Architect Tadao Ando Adds Luxe to NoLita

Posted on Mon, 03-30-2015

Tadao Ando designs with three principles in mind: geometry, nature and substance. His projects must “speak perfect geometry in architecture itself,” harmonize nature and architecture, utilizes concrete and “explore[s] the spirit of the glass.” He explains that “At times, walls manifest a power that borders on the violent. They have the power to divide space, transfigure space, and create new domains. Walls are the most basic elements of architecture, but they can also be the most enriching.”

Ando uses concrete to divide and enclose spaces, while using  glass to create enriching light. The interior of his “Church of Light” in Osaka, Japan is primarily enclosed in darkness, aside from a symbolically cross-shaped window in the rear. It is this type of innovation that earned him the Pritzker Prize in 1995, as well as numerous other international awards.

His newest project for 152 Elizabeth Street in New York City exemplifies these renowned standards. According to Archdaily, the “ultra-luxe” condominium presents a strong facade of glass, concrete and galvanized steel. “I want to create a space which no one has created before with a very common material which anyone is familiar with and has access to,” Ando told the New York Times in an email interview. “Concrete can be made anywhere on earth. There will also be a living green wall of vines that rises 55 feet high and spans 99 feet wide; the largest in New York. One of the vines, the Virginia creeper, turns a brilliant red in the fall. At the entrance on Elizabeth Street, residents will walk through “a vestibule lined with a water wall with grooved glass panels that allow light to filter through,” with a fog and light sculpture in the lobby. “The water element acts as a buffer and transition from the busy and loud urban fabric to the quiet and private residence.” Curbed reports that the building will be completed by November 2016.

A number of “starchitects” have been planting their first flags down in NYC, including Zaha Hadid and Alvaro Siza. “Developers competing for buyers willing to pay stratospheric sums for new construction tend to select architects with star power, especially for smaller buildings that lack the impressive views of a skyscraper,” writes the Times. These unique, luxurious buildings attract a lot of attention; many believe the buildings fail to match the context of their surrounding neighborhoods. Hadid’s design for 520 West 28th Street, for example, is certainly imaginative and fascinating, but it doesn’t look like anything else in Chelsea, with it’s chevron center, expansive glass windows and curvaceous form. On the other hand, if the design of every new construction was limited by its surrounding neighborhood, it would be difficult to make progress unless developers re-design entire swaths of neighborhoods at a time.

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