236 W 17th

10 stories / 68,000 sf
2008 Completion

CB Developers
Client

Rawlings architects pc

• Ed Rawlings, RA
• Steven Kilian, RA
• Kai Chi Cheung, RA

Silman
Structural Engineer

Stanislav Slutsky
MEPF Engineer

WJE
Envelope Consultant

Pav-Lak
Construction Manager

Alexander Severin
Photographer

This project is a residential conversion of and addition to an existing warehouse on 17th Street in Chelsea. The existing building was structurally reinforced to accept a seven-story addition above the third floor. Luxury condominium residences are located on all floors, with additional recreation spaces on the ground floor. The robust concrete frame of the existing building is exposed throughout the living spaces on the lower floors, with oversized window openings reopened to allow light and air into the apartments. The addition is clad in floor-to-ceiling glass with balconies for all units, emphasizing the lightness of the new. The overall composition of the addition and the existing building plays on the contrast between solidity and lightness, with careful inversions of expected relationships throughout the project.

Apartments on the fourth, eighth, and penthouse levels all enjoy large private terraces. Common amenities include a gymnasium, an all-purpose “great room,” as well as storage rooms. Private parking spaces are available using the existing vehicular ramp to the cellar.