NEIGHBORING

In a building where privacy and high end technology are a design element, the neighbors are left to interact virtually. Buildings in New York are connecting to a "neighboring" web- you don't see your neighbor you rather blog your neighbor. The Old interaction in the corridors or on the common grounds is out. This way of communicating and interacting is becoming more and more popular in apartment building in and around the states.

See links for "Building Blogs" in New York city:

http://lifeat.com/

http://meettheneighbors.com/

NEIGHBORS

" I think we're probably going to get lot's of different types of people in the building, and they will do quite different things to the environment" - Jonattan Caroll, Developer.

In realty, the residents are liable to have a lot in common: All of them must have a very high income to afford an apartment in this building, and also lofts are usually compatible with singles or couples lifestyles.

NEIGHBORHOOD

...this yet-to-be-named quadrant has forged an identity all its own. It combines barely trafficked, broken streets, centuries-old pubs, and old warehouses with art galleries, modern furniture showrooms and digital media companies. And with the rediscovery of an historic park at Greenwich and Canal, and the magnificent Hudson River Park just steps away, there's plenty of neighborhood green space, too. Here, below Houston, above Canal, west of Varick - industrial shabby chic meets digital aesthetic. The traditional meets the virtual. The charms of the old neighborhood coexist with the refinements of contemporary living.

IMPLEMENTATION

TECHNOLOGY

A central core contains elevators and utilities, efficiently merging the hybrid structures. At the ground floor, the façade bends inward; creating a more reactive streetscape that helps to foster the transition of the once industrial area into a residential neighborhood.

The crease as a system of inflections allows for a slippage between interior urbanism and urban privacy. "For we conceive of human beings as fluctuating between the extreme images that we have categorized as fluctuation and frame, in a sort of back and forth where simple positions - one, two and three - mark the formal stages in an overall process of individuation

ENVIRONMENT

The building does not aplly environmental awere design.
The main design element is the huge glass facade, will force the residents to rely on air conditioining systems at all seasons.

CITY

The New York City building code has here been reinterpreted: the horizontal plane of the traditional urban fabric is replaced with a diagonal surface that bifurcates the façade. It integrates the strict building setback codes into a new, vertical landscape that folds and twists as it ascends affording differing vistas to each interior.

The allowable 85 foot straight façade inflects on the NYC building code setback plane for the higher floors of 2.7:1 This inflection resonates through the façade, resulting in a set of oblique planes which negotiate the urban streetscape with the loft interior...

Image from "Delirious NY" by Rem Koolhaas - In Manhattan the "Zoning Law" dictates the facade's withdraw from the street line... This encouraged architects along the years to develop various solutions to the building form ...

Construction of 505 Greenwich Street nears completion, with 497 Greenwich to the right. 18 April 2004.
A panoramic view of Lower West Side. 5 July 2004

BUILDING

"On the Lower West Side of Manhattan, a six-story warehouse was renovated to accompany a new glass-skin residential building of eleven stories. This new building is a state-of-the-art luxury property, distinguished by its glass facade - a ten thousand square-foot "curtain-wall." The once-abandoned warehouse was reinvigorated with living spaces and the addition of an art gallery, gym and spa, screening room, wine cellar, and a duplex guest apartment...

BODY

open space lofts provide flexible use to each apartment

Newly renovated, the former warehouse building was completely gutted out, enlarging the interior space for the introduction of an open loft plan. Its strong wood and brick structure allows for the addition of a four-story penthouse in glass and steel..."- Real estate ad

visit the projects site to view a flash presentation of the flexible arrangement of the open space lofts: http://www.greenwichstreetproject.com/floorplans.html

Concept

On the Lower West Side of Manhattan, a six-story warehouse was renovated to accompany a new glass-skin residential building of eleven stories. This new building is a state-of-the-art luxury property, distinguished by its glass façade - a ten thousand square-foot "curtain-wall." The once-abandoned warehouse was reinvigorated with living spaces and the addition of an art gallery, gym and spa, screening room, wine cellar, and a duplex guest apartment.

The integration of the existing brick building with the new steel and glass structure creates a zone of mediation between the past and the present. A small crease rising between the two structures, articulated with a set of cantilevered balconies, juxtaposes and differentiates the old and the new, inserting an interactive space into an otherwise neutral landscape. The crease as a system of inflections blurs the distinction between the external and internal environments - marrying urban experience with domestic privacy.


The renovated warehouse was completely redesigned to mirror the aesthetic of its new counterpart. Its robust wood and brick structure allows for a four-story addition in glass and steel - a wing of the adjacent structure.

The setback intervals allow for terraces with views toward the passing Hudson River and the lower Manhattan skyline. The spacious feel of the units harmonizes with the spectacular views and unobstructed daylight.