Sourced from NYT | September 22, 2022, with text by Craig Kellogg and photos by
For most New Yorkers the end of summer
means no more sand between their toes or the taste of salty air and water.
Yet beneath a handful of townhouses and skyscrapers, lies a hidden realm most will never dream of: a subterranean natatoria carved into basement floors that are so exquisitely maintained, that residents can enjoy swimming all year around — fall, winter, spring, and summer.
Andre Kikoski, an architect who designed subterranean aquatic amenities at One Hudson Yards, believes there can be a social quality to water that magically transforms architecture or a wellness quality.
A private pool affords its owner at least one other advantage, and that is the luxury of never having to choose a swimsuit.
Radomir Sedlak took advantage of the pool right away when he moved into the Brooklyn Point condominium tower, off Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, in the summer of 2021. He reserved time using the building's app and then completed 44 laps on each visit.
"I have a sit-down job, and it has helped with my back," said Mr. Sedlak, 38, a financial crimes investigator with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Brooklyn Point was designed by Bruce Fisher, a design principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. With 483 units rising above the basement, the amenities are extreme to attract buyers.
The swim lanes in the saltwater pool at Brooklyn Point measure 65 feet long. Katherine Newman Design handpicked the granite walls with "celestial" circular cutouts. They reveal illuminated granite niches to introduce an element of whimsy.
Lap swimmer at Brooklyn Point, Downtown Brooklyn
Meanwhile, in Nomad, a tower called Rose Hill has a 6,000 square foot of wellness center in the basement. Inside the modern grotto, the pool mirrors the character of the 123-unit building, which nods to the artistic heritage of the Rockefeller Group. The tower has the attire of the Jazz Age.
Behind the 50-foot-long pool, a 17-foot tall mosaic of glazed porcelain tiles is inspired by the oversized goddess of light wall art at the Rockefeller Center. The mural also suggests that there is sunlight below the ground where there is none, to avoid feeling like you are heading toward the basement.
Earlier this year, Tyreke Whyne, a lifeguard from URBN Playgrounds, the amenity management firm, was on duty and said that sometimes he will be the only person at the pool. A whole day goes by and no one would be around.
A peaceful pool is a mere 30 feet from the C train tunnel. Rumbles can be heard from inside its cellar one level below the basement on Central Park West. The 19th-century property changed hands in March for $26 million, setting a neighborhood record.
The house and pool have been thoroughly renovated and updated by William Leeds, a residential architect who used to swim competitively in high school on Long Island.
The cellar was once traditional, with old-fashioned wall sconces and a ceiling peppered with harsh compact fluorescent recessed can lights. Mr. Leeds stripped everything out and extended the 50-foot length of the pool to add a 15-foot whirlpool. Cellar walls and the old brick arcade are now sheathed with large format Spanish porcelain tile in a manila color, through the arches having curving stucco underneath, painted to match.
The energy-efficient new lighting gives off a feeling that you are in a spa. For ceiling coves, Mr. Correa chose LED strips that shift through a range of colors to reflect moods. People think of nail salons when you say color-changing lighting, so we made it so it didn't look too cheesy.
When the lighting is done right, all you see is the architecture.
More than a dozen years ago, a family gutted a rundown apartment building in the East Village and restored it as an opulent five-story townhouse. The exercise pool is in the cell bar below the English basement. Two adjustable water jets outfit it for stationary swimming.
It is 15 square feet and about 4 feet 6-inch depth above floor level. The tiles are brightly colored 8-inch squares of unglazed cement from Provence laid randomly on both the floors and walls. It has turned into a fun and beautiful space with colorful tiles that really make it unique and one-of-a-kind.
Taylor Swift immortalized a year in her West Village rental, a formal stable on Cornelia Street. The 25-foot-long basement pool is 4 feet deep and sits below an ambitious renovation and expansion by Galia Solomonoff.
The project took 5 years to replace an old basement filled with rubble right up to the height of the current ceiling.
