COOKFOX Architects

The work ahead ➡️ Some thoughts about the next four years, from our hearts to yours

COOKFOX ventured out of the office Friday for its 11th annual day of service. Studio members visited sites across the city—from midtown Manhattan to Governors Island to the Brooklyn Army Terminal—partnering with organizations like @aliforneycenter , @bklynlibrary , and @grownyc to reconnect with local communities and engage the studio’s environmental and social mission. Hands-on volunteer work included gardening @okofarms , cleaning street tree pits @gowanuscanalconservancy , and sorting through recycled fabrics with @fab_scrap . At the end of the day, the studio reconvened for happy hour in Greenpoint!

@thewillow_gramercy , located at 201 East 23rd Street, is a new residential building at the edge between two neighborhoods acting as a refined mediator between historic Gramercy and Kips Bay. Situated at the corner of 23rd Street and Third Avenue, the project looks at adjacent Gramercy for inspiration: brick townhouses, carriage houses, and hidden gardens but also eclectic high rise, and tall masonry buildings while introducing new forms that strengthen the urban fabric of this corner of Manhattan. Masonry arches are central to the building’s expression. The arch, in this case one that is slightly flattened, with its rounded and familiar lines endures as an archetypal form—humanizing, expressive, and timeless. Segmental arches frame windows and terraces, softening the building’s presence while creating intimate, generous views Pic by @alexferrec video by @gugmatt

CS20: Rick Cook, FAIA As a Founding Partner of @COOKFOX Architects, Rick Cook has been a leading voice in environmentally responsive design, championing an approach that prioritizes light, air, and the human experience to create healthier, more connected urban environments. Guided by principles of biophilic design, Corcoran Sunshine has had the privilege of collaborating with Rick and his highly acclaimed team on a number of transformative residential developments, including 25 Park Row, Flatiron House, 550 Vanderbilt, and the reimagining of The Solaire. “One of the great things about being in the room with Corcoran Sunshine and their expertise is that they have an expert opinion on design, but they’re the ones with the expertise about the market and the marketplace.” — Rick Cook

Buildings are more than places of shelter—they can be living systems. When designed with intention, they become habitats that support both people and nature. At COOKFOX, we aim to create buildings that act as frameworks for life to flourish—spaces where nature is not an afterthought, but a driving force. Our planted terraces and courtyards are essential elements, designed to invite biodiversity and spark a regenerative chain reaction. Happy Earth Day. 1. A mantis on our Midtown office terrace 2. Planted terraces at The Grace and Reva multifamily housing project in Arlington, VA 3. Planted terrace at 100 Vandam, NYC 4. COOKFOX planted office terrace facing west Pics by @alexferrec

We’re excited to announce Terminal Warehouse has been selected for a 2026 ASLA-NY Honor Award! Terminal Warehouse originated as “Central Stores” - one of the most important industrial, transportation and warehousing centers in New York during the early 20th century. Located in the historic neighborhood of West Chelsea, the project is located east of the Hudson River and south of the iconic Starrett-Lehigh. This historic landmark is re-imagined as a modern space to house several headquarters and workspaces along with various amenities including shops, restaurants and bars. The landscape approach conceptualized the ground level courtyard as a quiet respite bringing natural light, air and biophilic connections to the heart of the building, while the building’s amenity terrace on the 8th floor creates a flexible, vibrant and flexible platform for event programming day or night. In addition to these primary spaces, Terrain developed a “kit of parts” for the tenant terraces to create high-design consistency and ecological connections for the whole building. Terminal Warehouse, as well as the other ASLA NY (@asla_ny ) Merit and Honor Award recipient projects, will be on exhibit at the NYC DOT’s Car-free Earth Day event on April 25 in Midtown Manhattan, and online at aslany.org. Client @terminalwarehouse Architect: @cookfox Landscape Contractor: @letitgrow1986

HDC 2026 Preservation Conference: MAKING IT IN NEW YORK! The Preservation of Manufacturing TOMORROW, Friday, April 10, 2026 1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Baruch College, 151 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010 We are pleased to announce the panel content for this year's conference. You can read each panelist's biography on our website. Check the link in our bio. Panel 3: The Future? Rick Cook, Founding Partner, COOKFOX Architects Rick Cook is the Founding Partner of COOKFOX Architects, a New York–based studio dedicated to high-performance, environmentally responsive design. Over the past 40 years of practice, he has built a reputation for innovative, award-winning architectural design. To read the full bio go to our website - link in bio @cookfox #hdc #historicdistrictscouncil #preservationconference #manufacturing #history

In his curation of the Venice Biennale back in 2014, Rem Koolhaas argued that architecture is made of elements that repeat themselves over and over again. He explored “the fundamentals of our buildings, used by any architect, anywhere, anytime: the floor, the wall, the ceiling, the roof, the door, the window, the façade, the balcony, the corridor, the fireplace, the toilet, the stair, the escalator, the elevator, the ramp.” We decided to do a dive of sorts into our own fundamentals of architecture, taking some liberties from Rem’s rigorous approach and grouping our projects by themes or elements that are recurrent in our practice. The first one is the brick. We use brick as both a contextual and performative material, grounding buildings within their urban fabric while enabling nuanced architectural expression. Drawing from historic precedents—townhouses, warehouses, and civic masonry— brick is used to mediate scale, reinforce streetwall continuity, and establish visual harmony. Through careful detailing such as arches, piers, and patterned coursing, brick becomes a crafted surface, almost tactile that captures light and shadow. Projects often transition from solid masonry bases to more open, dematerialized frames, balancing mass and transparency. In adaptive reuse work, retained brick structures and facades contribute to embodied carbon reduction while preserving cultural memory, aligning material authenticity with long-term sustainability goals. Here are a selection of projects where bricks are a fundamental element of the building. In order of appearance: The Ruby, The Willow, Mable, 100 Vandam, Terminal Warehouse, and Betances Residence. Pics by @alexferrec Ferrec and Betances by Frank Oudeman.

These pictures, taken from the roof of another of our projects, show 100 Vandam from a perspective that is difficult to appreciate at street level. The tower rises from an older building—a 19th-century warehouse—whose beautiful red-brick façade we preserved, thereby reducing the project’s carbon footprint. Recessed edges create planted loggias for every home, while the landscape design supports local ecosystems and year-round planting. This is one of several COOKFOX projects in the Hudson Square neighborhood—can you guess the others?

The furniture design for Terminal Warehouse draws directly from the building’s industrial and material heritage, creating a cohesive narrative between past and present. A central concept is the dialogue between the heavy timber structure and the site’s history as a rail terminal, most notably expressed in the tunnel where the original train paths once ran. Custom train car tables are crafted from timber reclaimed from the building itself, embedding the material memory of the structure into new programmatic elements. Throughout the tunnel, solid wood coffee tables introduce warmth and tactility, with sculptural forms that subtly reference logs and river vessels—echoing the building’s historic connection to both rail and waterfront. This language is further reinforced through 100% natural wool area rugs featuring custom patterns that trace the geometry of the former tracks, with linear motifs evoking railroad ties and guiding movement through the space. 📸 @alexferrec

The countdown is on for June 7! Stay tuned for more updates 👀 Renderings courtesy of @cookfox & @cgpartners

80 Clarkson has recently been featured in a number of stories in the Financial Times, New York Magazine, and today the Wall Street Journal. These photographs, captured by @alexferrec in January, document the ongoing progress of construction and reveal the cascading massing of the towers—defined by a layered composition of loggias and planted terraces that shape the building’s distinctive profile.