As far as summer promotions go, Country Living's Home Green Home project is an ambitious one, involving a two-story cottage built in under two weeks and set amid the towers of the World Financial Center. Constructed as a platform to flaunt decorating ideas selected by its editors for the 2010 House of the Year feature, the shelter magazine's 1,600-square-foot setup is essentially an open house available for public tours, albeit one that will only exist for two weeks before it is broken down and relocated to a more permanent site.
Although Country Living has previously engineered such freestanding structures in areas like South Carolina, West Virginia, Colorado, and Florida, this year represents the first time the joint marketing and editorial project has appeared in a major city.
"This is really debuting our line of Country Living Green Modular Homes, and because it's such an important licensing project for the magazine, it just made sense to bring it to a location that has a large amount of foot traffic. Our other projects were so successful, but the fact of the matter is while we would get foot traffic, it was nowhere near the amount of foot traffic that we have at the World Financial Center. So it is the perfect location for this important line extension for the brand," explained Christine Rannazzisi Gerstein, Country Living's associate publisher of marketing.
The juxtaposition of a small country-style home against city skyscrapers is certainly key to attracting public interest, but the central location also entailed some obstacles. The house, produced by partner New World Home and manufactured in a Pennsylvania factory, was created in modules, which cut down the construction time but involved transporting prefabricated pieces on trucks over the George Washington Bridge and down the West Side Highway. There was also a significant amount of coordination, accomplished with the help of New World Home and the plaza's owner, Brookfield Properties, as well as round-the-clock security.
"Working in Manhattan is like no other place in the world. There are a lot of things to consider—lots of permits, working with the police, and possibly even Homeland Security because of where the modules are situated," Rannazzisi Gerstein said. "When the modules were being craned in we had to shut off the plaza because it's a very active area, even early in the morning. Public safety was a huge concern for us."
Even with it's added challenges, Rannazzisi Gerstein sees the showcase as a success, reporting that since Friday the house has been toured by 4,000 people and projects that number will reach 10,000 by the promotion's end on Thursday, June 17. The home's next stop is Crystal Springs Resort near Vernon, New Jersey, where it will become a permanent design center.
