Masonry Magazine August 1971 Page. 19
North wing of Riverdale-on-Hudson Apartments
North wing of Riverdale-on-Hudson Apartments shows 13 tiers of Pittsburgh Corning Chiaro glass block. Each tier admits natural light into hallways, yet preserves privacy of tenants.
Riverdale-on-Hudson Apartments
Bronx, New York
Architect: Leo Stillman
Owner and Builder: Salomone & Co.
Mason Contractor: Morris Rosen & Sons
Architectural Design Consultant: Andrew C. Kaiser, Jr., and Associates
One of the most extensive uses ever made of architectural glass masonry is the dominant feature of the recently completed Riverdale-on-Hudson Apartments in the Bronx, New York. Over three-fourths of the entire front of this building is in glass block.
Hallways of the 13-story apartment are panelled with tiers of glass block, 11 blocks high by 122 wide, providing a distinctive pattern that sets Riverdale-on-Hudson apart from any other building in the New York area.
"The original design for this building called for the use of tinted flat glass along the hallways," explained Andrew C. Kaiser, Jr., the architectural design consultant retained to set the exterior theme of the building.
"When I tried to visualize that, all I could see were 13 stories of draped windows, the same as any other building. If flat glass were used, it would have to be insulated glass. And the windows would have to be washed every week."
To enhance appearance, provide a high degree of insulation, and minimize maintenance, Mr. Kaiser of Hartsdale, masonry • August, 1971
N.Y., recommended the use of glass block. The same material is also used to frame doorways, leading to a patio at the rear of the lobby. A total of 34,896 glass blocks were used in the building.
The glass block is Chiaro I and II supplied by Pittsburgh Corning Corporation. Offsetting patterns of the two types are laid up in alternating tiers to form an intriguing visual design.
Each 8 X 8 X 4-in. block of clear glass is accentuated by an opaque block pattern of fired-on ceramic frit. Sculptured protruding surfaces of each pattern are identical on each side.
Another distinctive feature of the 130-unit apartment building is its foundation atop a huge rock bed jutting out of the Hudson River. The street level lobby is 80 feet above the river at the rear of the building.
The blue brick structure is long and narrow with hallways and apartment entrances at the front, 10 apartments to each floor. Because of this arrangement, every apartment faces a panoramic view extending from the New Jersey Palisades to Baker Field at Columbia.
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