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The 74 Townhome | Pelli Clarke & Partners

The 74 Townhouse is a 5,200-square-foot single-family townhouse that shares many of the same qualities, materials, and details as the 74 Residences. The entrance faces 75th street, with a bold one-story base featuring a deep geometric relief of red-brown sandstone; a contemporary nod to the traditional brownstone facades in neighboring townhouses. An articulated bronze metal gate and doorway with integrated lanterns provide a carefully crafted welcoming from the streetscape into the home.

A textured facade

The façade rises to five stories with magnificent windows framed between boldly angled portals clad in bright white textured terra cotta, enhancing the play of daylight coming from the northeast. The façade culminates with a roofline of trellised framing that provides a scaled variation of the The 74 Tower and gives appropriate distinction for the Townhouse along 75th Street.

Welcoming entry

The playfulness and drama of the entrance façade carries inward, amplified in a grand, light-filled stair-hall. Light-toned Ash Wood-paneled walls, articulated with bright bronze metalwork, enrich the rising hall with natural warmth and sparkle. The stairs rise upward along an elegantly chiseled spiral of plastered concrete, with solid wood treads and landings that float magically outward, collectively adding brightness and stronger connections to nature in the heart of the Townhouse.

Several iterations of the sculptural stair were considered.

“The 74 Townhouse is alive with repeating pleats and chisels of natural materials throughout that resonate under daylight and candlelight, like the solo clarinet glissando in George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.”

From the ground-level kitchen and dining room, to the second level living room and library, to the third and fourth level bedrooms, the built-in cabinetry extends the materiality and craft of the stair-hall throughout the Townhouse.

Enduring materiality

The marble and oak flooring throughout the Townhouse feature simple angled weaves, chevrons and herringbone patterns that echo the pleated and chevrons of the entrance façade. A sculpted travertine fireplace in the Living Room also recalls the distinct geometries of the entrance façade, providing continuity to the Townhouse’s overall craft.

Outdoor oasis

Juliette balconies accompanied by French doors at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors, a gracious trellised rooftop and a backyard terrace provide a variety of private outdoor spaces that are secluded for peace and escape from the bustling city. The Townhouse is a refuge in the middle of Manhattan’s Upper Eastside.