Weidlinger collaborated with io Architects on the design of a commercial building that merged glass with historic cast iron, creating a new strategy for historic districts.

New York, NY – Weidlinger Associates and io Architects, LLP, received a 2010 Architecture Merit Award from AIA New York (City) and a 2009 “Award of Excellence” from AIA New York State for a project at 39 East 13th Street. The assigned task was to replace a dilapidated four-story warehouse with a new commercial building. The designers chose not to demolish the warehouse entirely, as the client had originally thought necessary, but to preserve, refurbish, and integrate its cast-iron facade with a modern glass one, balancing old and new. The brick walls of the existing building were also retained, while cost-effective and sustainable strategies were used to maximize the new building’s floor-area ratios and exposures.

Whereas the original building had four stories, the new building fit a mezzanine (equivalent to a full floor) within the same height. Weidlinger devised a tubular structure to brace the non-load-bearing cast-iron facade, as the original floor positions that aligned with the facade’s four tiers of columns were no longer available. To create the illusion that the facade was load bearing, the new three-story glass curtain wall was cantilevered over it with only a small expansion joint between them. “It is most unusual to have new construction almost flush against a historic cast iron structure,” said Weidlinger principal Tian-Fang Jing, “but here it was required for bracing and to fulfill the architect’s vision.” The design team used an economical off-the-shelf channel-glass system, augmented with innovative details, for the structure. To create an all-glass contemporary interpretation of the historic facade, its basic U-glass units were transformed into architectural elements with similar thickness and depth.

The new building is both a model of formal and sculptural continuity and a study in contrasts. The contemporary portion of the facade speaks to the immediate neighborhood of gentrified Union Square and the base to bordering Greenwich Village. Acknowledging both contexts suggests a new archetype and strategy for commercial development in and near historic districts. “It is our hope that the community will appreciate our intentions to link the past and future in an inventive way and agree that the old and the new can co-exist in a transcendent and not a sentimental way,” said architect Philip Wu.

The designers used other strategies to increase the property’s value. They built to the maximum allowable height, 85 feet, creating two 25-foot-high loft spaces on the first and fifth floors. They made the upper southwest corner more prominent and the roof accessible for viewing Hudson River sunsets. They carved a light well at the back of the building to cross-ventilate the units and increase daylighting. They also placed a building-high mechanical shaft at the back, improving heating and cooling efficiency for each level and freeing up the roof for tenant use.

io Architects, LLP, was established in 2007 by Hitoshi Maehara, Simon Hsu, and Philip Wu, all of whom had previous successful careers in corporate and private practice. Their portfolio contains a diversity of projects that vary in scale, program, and context, from distinguished museums in Japan and Luxembourg to award-winning competition entries for projects in Milan and Beijing. The AIA New York State has recognized outstanding works of architecture through its Design Awards Program each year since 1968. “The award winning projects demonstrate the creative skills of their architects and the good use of available resources. Each adds something important to the place of which it is a part.”