L y K h a n h T a m T h a o

Imagine being able to completely throw open your apartment unit to convene with the elements. This kind of experience is a rarity especially in the urban trenches of Manhattan. But now for a price, and I‘m sure it’s a steep one, New Yorkers can have that out-of-doors living experience in a new condo building on Manhattan’s West side designed by Shigeru Ban. The Metal Shutter Houses is a striking and flexible 11-storey condo building under construction in the fashionable West Chelsea arts district next to the recently completed Frank Gehry designed ICA building and across the street from Jean Nouvel’s glass condo building. The building, which is Ban’s first residential project in the US and the architect’s take on the area’s industrial warehouse building and his continued exploration of the confluence of interior and exterior space, features nine duplex residences, each with a façade of motorized perforated metal shutters that allow the building to be completely opened or closed. Inside each unit, Ban has created an open “universal floor”- one vast and uninterrupted expanse of space- that can be partitioned into smaller, private areas with sliding glass doors. All units will have solid white oak flooring throughout, a double height great room, a flexible library/bedroom, a study, and outdoor space. Select units will have floor to ceiling white lacquer cabinetry designed by Ban. On the ground floor will be located a lobby and art gallery.