LOCATION
New York, New York
DATE OF COMPLETION
2016
DEVELOPER
BCRE
INTERIOR DESIGNER
ASSANYC
TYPE
Mixed-use
SIZE
24 stories
This one-of-a-kind project is located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The building is unique in its large scale in comparison to the surrounding neighborhood. The building construction site, 180 Orchard Street, has an air right parcel; air rights were transferred from 11 adjacent properties. The building was constructed using the older zoning concept of sky exposure plane in the equivalent residential district R7 and commercial district C6-1. The sky exposure plane allows the building to extend to an approximate height of 290 feet above ground as a commercial building. The building is currently occupied by Indigo Hotel, which has 362 rooms ranging in size from small boutique hotel rooms to larger, family-style units. The building is mixed-use with public parking at cellar level, large commercial units with 20-foot ceilings at on the first floor, and commercial and hotel rooms on floors 3-24.
This is the tallest building in New York City in the equivalent R7 zoning district or C6-1 commercial district. Based on the sky exposure plane and the through lot, the building was developed in the middle of the block with setbacks above the seventh floor. Most of the surrounding buildings are six stories or less, and this creates a 360-degree field of view for the building, which is not commonly found in Manhattan. The lobby is located on the 12th floor at a height of 170 feet above ground, which also creates a special experience for hotel guests. There is an open view from the hotel lobby to the East River, south New York, and the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. The entrance from ground level to the lobby was designed with an “Old New York” look with a brick veneer and graphics on the walls of the entrance. The 13th floor above the main lobby was created as a sky lobby for bars and restaurants and a pool with ceiling heights of approximately 14 feet.
The lower floors have a brick veneer exterior style that matches the surrounding buildings, and metal panels were used on floors 7-24, with a total height of 284 feet. The building’s setbacks were a translation of the sky exposure restrictions of the zoning resolution, which resulted in a unique and interesting massing. The transition from the brick veneer to the metal panel system helps create the aesthetic of the building and contributes to less negative impact on the surrounding buildings, which are much smaller in scale.
