ABSTRACT
The Fitzroy is a boutique condominium on West 24th Street, West Chelsea, adjacent to the famous High Line of New York. It was designed by Roman and Williams in collaboration with JDS Development Group. The terra cotta façade was inspired by Art Deco buildings in the city, but not the immediate neighborhood, which has many new buildings of limited detail. Founders Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch were alert for an opportunity to do a highly developed, craft-oriented building. The facade techniques used at The Fitzroy invite comparison to those of the grand age of terra cotta in the 1920s. Custom terra cotta production at this scale essentially ended with the Great Depression and World War II. After the war, architects turned their interest to aluminum and methods of mass production that had been developed for the war effort.
