Loftology, 285 Driggs Avenue: Review and Ratings

Review of 285 Driggs Avenue by Carter Horsley

This 8-story residential condominium building at 285 Driggs Avenue on the northeastern corner of McCarren Park in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn is known as Loftology and it is one of the simpler and more attractive designs by Robert M. Scarano Jr., one of the most prolific architects in the city.

It is adjacent to another Scarano project, Manhattan Park, at 297 Driggs Avenue, which is also 8 stories high.

The two towers are separated by a few feet but seen from an angle they are similar in visual effect to the two much taller residential towers at 980 and 985 Fifth Avenue that were developed separately and were designed by different architects but which appear to compliment each other by way of sharply contrasting façades but related masses.

Loftology is a sheer tower but its façade Driggs Avenue is rhythmically modulated by its frontage being divided into two major sections separated by a narrow setback with some balconies. This façade is further punctuated by deeply setback balconies adjacent to narrow juliet balconies accessed by sliding full-height glass doors accenting the vertical subdivision with thin floor plates.

The effect is a "delicate" Brutalism. Brutalism was an important architectural style in the 1960s and 1970s best exemplified by the Whitney Museum of American Art by Marcel Breuer and Chatham Towers by Davis Brody, both in Manhattan. Brutalism is essentially pronounced and bold geometric structural emphasis so "delicate Brutalism" is a bit contradictory. Much of Scarano's oeuvre is a melange of a few colors and a jumble of a few shapes.

The rear façade at Loftology is less complex but has many balconies.

Loftology, which opened in the fall of 2007, has only 12 apartments, video intercom, a garden, central air-conditioning and a washer and dryer, outdoor parking and 4-inch-wide bamboo floors that one real estate brokerage maintained "invite barefoot traipsing."

MDIM Architects was also involved in the building, which was developed by 285 Driggs LLC.

Manhattan Park, which fronts on Manhattan Avenue, has 14 apartments and a much more complex and handsome façade treatment that includes wood panels.

Its frontage on Driggs is vertically divided into four parts. One has the reddish-brown wood panels which extends across the second floor of the center section that consists of balconies with glass railings. The third, narrow, recessed, windowless section extends above the other sections. The fourth section has large glass windows and balconies with glass railings that wrap around the side of the building that has a larger wood panel façade.

An anonymous commenter at brownstoner.com wrote May 30, 2007 that Manhattan Park is "not only one of the better-looking Scarano buildings, but so far (and by far) the best looking new project fronting McCarren."

Another commenter, "yourmom," wrote the same day that "this is definitely one of the best of the new construction in the area. Very Danish, and with Enid's and Park Luncheonette across the street, there's always good brunch nearby."

"Neophytitech" on the same day added "I can see Scandinavian in it too because of the wood paneling - but its not quite clean enough...sort of Danish meets American eccentric meets German tech....At any rate, you've got to give Scarano credit for having his own design sensibility.

"Yourdad" on June 5, 2007 wrote that "all of these luxury apartment buildings are the same mish-mash of trendy building materials geared to draw in trendy buyers. None however have any architectural value in regards of interaction between the user and other users, the building itself, and the community. They do not weave themselves into the community but rather segregate themselves from it....The building is actually on the right track whether they know it or not, by opening up the plinth to the community, even if it is for parking."

The comment by "Yourdad" was followed by "Reverb" writing July 18, 2007 that the elements that might be weaved in from the neighborhood might be "vinyl siding townhouse and 2-story brick commercial," adding that he thought "they did a good job with this one on a great corner."

Abraham Bandau was the developer of Manhattan Park and co-developer with Harry Klein of another nearby project originally known as Aqua. Andres Escobar did the interiors at Manhattan Park where elevators open into the apartments.

Scarano and his architectural rival in Brooklyn, Karl Fischer, have created scores of residential projects in Brooklyn in the 21st century that defy easy categorization.

In the aggregate, however, they have made the northwestern section of the borough a "hotbed" of design experimentation, sometimes sparking surprise and other times chagrin.

Much of which has been scorned by some bloggers as sophomoric, but their eclectic production has much more variety and visual interest than most of the new projects across the East River in Manhattan at the same time with the exception of a few worldly projects such as 40 Bond Street, the Porterhouse and 100 Eleventh Avenue.