The Enclave is a “sliver” building that breaks the stereotype. It solved a central concern: how to minimize the intrusiveness of a tall, thin structure amid low-rise buildings. The Enclave is a 16-story apartment building, 40 feet wide and 70 feet deep, on a block of largely three-story town houses (faced with brown stone, stucco and limestone) and four- to five-story apartment buildings. The primary goal was to fit the building into the block by minimizing the perception of its height as seen from street level. A second goal was to design a building that echoed the scale and texture of the environment.

We gave the building the quality of a brick sculpture, thereby distinguishing it as more than just a tall building. The earthtone brick façade of The Enclave is set back at the eighth and tenth floors, and a pink stucco wall appears to float in front of the façade up the seventh floor. The pink stucco material softens the building’s visual mass and covers the façade most visible from the street. This gesture reflects the texture and scale of the townhouse neighborhood. Fenestration and semicircular balconies further lighten the building’s mass. Railings on open balconies visually recall the fire escapes of adjacent apartment buildings.

Number of stories: 16
Number of units: 15