Porcelanosa has released new images and details for its plans to refurbish the Commodore Criterion building in Manhattan. Situated in the northwest side of Madison Square Park at Fifth Avenue and Broadway, the building will soon be the site of the company’s U.S./New York City flagship showroom. With the interior demolition complete, the grand opening is scheduled for spring 2014.
“As a staple of New York’s Flatiron district for years, the Commodore Criterion is the ideal location for Porcelanosa’s new flagship showroom as the neighborhood is the epicenter of New York’s architecture and design community,” said Manuel Prior, U.S. branch director for Porcelanosa. “The new building also represents Porcelanosa’s growing presence in the U.S., and firm commitment to quality, innovation and design.”
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The company purchased the Commodore Criterion in 2012 and selected Foster + Partners, headed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Lord Norman Foster, to refurbish the 18,000-sq.-ft., six-story-high building. The Commodore Criterion is included on New York’s protected properties list and Porcelanosa and Foster + Partners have worked to ensure that the project will preserve its historic exterior while refurbishing the interior to reflect Porcelanosa’s style.
The new space will include a showroom with full-scale vignettes, including floor and wall coverings and kitchen and bath solutions. An entire floor of the building will be used as a design library with more than 1,000 references of tiles, mosaics, stones, hardwoods and other fine materials.
“Porcelanosa’s new Manhattan flagship is in a great location, close to the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway and opposite the Flatiron Building,” said Norman Foster. “The design will create new visual connections vertically through the building and will introduce a greater variety of spaces, with a series of dramatic interlocking levels. The design will restore historic aspects of the exterior and create a new interior experience of large-volume showroom spaces—all within the context of a sustainable agenda.”
