Home Performing Arts 352 Bowery Luxury Living and Gallery 151 Dance Co go Green.

352 Bowery Luxury Living and Gallery 151 Dance Co go Green.

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Photography by Paul Perez.

A wall of glass encases the face of 352 Bowery and peering in from the sidewalk, scantily clad twenty some things of downtown Manhattan wonder at the frenzy of the well manicured crowd within. The clan of chattering New Yorkers cling to stems of white wine glasses, perusing enlarged photos of what appear to be model bathrooms and bedrooms of gorgeously modern, good living.

“There’s a pool table back here, you know,” says a French man in navy blue suit, “and a beautiful fake bathroom too.” Some of the guests have no idea why or how they ended up here, unaware that the reception table of wine and fruit sits subtly center floor in the sales and design center for 311 E. 11 Village Green – a brand new condominium building targeted for the elite certification of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for its particularly phenomenal “Green” theme. The lost stragglers wander and whisper interestedly, searching for signs of Jennifer Muller’s dance company set to preview an excerpt from her newest work this evening. The address on the performance invitation said Gallery 151 – 350 Bowery – but upon arrival, a shy girl with clasped hands tells the guests to please wait until the dancer’s have warmed up and to have a drink next door. The smiling guests obey, shuffling towards the wine glasses and that’s why half the group here, unsure of the relation between ecological living and modern dance, drift in surprise as the mysterious theme of the evening begins to unfurl.

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“It began with a belief,” reads the grey lettered wall above the hum of conjectures. “That better living is achieved through harmony. Of mind and body. Of time and place. Of luxury and lifestyle.”

The lifestyle condoned by 311 E. 11 Village Green, though predominantly concerned with shaping its contours to the current climate change and ecological awareness, breathes luxury. Delivering fresh air into hallways and common areas, equipping kitchens with advanced water conservation appliances and tiling the building with floor to ceiling windows constructed to increase natural light and reduce noise pollution – creators Michael and Izak Namer have succeeded in making a haven of home.

Of course, the housing is expensive,  and the fresh faced ‘young-ins’ who parade past Bowery cannot afford the newest installment to their neighborhood, but the Namers have thought of everything…

Gallery 151, the set address wherein Jennifer Muller’s company, The Works, stretches and bends in black rehearsal clothes, sits beside the sales and design center as yet another Namer adventure – an art gallery currently in its month of “Green Light Go” featuring artists from the Parsons MFA program who create art in order to create eco-awareness.

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