The Essex at Essex Crossing
The folded metal panels of The Essex relate to the neighborhood's tenement buildings with their multi-layered facades and variety of window sizes.
The Essex sits at the intersection of Delancey
and Essex Street, a crossroads between the smaller scale buildings of the
historic Lower East Side neighborhood and the taller residential towers along
the East River. The building includes a 20-story
residential tower rising above a 5-story
commercial podium that occupies a full New York City block. The tower includes
195 residential apartments with 50% of the units designated as permanently affordable. The base of the building, at 80 feet in height, transitions
the scale of the tower and connects it to the 60- to 80-foot residential
buildings of the Lower East Side.
The Essex is part of Essex Crossing, a new 1.65-million-square-foot development that includes market and affordable housing, senior affordable housing, a 15,000 sq. ft. urban park, a new and expanded Essex Street Market, community facilities, a rooftop urban farm, 280,000 sq. ft. of office space and a diverse mix of retail components. The Market Line - a natural light-filled concourse spanning the cellar level of three sites, including The Essex - will be home to some of New York City’s most diverse small businesses and will be composed of small to medium-sized vendor stalls.
The Essex's design draws inspiration from the surrounding neighborhood, specifically the tenement buildings with their multi-layered facades and window openings that vary in size and depth. The façade of The Essex reinterprets these formal aspects through modern materials and fabrication techniques. The asymmetrical, folded metal panel system reflects the sunlight in different ways and creates a varied pattern that was designed to capture light from multiple angles throughout the day and allow the folded bronze panels to glow.