Parlour, 243 Fourth Avenue. Credit: Ondel Hylton
New York City offers a staggering variety of apartment buildings that span a century-and-a-half continuum; almost all, however, young and new, posh and shabby alike, offer only one of two kinds of windows - either those of the regular rectangular variety, or the sheer floor-to-ceiling expanse of the en-vouge “glass box” type. By contrast, Parlour at 243 Fourth Avenue, a 12-story, 19-unit luxury condo nearing completion in Gowanus, breaks the mold with a facade where every aperture takes the form of an arch.
The building is nearly sold out of smaller units, so remaining homes start at three bedrooms, with $2.249 as the lowest price tag (#6B). At the other end of the range, the five-bedroom penthouse runs for $4.5 million.
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Parlour, 243 Fourth Avenue
Parlour, 243 Fourth Avenue
Parlour, 243 Fourth Avenue
The arch is a pervasive theme that manifests beyond the windows. At the facade, some arches are hollow, concealing cozy open-air loggia arcades that overlook the Manhattan skyline. Skyline views are available in most apartments, where each unit spans either a half or a full floor. Units come with white oak floors, rift-sawn oak cabinets, kitchens with honed Breccia Classico counters and islands, and bathrooms outfitted with mirrored cabinetry, marble vanities and bathtub surrounds, and heated Nero Marquina marble floors laid out in a herringbone pattern.
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The marketing team calls the building a “modernist reinterpretation of historic Park Slope” that is “an homage to the signature arched bridges in Prospect Park,” but also a likely nod to the arcades in some of the warehouses in the adjacent industrial neighborhood, such as 530 President Street two blocks west. The site describes the method of Adam Rolston, Principal of INC Architecture & Design, as one that “delivers a modernist approach to timeless design,” where “in their purest material forms, the arch and vault command an emotional response.”
Arches and vaults are a driving thee buildings amenities, which include a vaulted lobby, a sunlit fitness center, a children’s “play gym,” and a rooftop terrace with a full outdoor kitchen. Additional storage and bike parking is available for all apartments.
Parlour, 243 Fourth Avenue
Parlour, 243 Fourth Avenue
Thanks to its embrace of a typology that dates back to the Romans, textured light brown brick, and nuanced details such as soldier course brick composing every arch, Parlour stands against the backdrop of similarly-sized neighbors, which have sprung up after the neighborhood rezoning in the early 2000’s. Of these, the most architecturally interesting is the recently built condo at 251 First, which sports ODA Architecture’s signature cubist, stacked profile at the avenue-facing corner. A closer local kin to Parlour is LUNA about ten blocks south down Fourth Avenue, which rises in a series of telescoping setbacks toward the avenue and embraces the arch in a playful, dynamic manner.
130 William Street as of January 2020 (CityRealty)
Across the East River in Manhattan, Adjaye Associates’ 61-story condo under construction at 130 William Street is a dark, brooding, yet immensely characterful tower that also offers an arch for every window and balcony. Further uptown, 180 East 88th Street reserves its arches just for the midsection and the top, yet their immense scale and dramatic parabolic uplift makes for an impactful statement on the Upper East Side skyline.
Back on the Brooklyn side, further positive changes are coming to the still-developing neighborhood. Two days ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an order to start the long-awaited cleanup of the nearby Gowanus Canal. A day later, the city unveiled a plan for further upgrades to Brooklyn’s bike network, which involve enhancements at Fourth Avenue.
The area around the Gowanus Canal is slated for some big changes (CityRealty)
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