The Romanesque large-scale loft building, designed by Renwick-Aspenwall and Russell Architects in 1890, was converted by Victor Janer Christ in 1966 into a Church. In order to reuse the building for worship, the building was stripped of all its architectural detail and a new façade and interior was constructed. The three top floors were closed off, seemingly in perpetuity. The building has been now renovated into nine apartments, with the Church occupying the first floor and cellar. The project was somewhat risky, because there was the potential for controversy since the 60’s façade had been designed by a somewhat notable architect, also we had no idea what was the condition of the original façade behind. In addition there was the potential for Landmarks, to mandate a faithful reconstruction of the old building, which would have been tedious, costly and would have not offered the type of fenestration and enhanced views which the developer desired. The only surviving architectural elements were the brick pilasters and arched openings. The lower two floors, which have been mostly dismantled since the brick arch had to be removed to make way for the tall openings of the Church entrance, have being carefully restored. The 1960 brick veneer was applied to the existing façade through the use of masonry ties and layers of mortar, puncturing holes and cracking the historical. The major damage was in the base where the center bay base arch was removed to accommodate the 1960’s façade. The combination of all these issues meant a certain amount of new brick was required to restore the façade. The amount of new brick required could have created an undesirable mosaic effect, which posed the question of whether the whole façade should be reconstructed. From historical standpoint, the effort to recreate the façade contradicted the idea of preservation, thereby leaving the task of brick matching. Since all the old brick faces were altered in some way, it was difficult to recreate this kind of altered molded brick; the possibility of reusing some of the interior layers of the historical façade in combination with a found similar historical brick resulted in the best possibility. In the end, a small crew of masons laid this combination of selective brick, working slowly on areas of brick detailing and finally brushing and washing the whole façade with a tint, to ensure the best homogeneous façade surface. The new façade which has been called a “retro-vention”, (part "reverse intervention”, part new interpretative design, embraces each use and its identity while honoring the found conditions and the original design of the façade. The building restoration, at once meticulous and inventive, also restored its life.

The “upper building” takes full advantage of the surviving pilasters and arches. The new windows are re-interpreted from the original design. The metal and glass infill, which recalls the triangular profile, shifts in the horizontal and vertical planes between the front and backside of the brick pilasters, between the exterior habitable balconies and interior bay windows, between the park, the public street and living spaces. The angled windows tie the different neighborhoods together, they provide South views to Washington Square Park, north views to the Village and direct views to MacDougal Historical alley, they look both backward to the past and forward to the future. All of the residential levels have the desirable connection to Washington Square Park, either through the oblique bay windows planes or from balconies, (for which it is typically difficult to obtain permission in the Historic Districts). The façade wall movement opens an active dialogue with the past and the present, the sparseness of the new infill enhancing the richness of the ornate brickwork. The glass window wall lining, at once historic and modern, is fully revealed at the top of the building where it extends to memorialize the Romanesque cornice that was removed. The new cornice is re-interpreted as a clear-storey recalling the grand scale of the original one, its design offered the opening where the design could be pushed, since it re-interprets, without mimicry, the scale of the original one without the large overhang, no longer permitted by the codes. The new cornice also becomes the recognizable element of the project and increases the light for the upper floor, which happens to have high and narrow windows. 173 MacDougal has been a true catalyst in the transformation of the street, which coincided with the restoration and transformation of the Park, resuming its long overdue landmark status and galvanizing role. TRA provided full architectural services, including the interior design and the lobby, whose sloped planes that recall the angled planes of the window wall, where cut directly from the architect’s drawings.