SCENE FROM THE STREET

64 University Place Struts Proudly

Text and photo by Brian J Pape, AIA

One of the most unusual recent apartment blocks built in Manhattan is nearing its exterior completion, with scaffolding coming down soon. 64 University Place, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects, is an 11-story residential building developed by Argo Real Estate and B Safal, a developer that began as Safal Constructions Pvt. Ltd. in Ahmedabad, India. The 125-foot-tall structure will produce 63,000 square feet of floor area for 28 condominium units, a gym, sauna and other amenities along with a reservable event space facing the landscaped interior courtyard, according to reports by YIMBY.  SPACE Copenhagen is the interior designer, Deborah Nevins is the landscape designer, and CNY Group is the general contractor.

What makes this an outstanding visual affect is the hand-laid red brickwork for the main eastern elevation, filled with arched storefront openings and modular stacks of individual apartment arched window and balcony openings in a grid of five bays across. Deep recesses and stepped pilasters add to the sharp shadow lines for the entire façade. Every bay has metal railings set into the openings, turning each bay into shallow ‘Juliette’ balconies with tall ‘patio’ windows. Each floor line is articulated with an exposed floor edge above the arches, nicely articulating the horizontal lines. 

Promotional renderings show profuse greenery spreading from the upper terraces, climbing the pilasters, all the way up to the roof terrace, and they show street scenes of similar vines growing in the neighborhood. It makes one wish they would grow their vines from the sidewalk as well.

Construction of the structural concrete frame boasts low-carbon cement replacement. The websites predicted a 1st quarter opening, but it looks like a later 3rd quarter opening is more likely.