Luxury Hi-rise Underway in New York

Dutch architect Ben van Berkel will wrap Five Franklin Place's facade with horizontal black metal bands.

by Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 5/1/2008

A new luxury residential tower fitted out with custom details by Italian furniture manufacturer B&B Italia recently broke ground in downtown Manhattan. Designed for a lot in TriBeCa by Dutch architect Ben van Berkel, founder of Amsterdam-based UNStudio, the 20-story Five Franklin Place pays tribute to the 19th century cast iron architecture of neighboring buildings.

Horizontal black metal bands will wrap the facade, reflecting both the clouds and the city, and providing balconies for more than half of the building’s residences, terraces for the penthouses, and sunshades. One-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom residences will run from 1,200 square feet to 3,400 square feet and prices begin at $2 million and top off at $16 million.

B&B Italia will produce custom features and fixtures designed by van Berkel for kitchens and bathrooms and a private spa and fitness center. Located on the sub-grade level, the spa and fitness will feature a sunny double-height weight room, a wet spa with mosaic tiled steam pavilion and sauna, and a mirrored multi-purpose room for yoga, pilates, and stretching.

The color palette of the interior adjusts to available light: "On the lower floors where there is a need to maximize daylight, we have specified the lightest-colored floors and fixtures and wall colors throughout," van Berkle explains. "On middle floors where there is more daylight because the residences are above adjacent buildings, we have a more cream-colored palette, softer because there is more natural light and less need to push for its reflection into the homes. And on the top levels of the building, where there is very abundant light, we have used richer, deeper colors and finishes in a very luxe way."

Sleepy Hudson is the developer for the project.