Clip-Ons For Buildings: The Real Thing
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Successfully tying a bow tie is an elusive feat, and many a young man in formal attire on prom night resorts to a clip-on. It’s not the real thing, of course, but it looks fine and saves a lot of frustrating moments.
In buildings, clip-ons are the real thing. Usually involving new glass façades, real estate clip-ons not only provide an aesthetic improvement, but also help financially by reducing energy costs and improving the building’s “brand.”
In 2005, when Fendi relocated to 677 Fifth Ave., Peter Marino applied bronze-colored screens to the limestone façade of the former Cornelius Vanderbilt townhouse. The overall effect is of an unfinished, high-tech log cabin — just what Fifth Avenue was missing.
While the rust-colored screens are a far cry from the lavish interior of the building that Mr. Marino designed for Fendi, the screens appear to be detachable, so perhaps when fashions change they will be replaced with stainless steel or gold-colored screens.
Of course, one cannot be too cavalier about altering a building’s appearance, especially considering that the city has many rules governing architectural changes.
“The city permits you to protrude up to 4 inches from the building line,” a partner in the architectural firm of Moed de Armas & Shannon, Raul de Armas, said. Recladdings fall into two categories, Mr. de Armas said: There are major structural renovations, which are usually undertaken when a building is empty, and the “tack-on” type, which are done when a building is occupied.
Mr. de Armas and his partners are responsible for such recladdings, including of the former Verizon Building at 1095 Sixth Ave., which was emptied before the firm applied a very attractive deep-green glass façade, and 1120 Sixth Ave., a 20-story “clip-on” job that is one of the most attractive recladdings in the city because of its fine proportions and crisp detailing. Other projects include 100 Park Ave., originally designed by Kahn & Jacobs in 1949, where Mr. de Armas’s firm has applied a sleek “clip-on” curtain wall on the avenue. At 575 Madison Ave., a 25-story office building designed by Emery Roth & Sons in 1950, an architect at Mr. de Armas’s firm, James Davidson, is overseeing the handsome “clip-on” recladding now under way.
Mr. Horsley is the editor of CityRealty.com.
