In a historic neighborhood containing the most magnificent cast iron buildings in the world the team of Herzog & de Meuron, widely regarded as the world’s most innovative architects, have radically reinvented the cast iron building. They have created a landmark for the future and a new standard in luxury living by combining a classic idea with modern technology and materials. 40 Bond is an inspired building that will set new standards in its plan, in its materials and even in the way it captures and transforms light, reflecting new possibilities of glass and steel in harmony with life.

In the 19th century the historic cast iron buildings of downtown Manhattan revolutionized architecture. They combined classical architectural motifs with the latest engineering and technology advances to create elegant buildings filled with an unprecedented degree of natural light. These dramatically functional yet decorous commercial structures were the first step towards modernism. In the 20th century these buildings were transformed by pioneering artists into spacious homes and studios whose open plans transformed the style in which city dwellers live today.

Jacques Herzog explains: "New York’s cast iron buildings are one of the things everybody loves when they visit New York. They are a big part of the history of the city, and one of the things that made New York architecturally outstanding before modernism came in. We are interested in using well known forms and materials in a new way so that they become alive again…and for 40 Bond we wanted to do something in line with that cast iron style."

The glass façade of 40 Bond, with its structural elements wrapped in cast glass made in Barcelona, causes the building to come alive with light in a never-ending transformation. By day the building catches the movement of the sun in subtle nuance. By night the glow from within creates a sublime sculptural luminescence that varies constantly. The indoor spaces are, of course, light filled, and the large windows are fully operable, a convenience that is virtually unheard of today. Few city apartments integrate as harmoniously with the outside world, bringing in air and light and the grandeur of the city, while no other apartments do it with such a feeling of privacy and security.

One of the most salient features of 40 Bond is an elaborate sculptural gate of cast aluminum. This twenty-two foot high and one hundred forty foot long “Gaudíesque” sculptural gate separates the front private gardens of the townhouses from the street. Jacques Herzog said that “when we decided to do gates it was essential that they integrate with the New York street, we wanted to create something solid, rough and chaotic…so we began to experiment with New York City street graffiti which became the starting point of the design.” The gates individualize the façade of the building but, at the same time, the graffiti inspired design blends the building into the neighborhood. This cast aluminum wall appears as a vast work of art (in fact it is produced by a foundry that manufactures artist sculptures), an abstract expressionist sculpture echoing Pollack, Kline and Dubuffet. Yet, it is elegantly functional and defines the façade by establishing a distinctive New York City graffiti inspired graphic motif echoed throughout the building.

Although it is beautifully integrated into the rich architecture of the street, 40 Bond is a building apart. A departure from the conventional practice of architecture, it employs the most sophisticated technology and utilizes the most advanced materials. Yet it honors the most classical sensibilities to achieve a perfect balance of beauty and livability. It is a building like no other in the city where architectural history was written and re-written. 40 Bond is the home as fine art.