Last month brought news of the arrival of mega builder Toll Brothers onto our fair New York City shores. Rather than try to copy traditional styles and give us more dull piles of bricks, they have smartly assessed the relative sophistication of the local market and given us something a little more forward looking. The renderings for their condo apartment tower at 110 Third Avenue (to be called One Ten Third) first appeared on New York Times reporter Lisa Chamberlain's blog Polis. Comprising 77 one to three bedroom apartments, the project will have separate private roof spaces that will be for sale to unit owners. The design by Greenberg Farrow architects employs a glass curtain wall with alternating light and dark panels that will, to the casual eye, give the illusion of a random window pattern (detail above). What this accomplishes is a sense of rhythm and texture to an otherwise flat surface. You can see a similar alternating technique used in the new apartment house at 304 Spring Street in SoHo, as well as at the much praised and highly influential Porterhouse condo in the meatpacking district.
