A tree grows in Chelsea … well, actually lots of trees and greenery do, thanks to the designers of The Ruby.
Cookfox Architects and developer MAG Partners teamed to offer residents of the 25-story, 480-unit property at 243 West 28th Street an apartment building that combined modern luxury and the calming, tranquil appeal of being surrounded by nature.
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The essence of The Ruby — named after fashion designer Ruby Bailey — is its central courtyard and garden, which every amenity in the building centers around. It includes a sky-reflecting water basin meant to add a biophilic atmosphere to the concrete jungle.
“We really wanted to make sure that the minute you walk in your home, you’re being pulled off of the sidewalks of the Garment District and you’re seeing nature,” said Brandon Specketer, a partner with Cookfox, which served as both the architect and the interior designer. “The fitness and amenities are off of the garden. As you go to the mail room and then get to the elevator banks, you’re passing by this garden.”
Aside from the garden, amenities include a two-floor fitness center, a library, coworking spaces, a communal kitchen and a rooftop pool, but it’s nature that binds the property together. An interstitial green space on the second floor of the courtyard joins the building’s two residential towers.
The calming effect of looking at greenery and nature was a key element in the design of the building and courtyard.
“People feel good when they feel connected to nature,” Specketer said. “We try to work that into multiple levels within the building.”
The Ruby is currently leasing units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms with rents for the available studios ranging between $4,200 to $4,600 per month. The apartments feature high ceilings, oak floors, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and oversize windows to let in an abundance of light and views.
In addition to offering residents a tranquil natural oasis, the designers and developers wanted to help address the city’s housing crisis by providing affordable housing options. So some 30 percent of The Ruby’s units will be designated as affordable.
The courtyard and amenities were designed with community in mind, Specketer said. The goal was to provide flexible spaces that could accommodate everything from a Super Bowl party to a business meeting.
“Each one of those [amenity] spaces, in and of themselves, are very flexible,” Specketer said. He said the goal was “to really reach as many different needs for the residents as possible. The biggest conversation that came up when we were talking about these spaces was that sense of community.”
The Ruby was under construction during COVID-19, but the teams behind the project didn’t want to let pandemic-induced social distancing deter them from their goal of connectivity within the building.
“We knew we were going to come back out of it,” Specketer said. “The thing we didn’t want was a knee-jerk reaction. We wanted to keep these spaces as places where the residents could really build a sense of community.”
Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.
