ArchitectBKSK Architects
Structural EngineerGilsanz Murray Steficeck
Services EngineerSRA Architecture + Engineering / GEA Consulting Engineers
Construction ManagerHarco Construction
Preservation ConsultantHiggins Quasebarth & Partners
Software SpecialistParabox
In a bold move to meet the requirements that the Landmarks Commission placed on the site of the 19th century Prescott House hotel, this new design evokes the surrounding architectural context while it reinterprets the SoHo vernacular of cast iron and terra cotta prefabricated facades. Located at the corner of Spring Street and Broadway, the building reinstates the original six story massing and contains 34,000 ft2 (3,160 m2) of prime commercial space.
In collaboration, BKSK, Parabox, and Front digitally configured and detailed a geometrically complex facade that features a unitized curtain wall with an integral terra cotta rain screen of unique tiles, first prototyped in England then hand-crafted in Italy. The Spring Street elevation takes as its point of departure the rhythm of the Prescott House fenestration and gradually morphs into a fully glazed and highly transparent curtain wall as it turns the corner onto Broadway, where it presents a more contemporary frontage. Vertical panels of glazed clay tile incrementally peel away to become projecting ledges and reveal floor to ceiling vision glazing beneath with a pixellated print that echoes the surrounding masonry faience. At the Broadway elevation, large framed apertures set within the curtain wall become vitrines for the flagship store.