The greenhouse rendered above isn't visible from the street, but it sits on top of the roof of the Ethical Culture School at 33 Central Park West. Construction on the project will be finished tomorrow, so we got in touch with architect Frances Halsband of Kliment Halsband Architects to find out a bit more about it. It turns out the school had a greenhouse on its roof when the building was first constructed in 1904, but "sometime long ago, the greenhouse was destroyed." (Sounds mysterious!) Eli Zabar, an alum, consulted on the process of bringing it back.
The greenhouse replaces structures already on the roof, Halsband explains, so it didn't need any zoning, Landmarks, or community board approvals. "We'd like to think of this project as one of the first greenhouses to comply with the new green zoning," Halsband says, "but in fact we were a little ahead of the curve, with a building permit before that zoning became law." And children will thank Kliment-Halsband while eating their tiny heirloom tomatoes.
· Official website: Kliment-Halsband [kliment-halsband.com]