Old Frills: a new attraction

MURRAY HILL SQUARE

Developer Nat Conti defied every current tenet of shopping center design when he envisioned the complex he would build on an unpromising site off the main road in Murray Hill, N.J., containing a raggle-taggle of debilitated industrial buildings. His concept for the project, which he called Murray Hill Square, was to remodel an existing residential structure and a group of barn-like buildings that had been built in the late 1800's as a feed and grain mill. And he would add new buildings modeled after structures which have historical associations with neighboring towns.

Architect Alexander Bol, AIA, joined him, and pulled together a two-phase design program that saw the shopping center grow to 29 buildings valued at $10 million housing 30 shops, nine offices, a restaurant and a bank. In addition to the two restorations, 16 of the buildings are historical reproductions.

Instead of creating a village historically a curate to one period, the architect and owner concluded that a blend of architectural styles from Colonial through Victorian would better reflect the spirit of the surrounding communities. Working with historical societies, the architect studied pictures of important buildings of the past and worked up facade plans which recalled the buildings' most architecturally pure period. Then he projected designs to the unseen portions of the buildings, A school be- came a children's clothing store, men's and women's clothes are sold/in a reproduction of a grist mill, a train station/houses a fabric store.

Interior spaces are designed to best suit the needs of each tenant. A women's clothing shop is finished with Georgian detailing, the restaurant gains warmth from slate, brick and oak, the grist mill interior is punctuated by a dramatic three-story stairwell pierced by hand-hewn beams and trusses.

This project is a model of design control, and tenants agree to adapt themselves to the Square's constraints. A unique merchandising concept, Murray Hill Square is a relaxing and sound alternative to suburban mall shopping.

RICHARD PLANCK
Client: Nat and Carol Conti Hardware: Baldwin, Schlage
Architect: Alexander A. Bol, AIA
Interiors: Alexander A. Bol, Carol Conti
General contractor: Conti Construction Co.
Photography
by Murray Hill Square
Tile: American Olean Decorative iron work: Associated Anvil Ironworks Lighting: Oaklawn Metal Craft, Challenge Acre Antiques Signage: Jack Pearthree Paint: Martin Senour Wallcovering: Wolf Gordon Graphics: Frank Pietrucha
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Old frills: a new attraction
Despite heated discussions of whether or not modern architecture is dead, our growing interest in the historic is a confirmed fact. Preservation and restoration are becoming just as important as new building- people are concerned with saving the best of the past and learning its lessons. This is especially true in many American cities, such as Bos- ton, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle, all of which have under-taken major efforts toward renewal of historic urban areas, usually by turning them into retail and entertainment centers. The most famous of these recent projects is Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace but there are many others in smaller urban centers, such as New Jersey's Murray Hill Square (see above). Although Murray Hill Square is largely a re-creation project. its effect is extremely authentic. It gives people a sense of history and heritage, a sense of belonging to a continuous past.

A large part of the appeal of these projects is their architectural scale. The inherent smallness of older buildings relates much more closely to human scale than does the vastness of a modern shopping mall or the interior of a large department store. There is a sense of enclosure and familiarity that contrasts sharply with the sense of alienation inspired by so many modern structures. All of these factors combine to create a more intimate atmosphere for the shopper-a sense that he counts as an individual. These projects are almost always successful on an urban-planning level as well, as they blend easily into surrounding neighborhoods, and are frequently very strict in their control of signage.

Another extremely attractive aspect of the preservation/restoration trend is its energy efficiency. Murray Hill Square is a case in point. It is composed of a group of small buildings, which are easier and therefore cheaper to heat and light than a large store or enclosed shopping mall. Since there is relatively little glass used, they are also cheaper to cool, requiring only residential air- conditioning systems. This, in turn eliminates the need for cooling towers and their accompanying noise and visual pollution. The use of natural building materials and lack of reliance on petroleum-based plastics are a plus, in light of our current oil troubles. General maintenance costs are substantially reduced. Murray Hill Square's paving design does double duty, for both history and ecology. Paving stones were taken from historic Morristown, thereby preserving a bit of the past; furthermore, the use of stones instead of asphalt creates a natural watershed, thus preventing the flooding that often results when large areas of ground are paved over with asphalt. And the small, multi-story buildings can be adapted for multiple use. Overall, the old-frills approach seems to satisfy esthetic, ecological, and architectural needs with great success.