475 Clermont is a 12-story building with 363 residences that opened last April at the intersection of two Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhoods, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.
Designed by Aufgang Architects, with interiors by Durukan Design, and built by Broadway Construction Group, 475 is the first residential development in New York City for RXR Realty. To help call attention to the building, the developer commissioned a 90-foot-tall, 5,800-sf exterior mural painted by Mona Caron, a Swiss-born and San Francisco-based artist who is known for her community-specific and multistory artworks that highlight urban flora.
To select a wildflower for the mural that was indigenous to Fort Greene’s landscape, Caron worked with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s curator of native plants and the NYC Greenbelt Native Plant Center on Staten Island. Her choice—the Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)—is a medicinal plant used by Native Americans.
Caron completed the mural in 10 days working with assistance from the firm No Entry Design; and Anne-Laure Lemaitre, an independent curator. (A time lapse video of their work can be viewed here.)
The 12-story 475 Clermont Building is RXR Realty's first residential project in New York City. Image: Courtesy of RXR
The mural is painted onto the side of an adjacent building that overlooks 475 Clermont’s courtyard, and is visible exclusively to its residents. RXR also worked with horticulturalists from Blue Plant NYC that picked up the mural’s theme within the building’s landscaping so that residents could touch and smell the plant as well.
The cost of the mural, which was unveiled last May, was not disclosed.
Mona Caron - Brooklyn Weeds from RXR Realty on Vimeo.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Dec 23, 2015
Student housing developer broadens its reach into multifamily
Aspen Heights Partners evaluates seven metros for its initial projects.
Multifamily Housing | Dec 17, 2015
Developers respond to demand from tenants for ‘smart’ design
A number of green prerogatives are having a beneficial impact on multifamily design and construction.
Multifamily Housing | Dec 14, 2015
Study finds increase in cost-burdened renters
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released its biennial rental housing report, and it found that 21.3 million renters spend 30% or more of income towards rent.
Multifamily Housing | Dec 10, 2015
Developer of Jean Nouvel-designed New York City condo complex sued
One resident says living in the curvy, glass 100 Eleventh Avenue building is like being in a wind tunnel.
Multifamily Housing | Dec 7, 2015
Are long-term apartment rentals Airbnb’s next target?
Some developers are thinking about that possibility, says one West Coast real estate consultant.
Smart Buildings | Dec 7, 2015
AIA Baltimore holds rowhouse redesign competition
Teams competed to provide the best social and environmental design solutions for the city’s existing rowhouse stock.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 19, 2015
Herzog & de Meuron designs curving NYC luxury apartments
The 160 Leroy building will have 49 luxury homes, along with a white concrete façade covered with large windows.
High-rise Construction | Nov 17, 2015
CTBUH awards '2015 Best Tall Building Worldwide' to Bosco Verticale
Designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri, the building design was applauded for its “extraordinary implementation of vegetation at such scale and height."
Multifamily Housing | Nov 17, 2015
A new luxury high rise reflects a resurgent condo market in Miami Beach
GLASS is one of several residential buildings in the works in that city’s hot South of Fifth neighborhood.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 5, 2015
Architects propose residential tower in Singapore with gardens on every floor
Imagine a high-rise with lush greenery on every floor—that’s the design Ingehoven Architects and A61 propose for Marina One, a series of residential towers in Singapore.
