An exhilarating new townhouse at 187 Franklin Street has finally uncovered its twisting brick façade. Positioned within the West Tribeca Historic District, the 5-floor home is being built for a family of four and was designed by Jeremy Edmiston’s SYSTEMarchitects. When the radical design of creviced windows and floating balconies was approved by the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission in 2011, words like "phenomenal," "symphonic," "exciting," and "smart," were used, and the body was thoroughly impressed by its playful references to the neighborhood's older buildings. They unanimously approved the “delirious” design, saying that its detailed brickwork and deep, sculptural facades enhance the richness of the district.
In what Curbed referred to as “The Ed Hardy T-shirt of Tribeca townhouses,” the flaming design was conceived from functional requirements wished upon by the family. The project builds upon a 3-floor townhouse built in 1993. The family desired more space and light for their growing children but were concerned about the lack of privacy standard, straight-facing windows would provide on the narrow cobblestoned street.
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Edmiston’s solution was to deeply recess the windows into the facade and angle them at 30 degrees to look up and down the street. The windows were then framed by undulating arrangements of standard-sized red brick whose exact location was determined by a computer model. Perforated steel balconies are then suspended from the façade — “to give the building's face more life,” Edmiston tells the commission. The ground floor will be a base of solid metal and was still shrouded upon our last visit.
(CityRealty)
Looking east up Franklin Street(CItyRealty)
Edmiston’s page on the project says there will be 3,750 square feet of interior space and the complex geometry of the façade is mirrored inside. “In the domestic space, where an interior wall of twisted brick anchors the back of the house, its curves provide seating, shelving, and even a fireplace.”
As you can expect, not everyone has been a fan of the design. According to
DNAinfo (RIP), Community Board 1's Landmarks Committee criticized the building calling it too modern and the Historic Districts Council said the design was not the best fit for the location and screams out for attention. What do you think of the outcome?
(CityRealty)
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New Developments Editor
Ondel Hylton
Ondel is a lifelong New Yorker and comprehensive assessor of the city's dynamic urban landscape.
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