Shigeru Ban Designs for New York Apartment Block Revealed

Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban is designing the interiors of a New York apartment block which will be located in Manhattan.

The project called Cast Iron House features eleven flats and two penthouse apartments within a cast iron building which was built in 1882. The development is undertaken by Knightsbridge Properties. On Ban’s part, he is tasked to reimagine the interiors of the building which the developer describes to be the “neoclassical landmark in Tribeca.”

Ban said, “We liken the architectural concept for Cast Iron House to a ship in a bottle.” He added, “The original cast iron facade is the bottle while the newly built-out modern interior, which has been completely reimagined, is the ship.”

The building will be restored according to its original details. Before re-installing on the structures facade, the team has taken out more than 4,000 ornamented iron panels of the building’s exterior and had it restored and re-casted in an Alabama foundry.

A two-storey structure will be added into the old building and will be the location for the two new penthouses. The resulting design will appear to hover towards the street with a cantilevered steel truss and glass walls.

These glass walls will also serve as a connection to the interiors and terraces that will be surrounding the added penthouse. This new addition will create around 130 square meters of outdoor space above.

Meanwhile, the flats in the existing building will have double ceiling heights that will resemble that of a cathedral style. The spaces for the flats vary with a minimum of 265 square meters of floor area. Ban will also create the design of the cabinetry in the kitchen, living rooms and bedrooms.

For the common spaces, Ban designed a new lobby space which will serve as the building entry. A courtyard space located at the building’s center is also a new addition to the existing design and it will be visible from the street as well.

The project is estimated to be completed by 2015.