Manhattan`s Tribeca district set for contemporary condominium towerLocatedin the Tribeca Historic Cast Iron District in Downtown Manhattan, FiveFranklin Place will be the first major American building byinternationally admired Dutch architect Ben van Berkel of UNStudio. Thebuilding will rise 20 stories with 55 homes, offering impressivepanoramic views of the Hudson River, East River and Manhattan Skyline. Thebuilding will boast a dramatic, highly decorative exterior inspiredequally by the applied metal façades of Tribeca’s 19th century castiron architecture and such contemporary sources as couture fashion,with its dramatic seams and construction techniques. Gleaming blackhorizontal ribbons of metal will wrap the façades, twisting andtorquing into functional elements - balconies, terraces, and sunshades- and framing views from within the building. Van Berkel’s horizontalgeometries are integrated into the residences of Five Franklin Place,where space is configured to allow the maximum amount of interpretationby those who live inside and key fixtures are custom-designed andstreamlined to emphasize the great horizontal planes of windows thatoffer views of the city and bring light indoors.The entrance to Five Franklin Place is located on FranklinPlace, one of the most historic andastmospheric passageways of Downtown. Parallel to Broadway andconnecting Franklin and WhiteStreets, Franklin Place will be fully restored, planted with verticallandscaping, and graced with lightingconsistent with the 19th century context Five Franklin Place will havethree distinct residence types, each with its own unique aesthetic,materials palette and special features. Duplex Loft Residences, CityResidences and Sky Penthouses. Interiors at Five Franklin Place will beexecuted through a unique collaboration with the contract division ofrenowned Italian design manufacturer B&B Italia, which hasengineered and will install an array of highly customized fixtures andfeatures designed by Ben van Berkel for the building.The project, whose 55 units range in price from $2 million to$16 million, is being developed by New York based business partnersDavid Kislin and Leo Tsimmer. Construction is now underway and shouldbe finished by late 2009.
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