When building in an established neighborhood, architects and designers have a duty to preserve the authentic style of the neighborhood while telling a new story. Through this lens, architect Morris Adjmi, known for his contextual yet contemporary designs, brought the idea of The Grand Mulberry to fruition. This twenty-condominium residence overlooks New York City’s historic Little Italy and its handcrafted design resembles traditional Italian craftsmanship while still making a bold statement within this celebrated neighborhood.

Adjmi, together with his firm Morris Adjmi Architects, creates buildings that stand out by fitting in. “Buildings should reflect their surrounding neighborhood while resonating on their own,” Adjmi explained. “Our buildings rarely shout, but they always have something to say.”

Little Italy is one of the most beloved and recognizable New York City neighborhoods. Any new structure faces the challenge of blending seamlessly with the sensitive urban context while making enough of an impression on its own.With The Grand Mulberry, Adjmi used brickwork to emulate the façades of classic Italian tenements while incorporating a modern style of window arrangements. The result is a thoughtfully constructed landmark likely to overlook the neighborhood as long as its centuries-old neighbors.

Q: What were your design goals for The Grand Mulberry?
A. From the onset of the project, the design objective was to create a contemporary interpretation of the historicItalianate tenements found throughout Little Italy. Little Italy is one of New York City’s most iconic and beloved neighborhoods, and any new construction must simultaneously honor the existing cityscape and speak for itself. The custom profiled Glen-Gery bricks that clad The Grand Mulberry allowed us to create a spectral reference to this heritage in a unique way.

Q. What story is being told through The Grand Mulberry?
A. With its façade, The Grand Mulberry tells a story about its neighborhood’s past, present, and future. We were inspired by the classical architectural characteristics of traditional Italianate tenements but also wanted to create a modern building that reflects how we live and design today. This notion unlocked the entire concept. With an unexpected pattern of custom-profiled bricks, we set out to present an illusion of an Italianate façade. Then, we overlaid a contemporary arrangement of windows to create a dialogue between the historic context and a fresh approach to residential design.

Q. Did you face any challenges with this project?
A. The unique masonry pattern could have presented a potential challenge during construction. However, the integrity of the bricks fabricated by Glen-Gery, the level of detail put into the development of the architectural drawings by the Morris Adjmi team, and the quality of work provided by the masonry subcontractor (ARK BuildersCorp.) allowed for a tremendously smooth construction process.

Q. What did you love most about the completed project?
A. I love that The Grand Mulberry is an example of how new design ideas can be applied to traditional methods and materials to create something fresh and compelling. While the façade pattern is traditional, the application of the hand-molded, domed bricks is very modern—each brick was carefully positioned within the double-stacked running bond coursing. Though the bricks are unique and custom-shaped, they were installed using a very traditional bricklaying method by expert masons.

Q. Tell us about the bricks used and how the dots were used to create a series of patterns.
A. The domed bricks were chosen for their ability to provide shadow relief and add depth. We thought of the dome or dot as a pixel that could be used to create a drawing on the building’s façade without needing to introduce additional colors and materials to the palette. The red-orange color pays homage to the red brick buildings found throughout Little Italy and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Q. Brick typically represents the hue of a city based on what’s in the clay and dirt, offering a material palette for a building’s design. You elevate this in your design approach, to weave in a city or community’s history. History seems to play an important role. What are your thoughts on this?
A. Many of our buildings are rooted in an understanding of context and history, but our work is not historic. There is an underlying modernist sensibility to everything we do. This idea never seemed particularly contradictory to me.Historic and contemporary styles are not opposing forces but rather complementary ones; their coexistence is essential in creating a sense of architectural continuity in our cities.

I believe this approach helps us design buildings that have an emotional resonance—that is, buildings that evoke images, ideas, and memories related to their historic contexts—but are still relevant to the way we live and work today.

Morris Adjmi and The Grand Mulberry are featured within Folio 2, the second edition of Folio-a publication byGlen-Gery that features work by some of today’s most inspiring architectural and design firms across the nation.Request your complimentary copy here.

Choosing the right materials is an essential step in planning a home remodel or renovation. Options like brick and stone can add luxury, comfort and beauty to homes.

With a diverse array of colors, textures and sizes to choose from, there are options to suit practically any design aesthetic, whether it’s traditional, contemporary or somewhere in between. Because brick and stone materials provide strength, permanence, sustainability and beauty, it’s possible to balance function with appearance.

Before choosing your brick or stone material, it’s a good idea to explore the vast color options, varying textures and sizes. You might even consider combining different materials to create accents that add interest and support the design of your home.

If you like the idea of incorporating brick or stone into your design but are not sure where it fits, consider these popular choices:

Accent Walls: If you’re concerned about overpowering a room, an accent wall is a simple way to add the appealing look of brick or stone in moderation. The wall can add character and dimension that either stands out or blends into the overall design, depending on the colors and textures you choose.

Kitchens: From flooring to island accents, backsplashes and beyond, the options are plentiful for introducing brick or stone into kitchen design. Whether you’re going for a modern look or something more traditional, quality is a top priority in high-use areas like the kitchen. Choose materials from a reliable source like Glen-Gery, which offers more than 600 brick and stone products in a vast variety of sizes, textures and colors.

Bar Surrounds: This feature tends to be a focal point in its own right but adding brick or stone can make your bar area a real showstopper while capturing the color tones of the rest of the room.

Archways: Defining the transition from one space to the next adds an architectural design element that can either carry your design theme from one room of the house to the next or signal a transition toward a new motif, depending on the material you choose.

Unbeatable Benefits of Brick

Resilience: Brick is incredibly resilient. It’s weather and storm proof. As a result, it’s better able to withstand the diverse weather conditions across North America from natural disasters to extreme heat in fire prone regions. Brick is also termite resistant.

Low Maintenance: Brick does not require any painting, coating or varnishing in order to maintain its aesthetic and durability.

Fireproof: Brick is non-combustible and doesn’t assist the spread of fire, making it ideal for building in wildfire-prone areas. Clay bricks normally don’t suffer any structural damage after a fire and can be re-used, even as load bearing walls.

Design Flexibility: Brick comes in styles to suit any building project and is a popular material choice among architects and designers because of its design flexibility, strong structural capabilities and intricate detailing.

Noise Cancelling: Whether between rooms within a home or from outside noise, brick provides sound insulation.

Durable: Brick is long-lasting. Unlike other man-made materials, brick doesn’t get tired, so your brick home remains weather- and age-proof over time.

Energy Efficient: Brick is a high-density material, meaning it can effectively absorb and store heat energy to help keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Its ability to average temperature extremes can make a noticeable difference in comfort while also reducing energy bills.

Natural: Brick is manufactured from naturally occurring materials and does not emit volatile organic compounds as many lightweight products do. With virtually no emissions and high thermal mass, brick is also a good choice for health-conscious homeowners with acute allergies or sensitivities to weather.