In the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District three stories of an existing 5 stories brick and cast-iron loft building were destroyed by a fire in the 1960’s. The surviving two-stories building had lost all of its architectural detail except for the ground floor cast iron columns which seemed to stand in defiance.
As most of the existing building was damaged well beyond repair, the columns preservation was pivotal in the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s decision to allow for new construction on this site. Their design and the restoration of a connecting granite plinth became the keystone of the buildings storefront and the primary organizing element of the facade.
The allowed built area required us to place a six stories modern structure, or, as requested by the client, 80’ of glass curtain wall, atop the 20’ high slender, ornate, structurally improbable columns.
The task was difficult because the Community was at stake to loose an historic structure and because the two adjacent buildings, one historic and one very modern, are large in scale and could have made the diminutive slender structure easily looked inappropriate.
The intervention had to be irreverent but respectful, looking backward and forward, familiar and new.
A glowing glass band links the existing and the new structure, pinned by the demising walls; the juxtaposition of the curtain wall fragment against the recessed operable windows recalls the SoHo facades layering.
In order to make the building happen we partnered with LPC to reinterpret the zoning and codes. We did petition the Community and Commission to allow for the demolition of the existing structure, (with the condition of saving the existing columns), obtained a change of use variance, argued for the reduction of the rear yard, without which the loft apartments would have been too small, obtained a variance for the sky exposure plane, without which the penthouse levels would have been all core.
In addition to these very pragmatic needs, since the small structure had stand out near its large neighbors and in order to make the small residential units feel like real lofts, backed by Landmarks, we obtained a DOB reconsiderations for the ceiling height of the lower floors, which is higher than allowed but typical of the area.
The client, following the market trends, asked for the new loft residences to have a modern floor to ceiling fenestration, to maximize the city views and for balconies.
The enclosed “balconies” respond to all these requirements and increase the allowable FAR. The curved glass wall is an inhabitable reactive layer simultaneously connects and separates the street from the residential privacy, (as reported by several inhabitants).
The installation of the thin steel spandrel, extending to support the bay window was studied in various 3D animations to give the contractor an illustration of the assembly. The spandrel acts as an outrigger attaching back to the main perimeter beam though a series of frames, made up of steel angles, almost like custom trusses. The spandrel shape follows the curve profile and then turns the corner to support the main window wall, with very little tolerance.
The rear façade and side facades, have been designed as carefully as the front façade. TRA also designed the lobby and residential units interior. After the project was completed, confirming our intuitive strategy. we found a precedent in a cast-iron building nearby, with a curved fire-escape. The intervention preserves the remnants of the historic structure while restoring the Mercer character with its large scale utilitarian buildings completing completes “ the making of the street”, from an utilitarian and gritty townscape to one of the most recognizable streets in SoHo; TRA contributed to the streetscape transformation with 72 Mercer, 52 Mercer, 22 Mercer and finally 44. The blogs recorded the community positive reaction.
