The Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday unanimously approved a new 9-story building at 83 Walker Street in TriBeCa that inverts a traditionally-styled, cast-iron-like facade, according to an article today at observer.com by Laura Kusisto.
The building will be erected on a vacant lot by Brooklyn developer Abra and has been designed by Moarris Adjmi, who described it as a "beautiful TriBeCa building with a twist."
"It's an inversion of a cast iron building," he said, adding that "It really informs us about the nature of a cast iron building: Originally, they were built from components that were ordered from catalogs."
Mr. Adjmi has created his unusual inversion, the article said, "by casting a glass-reinforced concrete that is the opposite of the typical Tribeca facade. Instead of columns curving out from the building, they are indented into it. The windows, typically recessed, jut out from facade. It is as though the building across the street had been pressed against this one while it was still drying."
The Historic Districts Council, a preservation group, told the commission it while it "finds the proposed an interesting idea, we do have concerns about the actual execution and longevity of this new building."
"There are very practical reasons why certain parts of traditional construction project and not recede, mainly to shed water. The exciting design might just be inviting trouble, particularly when combined with the extensive use of GFRC. Has this material been used on such a wide scale before? How well will it stand up to the elements? This is not simply a cornice or other decorative feature that can be repaired or replaced here and there. This is a new building in an historic district, and it should last as long as its landmarked neighbors," the council's statement said.
"The reverse projections and recessions will also mean the building's shadows and light will be the reverse of neighboring buildings. Considering how a building appears in a negative, its dark features light and light features dark, the proportions will be thrown off and the facade will likely come out looking very heavy. Again, it is an interesting thing to contemplate, but possibly not what would make the most compatible addition to a landmarked block," the statement continued.
The building will be erected on a vacant lot by Brooklyn developer Abra and has been designed by Moarris Adjmi, who described it as a "beautiful TriBeCa building with a twist."
"It's an inversion of a cast iron building," he said, adding that "It really informs us about the nature of a cast iron building: Originally, they were built from components that were ordered from catalogs."
Mr. Adjmi has created his unusual inversion, the article said, "by casting a glass-reinforced concrete that is the opposite of the typical Tribeca facade. Instead of columns curving out from the building, they are indented into it. The windows, typically recessed, jut out from facade. It is as though the building across the street had been pressed against this one while it was still drying."
The Historic Districts Council, a preservation group, told the commission it while it "finds the proposed an interesting idea, we do have concerns about the actual execution and longevity of this new building."
"There are very practical reasons why certain parts of traditional construction project and not recede, mainly to shed water. The exciting design might just be inviting trouble, particularly when combined with the extensive use of GFRC. Has this material been used on such a wide scale before? How well will it stand up to the elements? This is not simply a cornice or other decorative feature that can be repaired or replaced here and there. This is a new building in an historic district, and it should last as long as its landmarked neighbors," the council's statement said.
"The reverse projections and recessions will also mean the building's shadows and light will be the reverse of neighboring buildings. Considering how a building appears in a negative, its dark features light and light features dark, the proportions will be thrown off and the facade will likely come out looking very heavy. Again, it is an interesting thing to contemplate, but possibly not what would make the most compatible addition to a landmarked block," the statement continued.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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