With glass and steel towers dotting many a street corner, New York has never appeared more like an urban jungle. Architecture, it seems, has only gotten more futuristic, leaving a shiny, metallic city in its wake that feels worlds apart from what it was even decades ago. Stately stone buildings and homes, though, still offer visions of grandeur and recall a different era of sophistication. A time when skilled masonry work and a handcrafted aesthetic signified utter luxury.
Not at all forgotten, a trend is slowly taking root among some of today’s developers and a return to classic building materials is making a comeback. From handmade brick to elegant limestone, these buildings aim to provide the appeal of a pre-war building, but with all of the comforts and conveniences in today’s luxury homes. Take a peek at the dream-worthy homes below to see the latest interpretations of the classics.
150 WOOSTER
150 Wooster Street is an extremely rare ground-up development on one of the last remaining lots in Soho’s Cast-Iron Historic District. The building’s contemporary masonry façade references the neighborhood’s landmark prestige and is clad in imported Danish brick, handcrafted and stamped using 19th century techniques, and framed by piers of rustic Indiana limestone that accentuate large uninterrupted expanses of glass. At the 7th floor, the facade transitions into precision cut steel paneling and cornices that take classic Soho as a point of departure. 150 Wooster was developed and designed entirely in-house by KUB, a firm based in Soho.