007 - JOSH BARBANEL - THE BUTLER COULD DO IT

Under the plan by the brokers — Wendy Maitland and her partner, Wilbur Gonzalez — the triplex penthouse, with 8,300 square feet of space and a terrace, will include a one-bedroom unit on a lower floor for use by a private butler, who will be provided by the condominium indefinitely and paid by it as well. The proposal is being drafted into a plan amendment to be filed with the attorney general, they said. “It is the highest echelon of service that has ever been provided in the history of downtown,” Ms. Maitland said, with characteristic understatement.
Embellishing a building of mere glass and steel with amenities and intensive services, star architects and famous restaurateurs has become a standard part of the marketing tool kit used to persuade buyers to pay more than they might otherwise, if they simply calculated the cost per square foot.
At One Madison Park, Ms. Maitland and Mr. Gonzalez said they had explained to the developers — Ira Shapiro and Marc Jacobs of Slazer Enterprises — that they could get a much higher return (more than $2,500 average per square foot so far) by expanding services and celebrity at the building.
They said the developers were negotiating the final details of an agreement with an as-yet-unidentified “European Pritzker Prize-winning architect,” who has not worked before in New York, to design a modernist entrance for the low-rise 22nd Street side of the building.
And Charlie Trotter the renowned Chicago chef, who considered but rejected space at the Time Warner Center this year, has decided to open his first New York restaurant at One Madison Park, they said.
Ms. Maitland said that out-of-town penthouse buyers might want a butler for the time they spend in their “New York pied-à-terre.” She said the maintenance would be $24,000 a month combined on the penthouse and the 800-square-foot butler’s apartment.

Saya = scabbard in Japanese.

鞘 = "saya"

The building is lean and long like a scabbard. Just a guess as to why they picked that name.

It's growing on me and I still prefer it to the Cassa NYC as a tall and thin building.

Saya = scabbard in Japanese.
鞘 = "saya"
The building is lean and long like a scabbard. Just a guess as to why they picked that name.

-tablenumber

The concern that many felt during ithe Saya's design and construction is similar to that which is going on now with 15 Penn Plaza - its proximity to a similarly aged landmark and architecturally significant wonder : in the Saya's case - the Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower, which was at one stage - like the Empire State Building (soon to be made near-Lilliputian by its neighbor to be, 15 Penn Plaza) - the tallest building in the world.

-archnyer

It's growing on me and I still prefer it to the Cassa NYC as a tall and thin building.

-bananajoe

Windows in the Saya stretch from floor to ceiling whereas the Cassa has little peepholes in comparison.