Origlio/Vanderbilt Apartment, Garmet District New York, New York, 1986


Jude LeBlanc in Association with Barry Goralnick

Located in Manhattan, this work consists of the renovation and extension of an apartment beyond the existing exterior envelope of a loft building. Fashioned in white glazed brick, in the Art Deco style, the south facing street facade maintains a suitable public presence. In contrast, the side and north elevations are clad in a random combination of red/orange bricks in a variety of hues, some painted. The owners took a narrow north facing space after receiving permission to enclose the entire 70’ x 4’ ledge adjacent to it, thereby increasing the apartment width from 12’ to 16’. This, together with a 13th floor location in a neighborhood composed largely of five story buildings allowed maximum freedom in articulating rear window views to the north.

Inside. The clients wished to maintain the openness of the loft, but also desired a private bedroom and discrete entry and dining areas. The original kitchen and bath were maintained. The central living area and flanking bedroom and dining areas were extended by annexing the ledge.

As one of the clients is a public relations consultant with clients in the entertainment field, four televisions were included in the program. In addition to the proscenium/frame in the living area the frame is exploited throughout the interiors with associations made between views through windows and doors and views of paintings, photographs, and especially videos.

Outside. Clearly non-integral to the general masonry envelope, the addition is composed of a central aluminum greenhouse bound on either side by pavilion-like enclosures clad in galvanized steel. This three dimensional permutation of the materials of the existing two-dimensional window system emphasizes the conceptual and literal status of the addition as a dependent, an annexation, a “clip on.” The addition “rhymes”—in terms of form, materials, and iconography—with the various mechanical outcroppings on the roof above and recapitulates the form of the existing greenhouse two floors below. The overall three-part division of the new elevation interlocks with both the tri-partite plan, which it screens and reveals, and the three bay articulation of the rear building elevation in which it is placed. While composed locally, the elevation of the addition aspires to function as a form element in the overall composition of the rear elevation. The new elevation, with mild pretensions as a facade—although a humble face of modest means, looking away from the street—is perceived from a distance as a cornice element appropriately capping the existing elevation.

This proposal was reviewed and tempered by the building co-op board, in a process which influenced the project and clarified parameters for future additions to the rear of the building: 1. Materials are held to steel and glass (in this case galvanized steel, cladding, painted aluminum greenhouse sections, and painted metal handrails). 2. To maintain the integrity of the existing building, appendages are articulated as non-integral additions.

This project is a small example of what we are convinced is a healthy and timely attitude towards urban building—one of several possible strategies to retrofit existing buildings or parts of existing buildings. In general terms we are opposed to the cyclical and increasingly rapid demolition of structurally sound buildings of particular scale and character only to be replaced, inevitably, by overbuilding of dubious quality (often aesthetic and always material). Through this project we hoped to give pleasure to our clients, while not detracting from, but rather adding to, what is good about the city of New York.

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ARCHITECTURE


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Origlio/Vanderbilt Condominium