Morris Adjmi Architects

3 St. Marks is a new office building that takes cues from the diverse context surrounding the site: medium- to high-density buildings to the north, west, and south, and historic tenement row houses to the east. This dialogue between scales informed the composition and material selection to ensure the building serves as a connective threshold between distinct urban conditions.

Along St. Marks Place, the new building's streetwall height reinforces the rhythm of the block, while a softly radiused corner creates an inviting transition between the narrower scale of St. Marks and the broader expanse of Third Avenue. Above, three cascading terraces serve as outdoor amenities for the office levels, adding layers of depth to the façade.

The building's façade is defined by brick piers and oversized glass windows, balancing solidity with transparency. A deep red-brown brick with an irregular texture recalls the historic masonry of the East Village, while custom-shaped bricks articulate details at the piers, the bullnose edges, and the curved corner. This unconventional brickwork produces a façade that is both familiar and strikingly contemporary.

At street level, the entire storefront is unified by metal canopies, with a planted canopy announcing the office lobby entrance. Decorative metal fins accent the window mullions, adding fine-grained detail to the pedestrian experience. The curved glazing of the corner office floors continues down to the retail frontage, reinforcing the building’s dynamic presence at this important urban intersection.