STACBOND Scenarios | The Franklin: A New Facade on a Street Full of Stories

At 280 West 132nd Street, The Franklin introduces a STACBOND aluminum composite panel facade to Harlem’s urban landscape. The building is new. The street’s memory is not.

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A photograph that began at the end of the block

In 1976, American photographer Dawoud Bey was walking through Harlem when he saw a man wearing a dark overcoat, white bow tie, and bowler hat.

He wanted to photograph him, but did not dare interrupt the conversation he was having with several friends. He continued to the end of the block and realized that, if he wanted to become a photographer, he would have to learn how to approach people.

He went back, asked permission, and made A Man in a Bowler Hat, one of the best-known images from his Harlem, U.S.A.

Forty-five years later, Bey returned to West 132nd Street to try to locate the exact spot from which he had taken the photograph. He was unable to identify it. Read the full story.

Today, The Franklin stands on that same stretch of the street. There is no documented relationship between the photograph and the building’s design. The connection is geographical and historical: two different images of West 132nd Street, seforted by almost five decades.

A street is also the sum of the people who live on it, photograph it, and build it again.

A new residential building in Harlem

Designed by Fischer + Makooi Architects for Timber Equities, The Franklin is a mixed-use multifamily residential building completed in 2025.

Its eight stories include 52 one- and two-bedroom residences, along with a fitness center, lounge, parking, resident storage, and a shared rooftop terrace.

The facade is organized through a regular grid of panels and large windows. Projecting frames, setbacks, and changes in depth create shadows and alter the perception of the building.

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STACBOND FR: design and construction precision

The Franklin’s building envelope uses STACBOND FR, an aluminum composite panel made of two aluminum sheets and a fire-retardant mineral-filled core.

Its flatness, rigidity, and fabrication versatility make it possible to resolve modular areas, returns, deep openings, and projecting elements while maintaining a clean visual reading.

At The Franklin, the panel does more than clad the building. It directly contributes to its architectural expression.

A new layer in Harlem’s memory

The Franklin does not attempt to reproduce Harlem’s historic architecture or replace the street’s earlier stories.

It joins them through a contemporary language that continues to work with deeply urban elements: scale, rhythm, light, depth, and the relationship between the building and the sidewalk.

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The Franklin shows how modulation, depth, and finishes can transform the building envelope of a residential project.