The Big Bend: Plans for incredible u-shaped New York skyscraper unveiled

Plans for an incredible u-shaped skyscraper that could one day transform Manhatten’s skyline have been unveiled.

The Big Bend, a 400ft-long, glass-lined tower, has been described as the “longest building in the world” by its designers.

Concept drawings for the project show the skyscraper dwarfing the buildings around it as it reaches an apex before curving back down.

It will feature a lift that can “travel in curves”, moving along the tower vertically, horizontally and in the loops.

Overlooking Central Park from an area of luxury skyscrapers known as ‘Billionaires’ Row, it has been dreamt up by design studio Oiio in a bid get around New York City’s zoning laws.

The team behind the project said: “New York City’s zoning laws have created a peculiar set of tricks through which developers try to maximise their property’s height in order to infuse it with the prestige of a high rise structure.

“But what if we substituted height with length? What if our buildings were long instead of tall?

“If we manage to bend our structure instead of bending the zoning rules of New York we would be able to create one of the most prestigious buildings in Manhattan. The longest building in the world.”

The studio added that what was once the “greatest challenge in elevator history” is now becoming a reality.

They said: “The innovative track changing system allows for the horizontal connection of two shafts on the top and bottom to create a continuous loop.”

The company added: "The Big Bend can become a modest architectural solution to the height limitations of Manhattan.

"We can now provide our structures with the measurements that will make them stand out without worrying about the limits of the sky."