Jersey City Urby
In May 2017, the Dutch architecture studio Concrete completed a new high-rise apartment tower in New York City.
Jersey City Urby is a 69-storey skyscraper in Jersey City, across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan. It reaches a height of 217 m (713 ft), making it the tallest residential building in New Jersey.
The design is characterised by irregularly stacked blocks, with floor plates cantilevering out over the storeys below.
The building contains 762 rental units, ranging from studios to one- and two-bedroom apartments. The design of the apartments is intended to ‘make smart use of space’, with built-in wall units serving as desks, shelving and storage space.
The building also contains a range of amenity spaces ‘designed to foster natural opportunities for residents to meet and interact’, including a residency program for scientists and artists, and a Creative Lab on the 68th floor.
On the ninth floor, the building offers a fitness centre and a light-filled communal kitchen and dining area. This level also houses a heated saltwater pool and outdoor deck, which can be used for parties, movie screenings and morning meditations.
According to Concrete; "Urby is a rethink of the residential rental-housing concept that is design-driven, tailored to fit every neighbourhood, and developed with the needs of the contemporary urban renter in mind".
The first Urby project opened in 2016 on New York's Staten Island, and a third is scheduled to open in the summer of 2017 in Harrison, New Jersey.
Images and content courtesy of Concrete.
Photography © Ewout Huibers.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University wins for work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.
The changed R&D tax landscape for Architects
Specialist gives a recap on tax changes for Research and Development, via the ACA newsletter.
Structured product data as a competitive advantage
NBS explain why accessible product data that works across digital systems is key.
Welsh retrofit workforce assessment
Welsh Government report confirms Wales faces major electrical skills shortage, warns ECA.
A now architectural practice looks back at its concept project for a sustainable oceanic settlement 25 years on.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Government report and back track on copyright opt out for AI training but no clear preferred alternative as yet.
Embedding AI tools into architectural education
Beyond the render: LMU share how student led research is shaping the future of visualisation workflows.
Why document control still fails UK construction projects
A Chartered Quantity Surveyor explains what needs to change and how.
Inspiration for a new 2026 wave of Irish construction professionals.
New planning reforms and Warm Homes Bill
Take centre stage at UK Construction Week London.
A brief run down of changes intentions from April in an onwards.