Diamond Schmitt Architects is designing a 12-storey, mixed-use building to rise in downtown Buffalo, New York USA. The $80-million complex for Uniland Development Company will feature more than 200,000-square-feet of Class A office space, a 120-room hotel, hospitality and retail services.
This innovative building will anchor a prime intersection bordering the Historic West Village District and serve as an urban beacon at the crossroads of an expanding entertainment corridor. “Buffalo has an extraordinary architectural presence and this project is able to reference the past while providing a new landmark to energize the city,” said Donald Schmitt, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects. Historic elements and contemporary design blend to create a façade with a unique curvilinear form that rounds the intersection of Delaware and Chippewa Streets.
The main entrance is located at the centre of the curved façade, a feature given emphasis and visual importance by recessing levels two through five. A four-storey atrium will include a biofilter living wall, a sustainable design feature pioneered by Diamond Schmitt Architects and NEDLAW Living Walls. A grade level courtyard and rooftop terrace provides additional landscaping. A local manufacturer will replicate the ornate terracotta façade of the former century-old, two-storey structure on this site using existing moulds. This historic façade will become the face of the new energy-efficient, state-of-the-art building.