The terraces at Rose Hill on East 29th Street, where an aluminum-clad facade pays homage to Art Deco … [+]
Courtesy Rockefeller Group
Most new construction dotting the New York City skyline is contemporary in style, but some developers have decided to embrace classic prewar architectural styles and features.
Here are a few examples of how everything old is new again.
Art Deco
The Rockefeller Group, the original builders of Rockefeller Center in the 1930s, is now behind a new 45-story development with ornamental bronze façade called Rose Hill, at 30 East 29th St. (named for the location, which was once part of the 130-acre Rose Hill Farm estate) that will begin closings this summer.
The exterior of Rose Hill, which has an Art Deco style.
Courtesy Rockefeller Group
Meg Brod, senior vice president and regional development officer for the Northeast region for Rockefeller Group, said the company wanted to design a classic New York building with an Art Deco influence that would stand the test of time.
“People seem to be responding to this very contextual and Gotham New York design, and I think they like seeing something a little different,” Brod said.
Down in the Financial District, 25 Park Row is being billing as a contemporary interpretation of an Art Deco skyscraper.
The exterior of Beckford House & Tower on East 81st Street.
Noe & Associates: The Boundary
Masonry facades
In a move away from walls of glass, some developers are using hand-laid, hand-carved bricks and stone to create authentic masonry facades.
An example of this is seen at Greenwich West, which features a handmade brick facade with custom glazed brick accents made specially for the project by Wienerberger of Belgium and industrial-style casement windows framed by hand-laid brick and custom pewter-glazed brick borders.
On the Upper East Side, Beckford House & Tower blends into the surrounding neighborhood with an exterior of hand-laid bricks and Indiana Limestone.
A formal dining room at Beckford House & Tower on the Upper East Side.
Noe & Associates: The Boundary
Separate formal dining rooms and closed kitchens
While open kitchens have been a mainstay in new construction, Beckford House & Tower on East 81st Street has separate formal dining rooms and kitchens.
Barbara Russo of Douglas Elliman, director of sales for Beckford House & Tower, said buyers tend to know William Sofield, the founder and principal of Studio Sofield, the project’s designer, for his retail work with brand names such as Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Studio Sofield is also doing the interiors at 111 West 57th street and paying homage to prewar times.
“Bill Sofield’s design is the closed kitchen,” Russo said. “Every once in a while you’ll have a couple that likes open kitchen — and we have one on the ground floor — but 90 percent of people are into the practicalities of a closed kitchen. When you’re trying to cook and you have a house full of people, you need the quiet.”
Grand entry foyers
Dedicating precious New York City square footage to a large entry foyer definitely harkens back to times past, but units at 180 East 88th Street as well as Beckford House & Tower have been designed with a formal entry galleries.
The living room and kitchen at The Symon in Downtown Brooklyn.
Volley Studio
Crown moldings and custom millwork
Minimalism and clean lines tend to dominate the New York City housing market, but some developers are adding artisanal millwork in baseboards, door frames and custom cabinetry.
This can be seen at both 40 Bleecker, a NoHo condo with interiors by Ryan Korban, and The Symon, a newly-launched development in Downtown Brooklyn.
“People are tiring of new construction thats going to be dated in 10 years,” Russo said.