With a portfolio like his and a canvas like Manhattan, it’s hard to believe renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando has not designed a building in New York City… until now. The minimalist architect will plant his flag in Manhattan with a seven-story residential building, featuring a green wall adorned with bright flowers.
The Ando project, called Ichigoni, will be located in the city’s spiffy Nolita neighborhood on Elizabeth Street. The building will host seven bespoke luxury apartments, all with the hallmark Tadao Ando traits—notably a use of concrete and steel. The individualized residences range from two- to five-bedrooms and measure 1,950-square-feet to 5,600-square-feet.
While renderings for the Nolita property were released in the winter of 2015, they were updated with the addition of a living wall covering much one side’s facade after construction. If completed as planned, the 55-foot by 99-foot green wall will be the largest on any residential building in Manhattan. The living wall will change color throughout the year, through a coloration with landscape architects M. Paul Friedberg and Partners.
Heralded for his sophisticated style, the architect has had his work come to life in Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai, and even Fort Worth, Texas. Ando’s work carries an air of understated elegance using a raw aesthetic. Noteworthy examples of this quintessential style can be found in the Church of Light in Osaka and the meditation space designed for UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Ando designed several interiors in New York—most notably for Morimoto, the Chelsea restaurant from Chef Masharu Morimoto—but this is his first standalone project. For more information, click here.
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