Here's the ultimate in Meatpacking District chic: an 11-story new development with a special touch, externally mounted movable shutters, that allows residents to block out the sun—and the teeming masses below. As Morris Adjmi Architects explains, "The rail and guide system of the shutters is concealed within the spandrel panels located above and underneath. The building will provide an ever-changing facade, a dynamic blend of technology and history." (Hell yes.) Set for spring 2008 completion, 345 West 14th Street will offer somewhere around 50 units, at prices not yet determined, or, we assume, even imagined.
As the above rendering makes clear, the new development sits in close proximity to SHoP's famed Porter House, whose relatively thin windows have been protecting inhabitants from having to stare at the Meatpacking District for years now.
· 345 West 14th Street [Morris Adjmi Architects via CityRealty]