361 Broadway , a casting - iron construction in lower Manhattan , has stayed put as the neighborhood around it transformed its factories and workshops into restaurants and high - end boutique . Now , after 133 years , it ’s changing too — thanks to two $ 15 million alloy penthouse due to climb down on its roof .
The project is being design by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban , who also did theMetal Shutter Housesin Chelsea . As The New York Timesdetailed this calendar week , Ban ’s plan involves building a body structure inside a structure , so as not to raise up the landmarked construction ’s historic window dressing . Inside , there ’ll be luxury condominium — par for the grade in this neighborhood — but up top , thing are more exciting : Two ( also hugely expensive ) penthouses construct on 361 ’s be roof , with a monolithic overhang put up by Vierendeel truss — which will make it possible to open up the entire side of the building to the outdoors :
It ’s a coolheaded project — and though it ’s far from the first prison term a athirst developer has gone so far as to add floor to an existing edifice , it ’s one of the good variation on the theme I ’ve ever seen — despite the deplorable reality that 99.99 per centum of normal New Yorkers will never get to enjoy it .
361 has seen a lot of history since it was construct , in 1881 , by an architect named W. Wheeler Smith . It ’s one of the largest cast - iron buildings in the city , and it ’s house everything from the textile trade to the offices of Scientific American ( you’re able to check out an awesomeLandmarks Commission report here ) . Ironically , we incline to think of these cast - atomic number 26 edifice as iconic , as great pieces of craftsmanship — but at the time , stamp - smoothing iron expression was widely criticized , since it was look as a cheap , imperfect method of faking the style of ornately - carved stone buildings .
361 was a workhorse of a construction — built to sign business , pure and simple . So while you could whine about how developer are cannibalizing NYC account , the construction ’s nineteenth C material baron possessor plausibly would ’ve appreciated the sheer fiscal genius of the program . [ New York Times ]
ArchitectureDesignNew York City
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