6th AVENUE RESIDENCES
PROGRAM: Mixed-use building
TEAM: Valerio Franzone, Offcut Design / Fabrication LLC
CLIENT: Confidential
LOCATION: 307-309 6th Avenue, New York
AREA 2440 m2 (26,270 ft2)
STATUS: Schematic design, 2021-2022
6th Avenue Residences is a prototype for a new kind of living and establishing a new relationship with the city. Located in Greenwich Village, it comprises 16 residential units and commercial space.
With its bricks, windows with arches, and a metal structure holding the balconies and greenhouses, the facade is an homage to the old buildings of New York and their fire escapes. The facade is a device that establishes a joyful relationship with the context, playing with it instead of imitating it.
The building has several private and common outdoor spaces. The units have balconies and greenhouses that act as in-between spaces, blurring the distinction between the public and the private realm.
From the apartments, the residents can perceive the vibrant city, and from the outside, the passers-by can perceive the calm of the domestic space. The courtyard and the roof have amenities to improve social relationships among its residents. The greenhouses are also climatic devices; they let natural light inside and permit heat to accumulate, thus reducing heating energy consumption. In the hot seasons, they can be opened to increase ventilation or shaded to block sunlight from entering and overheating the domestic space.