Landmarks approved revised proposal to replace garage with residential building. On November 15, 2011, Landmarks approved a revised proposal to replace a one-story garage with a six-story apartment building at the corner of Lafayette and Great Jones Streets in the NoHo Historic District. The original Morris Adjmi designed proposal, presented in August 2011, called for an aluminumclad building with fourteen window bays along the Lafayette Street facade and three bays along Great Jones Street. Landmarks found the massing appropriate, but asked Adjmi to enliven the facades and emphasize the cornice, which framed the set back sixth-floor penthouse. 8 CityLand 125 (Sept. 15, 2011).

In November, Adjmi said that he had reviewed the surrounding architecture and found that the store-and-loft buildings featured stone, brick, and cast iron. With that in mind, Adjmi revised the design to incorporate brick elements. The building’s second through fifth floors would feature concave columns of recycled brick that would be inlaid with vertical metal strips. The metal inlays would increase in width as the building reached the sixth floor. Articulated horizontal beams would now separate the floors. Adjmi increased the number of window bays along the Lafayette Street facade, and recessed the windows further from the facade to increase the shadow line. He also strengthened the cornice, which would still frame the penthouse terrace. 

Landmarks unanimously approved the proposal. Commissioner Margery Perlmutter found the revised design more interesting than the first proposal, saying that it had dialogue with the surrounding architecture. Commissioner Fred Bland referred to the proposal as a wonderful adaptation of cast-iron architecture, and Commissioner Michael Goldblum noted that increasing the horizontal emphasis had improved the design.

LPC: 372 Lafayette Street, Manhattan (11-1698) (Nov. 15, 2011) (Architect: Morris Adjmi Architects).