343 West 16th Street

[Gulcrapek]

http://www.arpad-baksa-architect.com/frames.htm > On the boards

" 343 West 16th Street is a new 6 Story residential building. The building has a green roof and incorporates a geo-thermal heating and cooling system.

The building is made of steel and concrete, yet the facade is made almost entirely of glass. The glass facade undulates in 3 dimensions as each floor is atypical and contains distinctively patterned curved windows. Each floor also contains a glass balcony set at different planes for both aesthetic appeal and to provide shading for the residents. "

http://www.arpad-baksa-architect.com/theboards/16thstreet.jpg

[thomasjfletcher]

Call me old fashionned but I love Modernism.....! (don't tell my boss here at Robert Stern's....)

[Gulcrapek]

You work for RAM Stern?

I like it too, by the way. Modernism is awesome when done right.

[thomasjfletcher]

Yes siree, I've been here at Stern's for 3 years now. Having studied in Australia and worked in Germany and England I was a died-in-the-wool modernist, but over the last 3 years I've worked on classical, Gothic, etc, libraries, university buildings, etc. It's been great fun....

http://www.thomasjfletcher.com/IMAGES/Anim-RAMSA1b.gif

[billyblancoNYC]

What's that a picture of, Thomas?

[thomasjfletcher]

Sorry, I should have said. That's a picture for the new library in Jacksonville, Florida, in all its Soanian glory. I spent I guess 18 months to a year working on it. My first project (as cad monkey) and I pulled some crazy hours. It's a bizarre air-conditioned decorated brick of a building, but the neo-classical language let us do some cool things (grand stair, courtyard, reading rooms, etc).

[pianoman11686]

From http://cityrealty.com/new_developments:

Unusual balconies at The Modern at 343 West 16th Street 18-MAY-07

http://www.cityrealty.com/graphics/uploads/1179522077_16w343b.jpg

The Modern, an 8-unit rental apartment building, is nearing completion at 343 West 16th Street in Chelsea.

It is distinguished by an unusual facade that has four irregularly shaped balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Arpad Baksa, the architect, told CityRealty.com today that the intent was to evoke the "fire-escape" ambience of much of the rest of the block but in a modern idiom.

The balconies are set at different planes and, according to Mr. Baksa, the "facade undulates in three dimensions as each floor is atypical and contains distinctively patterned curved windows. The windows fronting on 16th Street "swing" back on forth because building regulations do not permit projections more than 22 inches beyond the building line, Mr. Baksa said.

The building is also unusual because the site was formerly vacant and only 41 feet deep. The owner, Joseph Sbiroli of Venture Land Corporation, however, also owns the 24-unit rental building at 340 West 17th Street that had a depth of about 159 feet and he merged the lots so that he was able to get a 30-foot-rear-yard for the building at 343 West 16th Street, which is now about 62 feet deep. That required approval from the Board of Standards & Appeals, which also approved an increase in the number of dwelling units permitted on the merged lot.

The rear yard is sunken one level at 343 West 16th Street, which has 6 stories and a grass roof that is anticipated to reduce expenses for oil by about 40 percent during normal summer seasons, Mr. Baksa said.

The facade is trimmed with beige ceramic tile.