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Urban Glass House will be topped out soon
By Carter Horsley   |   From Archives Thursday, September 22, 2005
"The Urban Glass House," a 12-story, 40-unit, condominium apartment building under construction at 330 Spring Street at Washington Street in SoHo is expected to be topped out shortly.

Construction is now up to the 9th floor and occupancy is expected next summer.

The simple but very elegant design of the building was by Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects. Mr. Johnson died in January and was the dean of American architecture and was famous for his "Glass House" compound in New Canaan, Connecticut, that is a landmark of 20th Century architecture.

Annabelle Selldorf, who has designed interiors for the Neue Gallerie on Fifth Avenue at 86th Street and the Museum for Biblical Art on Broadway at 62nd Street and for many prominent contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons, Eric Fischl and David Salle, is designing the new building's lobby and interiors.

In this project, Ms. Selldorf is using a palette of black, gray and silver and matte and reflective surfaces in the interiors. "The honed black granite surfaces, stainless steel counter tops on the kitchen island, and the anthracite color of the cabinetry add up to an expression of utilitarian elegance," according to the project's website, which added that "dark gray limestone...sets a tone of minimalist purity" in the bathrooms.

Apartments will feature sliding pocket doors to change the size of rooms and remote-controlled motorized window shades.

The building will be distinguished by its handsome grid of large square windows and small terraces at the 4th, 9th, 10th and 12th floors.

The 4-bedroom, 4-bath penthouse will have a total of 4,266 square feet of interior space and 1,579 square feet of exterior space, 12-foot ceilings and a living/entertainment sp[ace that measures about 57 by 21 feet. A one-bedroom apartment on the third floor will have an open plan living/entertainment space that measures 35 feet 8 inches by 18 feet 5 inches.

Prices of most of the units are expected to range from about $1,650,000 to $3,200,000.

Glass House Development LLC, a partnership of Abram Shnay, Charles Blaichman and Scott Sabbagh, recently acquired the site and the architectural plans from Greenwich Street Partners LLC for about $24 million. The project had been initiated by Antonio Nino Vendome and at one time Mr. Johnson had designed a 26-story, torqued and flaring tower design that was similar to designs subsequently developed by Frank O. Gehry for a major project in Brooklyn.
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.