New York City, a hot residential market and an attractive property playground for wealthy investors, is increasingly home to the trendy emergence of tall and slender residential skyscrapers. However, with strict zoning laws and height limitations in place, developers are faced with the challenge of exploring new ways to maximise their property’s height. In comes The Big Bend, a revolutionary glass-lined tower that offers an architectural solution to the city’s obsession with building height and its associated prestige: a development that substitutes height with length.

Designed by Greek architect Ioannis Oikonomou and his studio, Oiio Studio, The Big Bend is slated to be the longest building in the world at around 4,000 feet in length and proposes the connection of two sites into an unprecedented U-shaped structure. Strictly a residential project, the development aims to maximise living space whilst giving investors and residents both the prestige of high-rise living, as well as profitable returns. One highlight is certainly the building’s top-floor penthouse, which utilises the middle arch in order to form the highest ceiling of the tower. The structural design of the tower ensures that its penthouse occupies the same square footage as the tower base, thus providing this exclusive apartment with the largest area possible. Perhaps the most intriguing of all is The Big Bend’s unique elevators that will be able to travel in curves, horizontally and in continuous loops. This will be accomplished through an innovative track-changing system that will facilitate the horizontal connection of two shafts located on the top and bottom to create a continuous loop.

An amazing feat of architectural innovation sure to add to Manhattan’s impressive skyline, this U-shaped skyscraper is currently in the works of being brought to life.