540-544 Hudson Street (Credit: Morris Adjmi Architects)
The in-demand office of Morris Adjmi Architects has found their niche in bringing unobtrusive background buildings to New York's historical streetscapes. In the West Village, arguably Manhattan's most charming neighborhood, the firm has drawn up a 7-story condominium and retail building that softly caresses the northeast corner of Hudson and Charles streets.
The formerly weed-strewn lot at 111 Charles Street and 540 Hudson sits squarely within the Greenwich Village Historic District and is owned by the estate of William Gottlieb. Gotlieb was a legendary NYC landlord who owned more than 100 properties upon his passing in 1999 and was notorious for allowing his properties to languish for years. This site once held a gas station and long-shuttered auto-body shop building.
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Google Earth aerial showing location of 540-544 Hudson Street (CItyRealty)
The exterior design composed of an undulating facade of red brick, red mortar joints, and deeply inset casement windows won the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in 2018 after a few minor and unnecessary tweaks that reduced the overall height of the building and the size of its cornice. Fast-forward five years later and the 63-foot-tall structure has topped out, revealing just how well the design respects the scale of its surrounding context.
Charles Street elevation
The design can be likened to an understated take on Antoni Gaudi’s Casa Mila in Barcelona. However, the waveform facade was not conceived in a vacuum but rather, utilizes the rhythm of the West Village's pre-war buildings to inform its design. The building is punctuated evenly by casement windows and the corner will feature curved glass windows and a curved glass entryway at street level.
An offering plan that has yet to be approved shows the residential address will be 111 Charles Street and the building will host 19 condo units. Early floor plans from 2017 show that the residences will comprise a mix of one to three-bedroom layouts. A three-bedroom penthouse will be greatly setback from its streetwalls and will feature a sprawling rooftop terrace. According to permits, in-house resident comforts are to include a fitness center, common lounge, screening room, and common roof deck.
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