Another week, another "avant garde" condo in Manhattan -- this time from the developers who made the first leap in the direction of better architecture with the two original Richard Meier towers in the West Village. Here they have engaged the firm Asymptote to design a 24-unit contemporary neighbor at 166 Perry Street. Behind a cascade of glass will live 22 lofts and two penthouses that attempt through texture, form and palette to dematerialize their own massing and spaces. Like much of Asymptote's work, the design reads both as a response to its site and as an exercise in virtual-reality 3D modeling. So suit up and take a closer look inside.
The developers who broke the residential architecture barrier are Richard Born, Ira Drukier, and Charles Blaichman. They had the foresight to bring contemporary design to what had been a staid and moribund practice among a closed group of professionals who had hogged most of the work in New York City for decades. They changed everything by hiring Richard Meier to design their now iconic towers on West Street. Improved design soon followed; and even some of the old tired guard of New York apartment design were forced to step up their game and bring their hopelessly value-engineered work into the new century.
Here at 166 Perry Street Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture, founders and principals of Asymptote, have emphasized the vertical by angling their glazed panels in a downward cascade. But it really serves to prove how there is only so much you can do within the buildable envelope (straight jacket?) that is New York City zoning. It also shows how these starkly modern glass towers tend to look better in isolation than clumped together. It is the juxtaposition that makes them shine. We have long been advocates of what E.B. White called "elegant variation." New York needs to be about the mix of old and new.
At street level a perforated metal scrim will divide public and private space. The 24 loft apartments here will include 2 and 3 bedroom units plus two penthouses. Open kitchens will have custom millwork with under-cabinet drawer refrigerators. Materials will be white lacquer with Corian island counters. Room door closures will be full-height, and flooring will be solid wide plank wenge wood.
All images copyright: archpartners
