Jean Nouvel and Andre Balazs Team Up for Red Hot Condo Project In Soho, NY
Two of the hottest names in luxury chic, French Architect Jean Nouvel and renowned hotelier Andres Balazs, have teamed up to design 40 Mercer, an upscale modernist apartment building located in the historic and trendy neighbourhood of Soho, NY.
The 15-storey block long steel and glass building, which accommodates 40 residential units all of them sold, fits in comfortably in this cast iron district. That is because Nouvel has respected the lineage of these industrial buildings in the new building’s massing, materials and details. Particularly impressive and inventive is the building’s glazing system, a glass curtain wall comprised mostly of clear glass panes with accents of red and blue glass that change in character from transparent to opaque depending on the time of day. Most impressive is the fact that the building can be entirely opened up to the out of doors. To accomplish this level of openness, Nouvel has employed massively scaled sliding glass wall that open 17-20 feet and “disappearing” floor to ceiling windows that bring the outside in.
The interiors are ultra modern with flexible floor plans. Some units have their own pools and many have moveable walls that allow its occupants to carve out different experiences in the mostly open space.
In addition to the apartments, the building has a private club and many of the amenities of a 5-star hotel.
The project cost $83 million US.
Sharon McHugh
WAN US Correspondent
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