Located in the Tribeca East Historic District, 14 White Street is a 30,000-square-foot mixed-use building clad in a distinctive patinated copper alloy panel. This contemporary metal envelope establishes a dialogue with the neighboring cast-iron manufacturing buildings through subtle references to proportions, cadence, and texture. Each panel is acid-etched with the very line work used during fabrication. The panel’s angles and resultant etching vary from window to window, capitalizing on the ease of customization in automated digital fabrication and allowing for smaller apertures for private spaces like bedrooms and bathrooms, and larger for public areas like living and dining rooms. It will be an ultra-efficient build- ing with high-performance windows and a hyper-insulated rainscreen envelope beneath its metal-clad exterior.

“In a city with an increasing number of one-off icons, it’s refreshing to see a building that unapologetically situates its inventiveness at the scale of the detail, resulting in an elegant, cohesive whole.” —Eric Bunge, Principal, nArchitects (juror)

Honorable Mention 

Project: Long Island City Oyster
Architect: Carlos Arnaiz Architects (CAZA) 
Location: New York

LIC Oyster addresses the imbalance of a high-rise residential boom amidst the steady retreat of manufacturing in NYC, reinterpreting the local aesthetic of brick arches as a shell-shaped development on the Queens Waterfront. LIC Oyster’s built footprint occupies 55 percent of the total site area, leaving a public park measuring over 2.5 acres.

Honorable Mention 

Project: Necklace Residence
Architect: REX
Location: Long Island, New York

This residence is organized into a necklace of five homes and three shared pavilions for events, entertainment, and children’s play. The family compound’s exterior is wrapped in mirror glass to make it disappear into the site upon approach, reducing the perception of its large mass. A circular walkway overlooking the courtyard garden connects all the residence’s gems.