If there's one hotel that really gets to grips with its physical context, it's got to be The Standard, High Line NYC, which, straddling Manhattan's newest public park – the repurposed former elevated railroad, the High Line – creates a new and unique urban spatial experience.

There’s nothing standard about The Standard, High Line NYC.

Completed in 2009, the New York jewel in über-hotelier André Balasz’s architecturally impressive portfolio of destination hotels, performs a spectacular feat of urban derring-do, straddling the derelict-elevated-railroad-turned-people’s-park High Line in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

Site-specific architecture: The Standard, High Line NYC hovers above the reclaimed derelict-railway-turned-urban-space; photographer: ©Jeff Goldberg / ESTO for Polshek Partnership Architects

High Life over the High Line: The Standard, High Line NYC | Noticias del sector

Site-specific architecture: The Standard, High Line NYC hovers above the reclaimed derelict-railway-turned-urban-space; photographer: ©Jeff Goldberg / ESTO for Polshek Partnership Architects

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The Standard, High Line NYC's highly sculptural pilotis; photographer: ©Jeff Goldberg / ESTO for Polshek Partnership Architects

High Life over the High Line: The Standard, High Line NYC | Noticias del sector

The Standard, High Line NYC's highly sculptural pilotis; photographer: ©Jeff Goldberg / ESTO for Polshek Partnership Architects

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Designed by Todd Schliemann – at the time of Polshek Partnership Architects but now with Ennead Architects – the 18-storey, 338-guestroom building, makes a true architectural intervention in one of the city’s most fascinating neighbourhoods, responding in an emphatic site-specific manner to the urban fabric of its location. Public and private are strongly imbricated here, the hotel sitting on highly sculptural pilotis just above the High Line’s promenading passers-by – or, rather, passers-under.

The Standard, High Line NYC's elevator lobby; photographer: ©Nikolas Koenig

High Life over the High Line: The Standard, High Line NYC | Noticias del sector

The Standard, High Line NYC's elevator lobby; photographer: ©Nikolas Koenig

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Striking views from a guestroom at The Standard, High Line NYC; photographer: ©Nikolas Koenig

High Life over the High Line: The Standard, High Line NYC | Noticias del sector

Striking views from a guestroom at The Standard, High Line NYC; photographer: ©Nikolas Koenig

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With the structure’s two slabs offset in terms of angle from the rectilinear street grid below, The Standard, High Line NYC declares itself part of the city, yet, at the same time, apart. Inside, meanwhile, the building offers guests views beyond its immediate urban context to the New York skyline and the Hudson River thanks to floor-to-ceiling glazing . And, as you’d expect, a roof-top bar, a pool and gym, 300 thread-count linen, organic bath products and ‘overstocked’ mini-bars are all part of the deal. Far from standard.

Guests enjoy the urban oasis that is The Standard, High Line NYC's rooftop; photographer: Todd Eberle

High Life over the High Line: The Standard, High Line NYC | Noticias del sector

Guests enjoy the urban oasis that is The Standard, High Line NYC's rooftop; photographer: Todd Eberle

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The Standard, High Line NYC lights up; photographer: Thomas Loof

High Life over the High Line: The Standard, High Line NYC | Noticias del sector

The Standard, High Line NYC lights up; photographer: Thomas Loof

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