A through-block parking lot at 7 West 21st Street in the Ladies Mile Historic District of Flatiron may soon by home to a Morris Adjmi-designed residential building. The design calls for what looks like two separate buildings, one at 21st Street and one at 22nd, connected by the first floor (reserved for retail space) and the lobby above it. On top of those floors would be a shared courtyard. The lower portions of the facades will be made of stone, while the mid and upper portions will be glazed terracotta. The sidewalls will be glazed brick. 20 percent of the units will be reserved for affordable housing. The street wall facades will require setback waivers from the city, and also approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the latter of which Adjmi attempted to gain yesterday afternoon.
The Landmarks Commissioners, for their part, didn't hate the designs, but neither were they blown away. The fact that the facades lack ornamentation, uncharacteristic of the Ladies Mile Historic District, was a sticking point for the preservationists, but not for the commissioners—commissioner Joan Gerner said that the design "speaks to the district in a modern language." The commissioners did, however, take issue with the base of the facade, calling it "horizontally arranged," "too soft," and "squat." Commissioner Michael Goldblum remarked that other buildings in the area have "much more emphatic, much more vertical designs." Adjmi and co. will have to address those concerns before re-presenting to the Commission.
· Morris Adjmi coverage [Curbed]
· Landmarks Preservation Commission coverage [Curbed]
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