Aperture 538, 538 Washington Avenue: Review and Ratings

Review of 538 Washington Avenue by Carter Horsley

This 5-story, mid-block building at 538 Washington Avenue between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn was completed in 2016 and has 10 condominium apartments.

The building is known as Aperture 538 and was developed by Sam Boymelgreen and designed by Luca Andrisani.

Permits had been filed for the site for a 5-story, 8-unit building designed by Robert Scarano in 2006 but the next year it was sold to 538 Washington Avenue LLC.  An existing building on the site was demolished in 2008.

Bottom Line

This “modern” mid-block building replaces conventional brownstone street façades with a copper-colored corten front with perforated shutters.

Description

The building is notable for its corten screen that projects out from the building from the second through the 4^th floors and has broad, multi-panel shutters.

The “screen” has been designed to abstractly recall the borough’s bridges.

Its ground floor is indented beneath the screen and has raised sidewalk landscaping.

The main “body” of the building is sheathed in dark metal panels with windows framed in the same material used in the front “screen.”

Amenities

The building has a roof deck, a virtual doorman, storage, and a bicycle room.

Apartments

All of the kitchens have Liebherr, Sharp and Bosch appliances.

Apartment 3B is a three-bedroom unit with an entry hall that leads past a 10-foot-wide home office to a 25-foot-long living room with an open kitchen with an island and an angled 15-foot-wide balcony.  The 14-foot-long master bedroom is eight-sided and the unit has a 12-foot-long roof terrace.

Apartment 4B is a three-bedroom unit with a long entry hall that leads to a 20-foot-long living room with an open kitchen with an island and a 28-foot-long terrace.

Apartment 4A is a one-bedroom uni9t with an entry hall that leads past a 10-foot-wide home office to a 19-foot-long living room with an open kitchen with an island and a 10-foot-wide balcony.  The unit also has a 13-foot-wide roof terrace.

Apartment 5A is a one-bedroom unit with a 19-foot-long living room with an open kitchen with an island and an 11-foot-long terrace and a 9-foot-long alcove.