“It became this huge obsession, across the board, of things having quality, and things being handmade,” he said. “All of a sudden, glass towers felt cold, icy, alien. People went back to these things that had material quality to them.”

Mr. Sofield, who has designed fashion boutiques for brands including Tom Ford, Derek Lam and Coach, along with a wide variety of private homes, is also at work on the interiors of another Manhattan condo that plays off New York’s storybook past: 111 West 57th Street.

That 1,428-foot-tall project, which was designed by SHoP Architects with a breathtakingly slender form that could only be realized with contemporary engineering, nevertheless nods to Art Deco with a stepped profile and facade of undulating terra cotta and sinuous bronze metalwork — details that are partially in response to the landmark 1920s Steinway & Sons building at the tower’s base. Inside, the building offers sumptuous interiors featuring dark-hued woods, onyx and custom bronze hardware.

In Hudson Square, the Greenwich West condominium at 110 Charlton Street also aims to reflect “New York’s golden age of design,” according to the project’s website, with an exterior of embossed and pewter-glazed brick, and curved corners inspired by Art Deco.

Designed by the Paris-based architecture firm Loci Anima, with interiors by Sébastien Segers, the project is something of a throwback compared to neighbors like the Urban Glass House by Philip Johnson, the snaking 160 Leroy by Herzog & de Meuron, and the ethereal glass volumes of 565 Broome Street by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

“Our sense was that what people really appreciate in SoHo, TriBeCa and the West Village is the historic character,” said Phillip Gesue, the chief development officer at Strategic Capital, which is collaborating on the project with Cape Advisors and Forum Absolute Capital Partners.

“There are exceptions to the rule that have been very popular, like the Richard Meier buildings,” on Perry and Charles Street, he said. “But I think those exceptions are sort of like eating anchovies — it’s wonderful when you do it, but it’s not something you want to do every night.”