The architectural context of the Upper West Side is different from that of the Upper East Side. For that reason, a contextual architectural response on Upper Broadway should be different from its equivalent on Madison Avenue or Park Avenue.
This consideration was crucial in the architectural design of the Alexandria, a 25-story residential building that occupies this commanding corner of the Upper West Side at West 72nd Street and Broadway which is a very foreground site. Looking northerly along Broadway the Alexandria stands one block south of the landmark Ansonia Hotel. The architectural design has carefully considered the contextual relationship with the Ansonia, perhaps the most important consideration was the fact that the pre-war buildings that surround this site are far older than the pre-war buildings of the Upper East Side and, as a corollary, their styles tend to be far more volumetric and exuberant that most of the East Side.
A late 20th century language of forms has been used in designing the Alexandria. The architectural design clearly suggests, in massing and structure, a parallel to the Beaux Arts aesthetic that inspired the Ansonia. With Skidmore, Owings and Merrill as design consultants on The Alexandria, the architectural response to this important corner on the Upper West Side has been to give scale and architectural character to the 12-story street wall which integrates the Alexandria with the Broadway streetscape. The terraced floors above the street wall echo the Mansard roofscape of the Ansonia. Great care has been given in the architectural design of the corner articulation to provide a response that is in harmony with the elaborate corners of the Ansonia design. A dramatic lantern is placed at the apex of the architectural design to anchor the two elevations of this important intersection of Broadway and West 72nd Street. Additionally, this lantern conceals the mechanical core of the roof.
There are 202 condominium residences in the Alexandria, most of which have bay windows and a terrace, which provide commanding views and open to the southerly sun exposure.
