Enclave at the Cathedral

2020 RADA Winner
Multifamily Housing, Citation
Enclave at the Cathedral
New York City
Handel Architects

Into a daunting site in New York’s Morningside neighborhood, alongside the north flank of the hulking Neo-Gothic church St. John the Divine, Handel Architects has designed an apartment building that somehow manages to be equal parts eye-catching and self- effacing. Enclave at the Cathedral is a 430-unit apartment house that is 15 stories tall and scarcely a quarter block wide. To thread this challenging urban needle, the designers created a lateral façade, composed largely of vertical concrete piers, that ensures the focus remains on St. John’s stunning westwork. Meanwhile, to the north and south, the architects devised a dramatic ribbed exterior that plainly references the muscular structural systems of the church’s Gothic Revival architecture. This air of deference extends to Enclave’s silhouette, which steps down slightly as it approaches its neighbor. And rather than plunk down a single bulky structure, Handel divided the project into two buildings to leave the church’s north transept exposed.

But none of this modesty diminishes an ambitious program that includes a sweeping lobby, an on-site art exhibition space, and gracious landscaping that connects the greenspace surrounding the cathedral to the neighborhood. Seen from the bottom of the hill to the east, Enclave’s wedgelike taper looks very much like a dislodged fragment of the cathedral, a flying buttress that has taken up residence alongside its historic neighbor.

PROJECT CREDITS
Project: Enclave at the Cathedral, New York.
Client/Owner: Brodsky Organization
Architects: Handel Architects, New York. Gary Handel, FAIA (managing partner), Frank Fusaro, AIA (partner-in-charge, design lead), Elga Killinger, AIA (principal, project manager), Honyi Wang, AIA (associate principal, project architect, design phase)
Interior Designer: Handel Architects
Mechanical Engineer: Cosentini Associates
Structural Engineer: WSP
Electrical Engineer: Cosentini Associates
Civil Engineer: Langan
Construction Manager: T.G. Nickel & Associates
Landscape Architect: Aarris Atepa Architects
Lighting Designer: Cosentini Associates
Traffic/Parking: Philip Habib & Associates
Concrete Consultant: Architectural Concrete Consultants
Elevators: Joseph Neto & Associates
Zoning: Development Consulting Services
Acoustics: Cerami & Associates
Code: JAM Consultants
Exterior Wall: Gilsanz Murray Steficek
Size in Square Feet: 401,175
Cost: Withheld

MATERIALS AND SOURCES
Acoustical System: Armstrong
Adhesives, Coatings and Sealants: Dow
Appliances: Blomberg, Faber, Bertazzoni, Bosch
Bathroom Fixtures: Kohler, Grohe, Robern
Carpet: Interface
Cabinets: PGS
Concrete: Casino
Countertops: DL Marble & Granite
Exterior Wall Systems: Enterprise Architectural
Fabrics and Finishes: Kvadrat Maharam; East Coast (window shades)
Flooring: Val Floors; Par-ky
Furniture: George Smith; WorkOf
Glass: Viracon
Gypsum: Capital Interiors
HVAC: Epic Mechanical
Lighting Control Systems: Lutron
Lighting: Chelsea Lighting; Neidhardt (lobby pendant)
Masonry and Stone: DL Marble & Granite (terrazzo floor); Vettertsone (lobby walls)
Metal: Island; Wainlands; Cambridge Architectural
Paints and Finishes: Benjamin Moore, Nemo Tile, Crown (Signage)
Plumbing and Water System: Parkview Plumbing; Peak Mechanical
Roofing: KNS; Hanover; Siplast
Site and Landscape Products: Dubner Landscaping; Legacy (fencing); Jakob (railings)
Structural System: Concrete
Wallcoverings: Carnegie
Windows and Doors: Wasau, Boon Edam (revolving door); Weinstein & Holzman (interior doors)