New York City

Completion Date: June 2008

Owner: Madison Equities

 

Program: A 12-story, 80,000-square-foot residential tower in Chelsea, with 47 units, a communal garden on the ground level, and a communal roof terrace. Levels 2 through 8 are a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, and levels 9 through 12 are entirely three-bedrooms; all include terraces overlooking the garden. At the base of the building, four two-level duplexes extend from the basement to the ground floor. These apartments, which offer private gardens and high-ceilinged, gallery-like spaces, can serve as live-work units.

Design concept and solution: Rather than integrate this infill tower seamlessly into its midblock location, the architects imagined the Chelsea Modern as a sculptural building whose jutting, folding glass facade stitches its surroundings together. Since only one side of the concrete-structure building would face the street, the architects used the facade to create multidimensional zigzags of movement: horizontal bands of blue glass, each several stories high, unfold like pleats across the tower. The shifting planes reflect pieces of neighboring structures and change color throughout the day. A recessed base of translucent glass gives upper floors the appearance of floating above the sidewalk—which itself is made of glass. (The sidewalk doubles as a skylight for the lower floors of the duplexes.) On the upper levels, flexibility is the priority: the units feature open kitchens, floor-to-ceiling glass, operable projecting windows, and large wood-covered sliding wall panels that allow inhabitants to redefine rooms. Crisp, functional interior finishes like sycamore floors and white-painted walls round out the minimalist palette.

Location:
447–453 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011

Total construction cost:
$35 million

People

Owner: Madison Equities

Design Architect:
Audrey Matlock Architect
141 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:
Design Partner (FAIA): Audrey Matlock

Project Manager: Theo Smith

Job Captain: Faith Mercado

Designer: Mark Blumberg

Designer: Kelvin Ono:

Consultant(s)
MEP Engineering:
Lilker Associates Consulting
212.695.1000
New York, NY
blilker@lilker.com

Landscape Design:
Site Design Resources
917.887.5429
New York, NY

Curtain Wall Engineering:
Thornton Tomasetti
917.661.7800
New York, NY

Structural Engineering:
Goldstein Associates
202.721.5302
New York, NY

Acoustic Consulting:
Shen Milsom & Wilke
212.725.2552
New York, NY

Foundation Waterproofing:
Muser Rutledge Consulting Engineers
917-339-9300
New York, NY

General contractor:
DCBE Inc.
212.334.5159
New York, NY

Photographer(s):
Audrey Matlock Architect
Michael Roberto

CAD system, project management, or other software used: Vectorworks

 

Products

Exterior cladding
Metal/ glass curtainwall:
Curtain Wall Installer
Genetech Building Systems, Inc.
718.227.0622
Staten Island, NY

Curtain Wall Manufacturer
Intercom S.R.L.
0039.049.9403963
Italy

Pilkington TGP Technical Glass Products
Channel Glass - Storefront glass
617.699.4020

Curtain Wall Aluminum Extrusions Manuf.
Wicona

Curtain Wall Glass Manuf.
Glaverbel

Windows
Aluminum:
Curtain Wall Manufacturer
Intercom S.R.L.
0039.049.9403963
Italy

Glazing
Curtain Wall Glass Manuf.: Glaverbel

Channel Glass - Storefront glass:
Pilkington TGP Technical Glass Products
617.699.4020

Doors
Stainless Steel Storefront and Doors: CK Pro
718.335.0909
New York, NY

Hardware
Hardware Manuf: Rixon
Hardware Manuf: Sargent

Interior finishes
Kitchen and bathroom Millwork Manufacturer:
90.212.324.36.00
Istanbul, Turkey

Interior paint: Benjamin Moore

Floor and wall tile:
Eco-Terr - Kitchen floor
Coverings Etc
212.625.9393
New York, NY

Wood floor manufacturer: VAL Floors
201.672.9320
Carlstadt, NJ

Furnishings
NY Contract Seating:
Lobby Furniture Supply
718.417.9298
Maspeth, NY

Lighting
Typical Interior downlights:  Wever Ducre

Elevtor lobby lighting: Louis Poulsen

Lighting fixtures - wet locations: Targetti Lighting

Controls: Lutron

Conveyance
Elevators/Escalators:
EDI-ECI
Elevator Cab Manufacturer
800.526.5264
Paterson, NJ

Plumbing
Plumbing fixtures - Stillness line: Kohler

Add any additional building components or special equipment that made a significant contribution to this project:
Glass Sidewalk:
Circle Redmont
Glass Block Sidewalk Manufacturer
321.259.7374
Melbourne, FL
circleredmont.com