Gallery

Oscar Solarte / COOKFOX Architects

The edge of Houston Street is marked by unusual voids - fragments of space left over from the confluence of Broadway, Houston and Lafayette Street. Seen as a residual site between SoHo and NoHo, these voids have challenged each historic district’s integrity, both functionally and aesthetically. The opportunity to fill in the “missing teeth” is a rare chance to restore the overall cohesiveness of SoHo. 300 Lafayette, at the corner of Houston and Lafayette Streets, re-establishes a formal edge to the urban room and provides much needed, high-performance workspace for the neighborhood.

Drawing on influences from the historic district - the richly-textured Puck, “Little Singer”, and the Bayard-Condict Building - this building engages its neighbors while still expressing modern ideas of form and function. 300 Lafayette takes its cues from the depth and rhythm of these historic precedents and utilizes floor-to-ceiling glass set in masonry frames, allowing for the continuous increase in transparency and connection to the environment that workplaces in SoHo initiated. Minimal frames and lush, landscaped terraces and balconies of the façade are used to create articulation, depth, and reconcile the transition between conflicting scales of Houston and Lafayette Streets.

The design highlights a new, iconic building that can be a good neighbor while still expressing modern ideas of form and function. 300 Lafayette takes its cues from these historic precedents and utilizes floor-to-ceiling glass set in masonry frames, allowing for the continuous increase in transparency and connection to the environment that workplaces in SoHo initiated. Setting standards in material efficiency, the building utilizes post-tensioned, voided-slab, flat-plate concrete construction that leaves spherical voids in the slabs - reducing both the weight of the floors and the amount of concrete, steel, and carbon in the structure. Minimal frames and lush, landscaped terraces and balconies of the façade are used to create articulation and depth in the façade, connect people with the natural environment, and reconcile the transition between conflicting scales of Houston and Lafayette Streets.

Popularized by biologist E.O. Wilson, biophilia is the idea that human beings have an innate affinity for the natural world. Simply put, people feel good when they feel connected to nature. One of the core principles of biophilia is the concept of “prospect and refuge”: a spatial condition in which the occupant feels sheltered and protected within a building, yet is afforded good views into the distance. Researchers theorize that humans evolved to favor such places as a matter of survival; we still carry with us a preference for these spaces, even within modern buildings. At 300 Lafayette Street, biophilic design weaves green spaces into the built environment and integrates daylight and views for all tenants and visitors. These strategies not only make a strong impression on the public, but also promote health and productivity within the office spaces.

For many years, this site along Houston Street has been a “leftover” site, valued only for its ancillary uses. With the design of 300 Lafayette, the space is transformed by architecture that is appropriately scaled, iconic, connected to nature, and most importantly good for the community.