One of the defining site characteristics is the elevated rail carrying the 4 train that runs in front of the site. The other is the proximity to Mulally Park to the south. Each of these characteristics play major roles in the building design and massing.
The base of the building is 24’ high along the entire street frontage beneath the elevated rail. Above that, the building sets back significantly, as much as 30’, to push the residential units as far away from the elevated railway as possible.
To take advantage of the southern exposure and the views and towards Manhattan, the “back” of the building becomes the front with the main residential terrace facing that direction. To further emphasize this orientation, double-height lounges are provided on every other floor of the residential tower, placed on the south-western corner of the building.
To mitigate the height of the building, careful attention was given to the massing and façade design. In the lower portion of the building, three different window modules are used to create an alternating rhythm. Blue window surrounds are utilized at the smallest of the windows creating depth and a secondary pattern which breaks down the scale and allows the eye to move along the façade without having either the vertical scale or the horizontal scale overwhelm the senses. Above this alternating pattern, the building sets back for the final four floors where a more regular pattern provides a background and caps off the building.
In the lower portion of the building, three different window modules are used to create an alternating rhythm
The form of the ceiling system is an echo of the double-height lounge massing in the tower above. The ceiling also acts as a pathway marker from the entry to the elevators. At the second floor amenity space, this wood detailing is picked up in the hallway niches and the ceiling design of the corridor.
Art Gallery and seating niches in the amenity floor corridor spaces
Double-height lounge interiors connecting two floors of housing together
