Location: 173 W Broadway, Tribeca, NYC
Size: 6,000 SF Certificate of Occupancy: 2022
Type: Two-family mixed-use building, Adaptive Reuse, Interiors, Architect Led Design-Build Process
About Studio
TRA is New York City and Southampton firm led by Caterina Roiatti, AIA, and Robert Traboscia, offering full services in Architecture, Preservation, Interior Design, Branded Environments, and Design Build.
Our diversified expertise gained over decades of proven experience, will benefit your project by allowing us to identify the enabling problem and extraordinarily simple solutions, quickly addressing the complexity and multiple areas of expertise that are often required within a single project and the unexpected issues that inevitably arise during the construction process.
We do not simply solve problems, we are also challenges, working with you to find better ways to live, work, and contribute to the natural and built environment. We design for people, finding the equilibrium across cultural and practical constraints, place and users, context and design, broad vision and details, uncovering opportunities for vibrant, but pragmatic, interventions.
We prioritize all projects regardless of size and context, we will take the time to learn about your story, vision, and aspirations, we want to create the best place for you and your life.
Through intelligent zoning interpretations, powerful analysis tools, and distinct design, we explore all possibilities. We have a proven record of improving the balance sheets and adding the most value to your development site, creating buildings that are as significant to the context as they are for the users.
At TRA, we have the best team who speak all languages of design and a wide network of close collaborators who will work on your project, but you can also feel confident that Caterina and Robert will be your trusted advisor and remain involved throughout the entire process.
The Conversion Of The Smallest Loft Building In Tribeca
This diminutive structure, originally a manufacturing loft building, dating from the 1890s but not landmarked, is the smallest the studio has been working on over the many completed renovation projects in SoHo and Tribeca.
The renovation and conversion to mixed-use of this small manufacturing loft building located in Tribeca has finally been completed. The exterior renovation could not be completed until now, because of the fact that the City has been working for a few years on upgrading the utilities, which run under Worth Street, for the entire district, limiting the access to the first floor.
The Program
The program called for retail on the first floor and two duplex rental residences with three full bedrooms on the upper floors, the structure, located just outside the Tribeca Landmark District, is kind of a hybrid between a loft building and a townhouse, which made the shift between the two typologies a natural one.
The apartments layout, tightly woven within the confined volume, respects and enhances the spatial qualities that make lofts so desirable, such as tall ceilings, open flowing spaces, and large expanses of glass, while creating the comfort and the desired separation of living versus sleeping spaces, typical of the New York Village Townhouses.
The interior finishes also marry the minimal aesthetic of the old manufacturing building with the interior warmth expected in a townhouse: exposed brick, walnut flooring, mahogany windows, aluminum, marble, and lacquered millwork, are brought together with clean, rigorous details.
The Design-Build Process
As it often happens, early in the process, it became quickly apparent that the conversion was more complicated and demanding than the client expected, in fact, the building had significant structural issues that needed to be resolved. The client then hired TRA to lead the entire construction process.
Unlocking The Ultimate Luxury: A Room With A View
The striking corner atelier oriel, which, taking full advantage of the fact that the structure is not landmarked, recognizes that a view is the ultimate New York luxury, giving character and presence to the corner building and adding balance to the somewhat odd, “ too tall “, original proportions of the facades. The single gesture completely transformed the modest building into a striking presence on West Broadway.
The dramatically angled oriel window looks at and frames the Freedom Tower, augmenting the interior with the surprise of an additional pavilion of a sort, at once secluded and connected to the City, blurring the distinction between interior and exterior.
The location informed the design which, in turn, talks about the location.
The Interiors
As true of all of TRA’s projects, the studio designed all of the interiors, including the millwork, with the trademark timeless aesthetic. The furniture is all mid-modern vintage, including the two custom armchairs, designed in 1968, by the Italian noted architects Nani Vallle and Giorgio Bellavitis.
The Catalytic Urban Effect: The Worth Street Projects And The Making Of The Street
As it happened frequently in the past, following the success of one project, TRA studio has been hired to work on the gut renovation of another nearby building, 35 Worth Street, with similar characteristics. The completely redesigned façade can be seen in the Worth Street rendering.
Worth Street, which is now a Street populated by buildings of different periods, styles, and quality, will regain its significance in the Tribeca District.
