Winning the Pritzker Prize can change a lot for an architect, leading to more numerous and expensive commissions, as well as increased scrutiny on past projects. Given Japanese architect Shigeru Ban's recent Pritzker win, it came as no surprise when the New York Times reported that the broker of a condo in NYC's Ban-designed Metal Shutter Houses has been flooded with calls since the decision was announced, with the superintendent having to politely turn away people looking for tours. Completed in 2010, the residential building next to Manhattan's High Line park gets its name from a facade of motorized perforated shutters, and behind them, floor-to-ceiling glass doors that can fold up, allowing for direct balcony access from the living room of each unit. Though Ban is largely known for his humanitarian work, using materials like cardboard tubing to design affordable structures for disaster victims, he's also known for the minimalist aesthetic on display here; his attention to detail in the interiors was such that he was flown in to redesign the penthouse after a buyer backed out. Two condos are currently on offer in the building, one three-bedroom asking $7M and a four-bedroom with an $8.25M price tag. Any guesses as to how long they'll be waiting for offers?
Unit #4 was first bought in 2009 for $4.85M. It was listed for $8.5M back in Ferbuary, and had its price chopped to $8.25M just two days before Ban's Pritzker win was announced. To their credit, the owners are sticking with the price in the hope that it'll sell quickly. (As one told the Times, "We always knew we loved the apartment — we don't need an award to tell us why.") At 2,695 square feet, the duplex has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a whole lot of Ban-designed white corian fixtures.
At three bedrooms and 1,949 square feet, unit #7 is the smaller of the two, and is currently listed at $7M. The current owners first looked to flip the place back in 2012 for $6.75M. Its got three bathrooms, and according to the brokerbabble, a "poetic architectural style that melds the simplicity of traditional Japanese architecture with the modern lines of the International School." · 524 West 19th Street #7 [Street Easy]
· All Shigeru Ban coverage [Curbed National]
· All Metal Shutter Houses coverage [Curbed NY]
· All Starchitecture for Sale posts [Curbed National]