In the history of Manhattan with the growth of the city, architecture becomes the expression of capital due to its increase of land value. The land value of Manhattan was generated by modes of densification of building mass. The hypothesis of the studio "Asset urbanism" is to speculate on the idea that architecture incorporated elements of the city in order to increase its value as a commodity. In the beginning of the 20th century an interest in aesthetic styles into order to express the building as a mode of commerce. In order to search for Asset Urbanism, it would mean that we turn the building away from its means as a human inhabitation and purely understand the architectural projects by means of generating capital. The thesis taken within the studio is that the Architecture of the New York City increased its value as a commodity by fusing urban elements into a new form of architectural interiority.

The site on 157 W. 57th Street is in mid-town Manhattan where most property currently is owned by foreigners. We are redesigning a tower that is now the poster child for the creation of a zombie in Manhattan, responding to zombie architecture and ghost urbanism. Manhattan is uniquely equipped to translate and speculate upon Asset Urbanism into novel architecture and urban proposals that links global capital to the financial capital of the world.

The tower's asset lies in its unique facade which generates aesthetic value. The facade, composed of a complexity of diverse patterning, sets the tower apart from other high rises in Manhattan. The logic of the patterning is derived from flowers, as their multiplicity of qualities forms a more complex architecture. The variation in range of openness, size, directionality, and organization of flowers applied to the facade creates an organic spatial arrangement of elements.
The increased value of the facade is not purely ornamental. The facade also articulates the interior spatiality. Small units serve as facade elements while larger facade units create inhabitable space in order for occupants to perceive the interior and the exterior. At the lower portion of the elevation, the facade surface units have a downward directionality. The fractal surfaces form a dense and thick facade with openings for multiple entrances, transitional spaces, and a colonnade.

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The surface area of the spatial facade units on the interior is enhanced to increase the value. Multiplying surfaces transmits to higher selling prices in this high rise to generate more profits than ordinary buildings.

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In New York, the rent of the ground floor is at least three times higher than the floors above. To further maximize value, the ground floor encompasses the entirety of the site. As the form rises, the plan transforms from this maximum footprint to a more efficient oval plan according to the divergent quality of the units.