185 Grand Street is located in Little Italy, at the corner of Mulberry and Grand Streets, and home to the Italian American Museum (IAM). The mixed-use, 7 story 34,120 gross SF building accommodates 12 apartments, retail at the ground floor with part of the ground floor and two cellar levels dedicated to the IAM.

Thomas Wensing was involved in SD and DD, and developed the architectural concept for the building with Nicholas Chelko.

The design of the building references the immigrant history of Little Italy through a reinterpretation of the typology and architectural expression of tenement housing. The façade is erected in terracotta orange masonry consisting of regular and special sized brick. The specials have semi spherical protrusions and are laid in a pattern which is taken from the rhythm and dimension of the windows and ornamentation of historic tenements. The grid of window openings cuts through this brick pattern creating an aesthetic of accident and coincidence.

The design was featured in the New York Times article of 10/17/2021, “Bricks Return with Style in High-End Buildings”.

Project Team: Morris Adjmi - Principal | Thomas Wensing - Senior Designer | Nick Chelko, Paul Tierman - Project Architects | Brittany Macomber - Project Manager | Jason Little & Lucas Posada - Directors

Awards: Brick in Architecture Award, Gold - 2022 | Building Façade, NYCxDesign Awards - 2023 |
SARA NY Design Award of Honor, Multifamily - 2023