Our project in Tribeca is a five-story townhouse, built for a family of four. But the building is only one room deep, and the widest dimension of its footprint is the side facing the street.

We embraced the site’s intimate involvement with the street as a central theme of the project: to create a façade that engaged with the rhythms of the neighborhood but also enfolded the family within, protecting them from the street while bringing in its energy and light.

The complex geometry of our interior design is mirrored in the twists and folds of our façade, which gives passersby a glimpse of what the family enjoys inside, breaking down the wall between the home and the street, while at the same time offering a vibrant new element to the neighborhood.

But the radical twists and folds are all accomplished with standard-sized bricks, materials characteristic of the historic neighborhood. To accomplish this, we devised a groundbreaking, cost-effective digital design technique, creating a life-size foam template bricklayers could interact with using traditional techniques. The bold design was approved by the local Landmarks Preservation Commission in a rare unanimous vote. The steel frame that holds the new facade in place was so precisely prefabricated that it was delivered by crane and attached to all floors of the building in just one day.

The result is a remarkable new type of building, one deeply rooted in the street life of the historic neighborhood, which also signals that a new era has arrived.

Links: - https://vimeo.com/96112909

Credits: - System Architects - Kaitlin Faherty - Construction - Andreas Froech - System Architects - Principal - Jeremy Edmiston - System Architects - Tony Jin - Masonry Consultant - Chris Allen - Mechanical Engineering - Seodyal Singh - Construction - Yotam Kehati - System Architects - Christina Bien-Aime - Masonry Consultant - John Murray - Total Structural Concepts, Inc. - Construction - System Architects - Charles Kwan - CNC Milling - Robert Bridges - System Architects - Alanna Lauter - System Architects - Christian Camacho - Masonry Consultant - Craig Tooman - System Architects - Helen Levin - System Architects - Jamie Edindjiklian - Macintosh Engineering - Structural Engineering - James Baker - JD Wilson Construction Corp - Contractor - Richard Wilson - System Architects - Matthew Addeo - Belden Brick Company - Masonry Consultant - Bill Merritt - Construction Foreman - Tomasz Kozlowski - System Architects - Alvaro Almada - Lavada - Construction - Art Kozyr - System Architects - Project Architect - Rob Baker - Construction - Mike Schiavo - Lavada - Construction - Perry Randazzo

Credits: - Stan Deutsch Lighting - Lighting Consultant - Phil Thomas - System Architects - Designer - Matthew Addeo - Machineous - Construction - Andreas Froech - Site Foreman - Tomasz Kozlowski - Millennium Rack & Steel - Construction - Lavada Inc. - Construction - Perry Randazzo - Masonry Consultant - Chris Allen - System Architects - Designer - Christian Camacho - Trend Manufacturing - Balconies - Yotam Kehati - System Architects - Designer - Alanna Lauter - Masonry Consultant - John Murray - Belden Brick Company - Masonry Consultant & Manufacturer - Bill Merrett - System Architects - Designer - Jamie Edindjiklian - System Architects - Desginer - Christina Bien-Aime - CNC Milling - Robert Bridges - System Architects - Designer - Alvaro Almada - Masonry Consultant - Craig Tooman - System Architects - Designer - Charles Kwan - McGlynn Hays & Co. Inc. - Elevator - JD Wilson Construction Corp - Contractor - Richard Wilson - Metropan Systems Zinc - Zinc Cladding - John Gushue - Macintosh Engineering - Structural Engineer - James Baker - Newsham's Woodshop - Millwork - Tom & Lisa Newsham - Mechanical Engineer - Seodyal Singh - Lavada Inc. - Construction - Art Kozyr - System Architects - Desginer - Helen Leven - System Architects - Desginer - Kaitlin Faherty - System Architects - Designer - Tony Jin - System Architects - Project Architect - Rob Baker