‘ENTER RESIDENTIAL’
My very first impression is that the buildings look as if they belong on this site. This is a general compliment. It has a simple modern appearance for an important urban center. It belongs in the Tresser Boulevard dialogue.
Tresser has become the corporate center of Stamford, like it or not, and the buildings have a similar appearance, scale and identity.
The important design question for this project is: how do you make a residential building that has a certain height, scale and appearance, fit in the corporate building context? This building design has done that well. The scale along Tresser, with the separate building volumes, and the window scales, and the balconies, has taken on the corporate look. It fits its context — well done!
But, we should also question the zoning for residential uses on Tresser Boulevard. The scale of the other nearby buildings suggests that the site should be reserved for a corporate use. The “highest and best use” of the site is probably corporate/ business. The width of the road, access to the highway, the scale of the other office buildings has become the corporate identity of the city.
We all recognize that the current economic conditions make the construction of a corporate building impossible. The vacancy rates are too high. Corporate America is smaller and not available to lease these buildings. Enter residential. There has been a lack of good housing in the downtowns all across America, and there is a demand. There is no doubt that the boom-let of millennials is seeking urban housing. That is a good positive step for our city.
The challenge of context in architecture is evident in the group of restaurant structures on the next block. The scale and quality of the architecture do not fit its surroundings. It has placed a black eye on the quality of Tresser. Zoning and design review should have controlled this appearance and insisted on a quality of architecture that enhances Tresser. How does a P.F.Chang’s or Cheesecake Factory work on this grand boulevard? The end result will surely be that the restaurants will also suffer.
With that said, the Urby project has done an admirable job of fitting in and supporting the need for residential architecture in the downtown. The project has taken the additional step of hiding the parking behind landscaping and ground-floor apartments along Tresser. The first-floor residences may suffer, but the streetscape will benefit. And this is along a road that has suffered from years of abuse at the hands of the car parks.
Woods is a principal architect at Stamford-based firm Marsh + Woods Architects. He is also a member of the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission.