Crosby Street Hotel, NY
While the interior of The Crosby Street Hotel is unique in the way it is designed and furnished, the exterior reflects retro New York yet, at the same time, incorporates the very latest in building product performance and technology. Nowhere is this more evident then in the use of Crittall steel-framed windows, specified and fabricated in the UK and shipped to SoHo with the idea of making this one of the greenest hotels in the city.
Tim and Kit Kemp, owners of the Firmdale Hotel Group with several central London hotels completed their most recent one four years ago. Situated in the heart of London's Soho, The Soho Hotel is the first 'luxury' hotel to be opened in the area.nReplacing a demolished NCP car park, it comprises 85 bedrooms and 6 apartments. There are also 4 spectacular fifth floor penthouse suites, each with wraparound tree-lined terraces and views across London. The style is contemporary London, with every room different.
The exterior of the hotel is designed to reflect its suroundings. Here the hotel owners were very keen that the character of the area should be reflected and that particularly included the loft-style large daylight-producing windows. To achieve this appearance and to couple with the best high-tech fenestration, Crittall steel-framed windows were installed.
The Crosby Street Hotel, also in SoHo, was also constructed on the site of a former car parking lot. It extends to 11 floors with 86 individually designed bedrooms and suites. In keeping with the industrial history of the neighbourhood, the building has a very dramatic rectilinear facade of brick which frames 54 large windows with stone and glass at entrance level. The US architects are Stonehill & Taylor.
Learning from the building experience in London, and particularly the success of the windows, it was decided that Crittall steel-framed windows should also be installed in New York. their configuration and floor to ceiling height and area again reflect theloft style and match the character of the soHo district and its buildings.
Ron Cheles, project development director of the Firmdale Group says, "We work to extraordinary high standards of design and construction. the fenestration is a good example. Working closely with Crittall, we have used a 24-pane configuration with central pivotal 4-pane opening light, double glazed with a special gas inside. This helps to create a very low U-value which was vital bearing in mind the size of the windows and, of course, our desire for the whole building to be green and highly energy efficient."
The story of how Crittall Windows got from London's Soho to New York's SoHo is interesting. It is also one which other building product manufacturers keen to interest architects and maximise specification of their products in the States could usefully follow.
To find out more about The Firmdale Hotel Group click here...
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