Chatham Towers is one of three publicly financed middle-income cooperatives which formed the heart of New York City`s Civic Center redevelopment. The twin 25-story, 240-unit towers provide maximum livability in a congested area. Despite the strict budget, the buildings are characterized by spacious interior layouts, expansive outdoor areas, underground parking, and the use of exposed concrete in preference to conventional surrounding stone and brick. Balconies are provided for 50% of all units. The alternation of two terraced and two non-terraced floors and the spacing of glass and textured concrete produced a unique silhouette. Completed in 1963, the towers were the first all poured-in-place concrete project in the city, as well as the first to use urethane insulation on exterior walls and specify Swedish-designed windows (double thick glass with a venetian blind between, so that the whole unit can be opened for ventilation and pivoted for cleaning), resulting in dramatic cost savings.
