The BLUE Residential Tower designed by Architect Bernard Tschumi makes a highly specific architectural statement in the historic Lower East Side neighborhood of New York.

Bernard Tschumi's first high rise building, BLUE is an architectural landmark with its unique and distinctive shape. It has seventeen stories, is 181 feet tall and consists of 32 apartments ranging from one to two bedrooms on the lower floors and full floor apartments on the higher floors culminating in a duplex penthouse on the top. BLUE Residential Tower is Architect Bernard Tschumi's second structure in New York and his first residential tower /building.

During the design process Architect Bernard Tschumi faced major design challenges due to constraints of the New York zoning code and the developers requirements; and his own desire to create an original architectural statement in the eclectic Lower East Side neighborhood, differentiating it from the other high rises around it. The architectural solution which arose from this is an original envelope pattern with a unique shape which artfully negotiates the varying set back rules, crossing the line between the commercial and residential zoning districts.

The base of BLUE architectural tower occupies a lot zoned for residential use and cantilevers over an existing two storey building designated for commercial use. The unique angled walls facing the street and the rear, the sloping top of the building and the angled cantilever in the southern portion of the building makes a distinct architectural statement. The cantilevered portion of the BLUE Residential Tower allows for enlarged sizes of the units located on the upper floors with stunning views of Lower Manhattan. Thus the allowable residential footage is maximized. The sloped curtain – wall is a feature in many of the apartments, and the majority of units have full- height windows in the living and dining rooms. 

The distinct blue colored, pixelated facade of the building reflects both the internal arrangement of spaces and the multi- faceted character of the diverse architectural neighborhood below. The curtain – wall system with a pixelated glass design is composed of grey color tinted vision glass, spandrel glass in four shades of blue color, and periodic panes of full body blue color tinted vision glass. Thus four distinct shades of blue color glass have been used in creating this pixelated facade. 

The apartments on floors 2 -12 have bamboo floors, stone walls and white – tiled walls in the bathroom, white stone kitchen counters and metal and glass upper kitchen cabinets. Tower and penthouse apartments have palm flooring, stone walls and glass tiled walls in the bathrooms and Boffi kitchens. Common shared spaces have bamboo wall panelling, stone floors and back – lit white glass panels. 

The roof of the neighboring building that BLUE cantilevers over is recycled as a large terrace garden, providing communal space for residents and guests and also offers broad views of the Williamsburg Bridge. 

Architect Bernard Tschumi has successfully designed a high end residential tower with a modest budget which is neighborhood specific and visually striking in the architecturally rich part of Manhattan. BLUE does not start with a theory or a formal gesture but takes the character of the site as its inspiration, manipulating the zoning requirements to produce a angulated form into a pixelated envelope that makes an architectural statement but also blends into the sky at the same time due to it blue color glass used on the facade. BLUE Residential Tower was developed by Angelo Cosentini and John Carson.

 

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