Construction will begin soon on a new 10-story, residential condominium building at 523 Second Avenue on the northwest corner at 29th Street.
The glass-and-metal structure has been designed by Roart of which Ran Oran is the principal and it is notable for its glass-enclosed fire escape that serves the lower 6 floors at the south corner of the building. The elegant facade of the fire escape enclosure is distinct from the rest of the building and has more glass surface area than the rest of the building.
"By using the foundation of a four-story building which stood on the site before, and rethinking the typical New York fire escape in the construction of the 100 feet tall sliver building (only 20 feet wide), we were able to take advantage of the old building code, save critical space, and emphasize the building's corner condition," according to the firm's website.
Mr. Oron told CityRealty.com today that by retaining 50 percent of the basement and ground floor of the former structure on the site, the design of the fire escape, which is not included in floor-to-area ratio (F.A.R.) calculations that determine a building's bulk, enabled the project to have larger units. He said no decision has been yet made on whether the building will have 9 full-floor units or four duplex units and one full floor unit. He said the project is "as-of-right," that is, within existing building and zoning regulations and that construction should start in two months.
His firm has designed a new 11-story hotel at 61 Christie Street which is now in excavation and expects to start construction in February on a 8-story hotel at the corner of Grand Street and the Bowery. The latter project has been inspired by "Signs in Yellow," a painting by Paul Klee, according to Mr. Oron.
The glass-and-metal structure has been designed by Roart of which Ran Oran is the principal and it is notable for its glass-enclosed fire escape that serves the lower 6 floors at the south corner of the building. The elegant facade of the fire escape enclosure is distinct from the rest of the building and has more glass surface area than the rest of the building.
"By using the foundation of a four-story building which stood on the site before, and rethinking the typical New York fire escape in the construction of the 100 feet tall sliver building (only 20 feet wide), we were able to take advantage of the old building code, save critical space, and emphasize the building's corner condition," according to the firm's website.
Mr. Oron told CityRealty.com today that by retaining 50 percent of the basement and ground floor of the former structure on the site, the design of the fire escape, which is not included in floor-to-area ratio (F.A.R.) calculations that determine a building's bulk, enabled the project to have larger units. He said no decision has been yet made on whether the building will have 9 full-floor units or four duplex units and one full floor unit. He said the project is "as-of-right," that is, within existing building and zoning regulations and that construction should start in two months.
His firm has designed a new 11-story hotel at 61 Christie Street which is now in excavation and expects to start construction in February on a 8-story hotel at the corner of Grand Street and the Bowery. The latter project has been inspired by "Signs in Yellow," a painting by Paul Klee, according to Mr. Oron.
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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