All articles by Diane Pham

Diane is the founder and Editorial Director of 6sqft. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Real Estate Finance & Development and a minor in Architecture, she enjoyed stints at SCI-Arc, the A+D Museum Los Angeles, Perkins Eastman Architects and Resolution 4: Architecture. She also previously served as Senior Editor of Inhabitat.com and spent several years as an analyst at CB Richard Ellis Investments in Milan, Italy.
6sqft Turns a Year Old Today!
May 15, 2015

6sqft Turns a Year Old Today!

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Most of you probably won’t know this, but it was exactly one year ago that 6sqft was launched (time flies when you’re reporting on real estate and architecture!). It’s been a wonderful 12 months for us with more than 2,700 stories and a growing audience that’s amazingly extended beyond the borders of New York City. We’d like […]

What Are New Yorkers Listening To? The Answer May Surprise You
May 15, 2015

What Are New Yorkers Listening To? The Answer May Surprise You

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Decades later, and New Yorkers are still gyrating to the tunes of the Rolling Stones. The Journal recently culled the top artists and songs played in bars and restaurants across the city (via e-jukebox vendor TouchTunes) into a map, and they found that although New York is about as diverse as they come, we pretty much all love the same music—or at least groove to the same stuff as we throw back a few.
Find out more here
Extell Shoots for a $4.4B Sellout with the Nordstrom Tower, the Most Expensive Ever

Image: the Nordstrom Tower penthouse

May 14, 2015

Extell Shoots for a $4.4B Sellout with the Nordstrom Tower, the Most Expensive Ever

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Extell has plenty to brag about, from claiming fame to the city's top two most expensive sales to being credited with starting the whole superluxury supertall tower boom. But according to the Wall Street Journal, the development company's head honcho and mastermind Gary Barnett is vying for another record, aiming to make his next skyscraping creation, the Nordstrom Tower, the most expensive building ever sold at $4.4 billion.
more details here
Place a Bid to Ride in Norman Foster’s Helicopter or Smoke Up with Bjarke Ingels in Copenhagen
May 14, 2015

Place a Bid to Ride in Norman Foster’s Helicopter or Smoke Up with Bjarke Ingels in Copenhagen

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Want to get some one-on-one time with the world's most prolific architects? Well here's your chance to pick the brains of the world's leading creatives—and go on an adventure while you're at it! The Van Alen Institute's annual Auction of Art + Design Experiences is in full swing and they've got some great outings for you to lift your paddle for. A ride in Norman Foster's private helicopter, birdwatching with Jeanne Gang, and a private tour of Bjarke Ingels's ski mountain/smoke-ring blowing power plant are just some of amazing excursions being offered—although there are far more relaxed options as well. For lovers of leisure: How does soaking in a hot tub with Charles Renfro of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, cocktails and three of your best buds sound?
info this way, including how to bid
Move It Whole Foods, Brooklyn Is Getting a Wegmans!

Rendering: Beyer Blinder Belle

May 13, 2015

Move It Whole Foods, Brooklyn Is Getting a Wegmans!

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Everyone rejoice! East Coast foodie favorite Wegmans is finally coming our way, inking a deal to open its first ever NYC location in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The New York Times reports that the supermarket giant will take up a whopping 74,000 square feet, anchoring the new shopping complex slated to replace Admiral's Row. Wegmans beat out three other proposals vying to enter the scene but was ultimately chosen because of the lack of affordable grocers in the area, and the store's commitment to bring 600 jobs to the area, 200 of which will be full-time—double what other proposals promised to deliver.
More on Wegmans coming to Brooklyn here
The Nordstrom Tower Will Not Be Taller than 1 World Trade Center, Says Developer Gary Barnett

Rendering of the tower NY Yimby

May 12, 2015

The Nordstrom Tower Will Not Be Taller than 1 World Trade Center, Says Developer Gary Barnett

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Yesterday, new details on Extell's Nordstrom Tower were leaked, stating that the tower's height had been stretched 20 feet to trump the One World Trade Center. But it looks like the news was all fodder as Extell Development boss Gary Barnett has stepped out denying that his supertall slated for 217 West 57th Street will reach such heights. The NY Post spoke with Barnett late yesterday and the developer told the paper that the tower “will categorically not be taller than One World Trade Center.” Barnett clarified that the building will reach 1,775 feet (with its spire) as planned, which is just one foot shorter than the One World Trade Center.
More on what Barnett had to say
Brooklyn Bazaar to be Replaced by BMW Dealership; Affordable Hell’s Kitchen Apartments Start at $868/Month
May 12, 2015

Brooklyn Bazaar to be Replaced by BMW Dealership; Affordable Hell’s Kitchen Apartments Start at $868/Month

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Long Island City’s clock tower has been named a historic landmark. [Curbed] Brooklyn’s night bazaar is being replaced by a BMW dealership. [Gothamist] There are now a million rooms available on Airbnb. [NYT] Can scaffolding be beautiful? You be the judge. [Untapped] Rent in Hell’s Kitchen’s luxurious Sky building for as little as $868 a […]

The LES Site of 90-Year-Old Streit’s Matzo Factory Sells for $30.5 Million

Image by Leo London/Flickr

May 12, 2015

The LES Site of 90-Year-Old Streit’s Matzo Factory Sells for $30.5 Million

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When word hit that the Lower East Side's Streit's Matzo Factory would be shuttering, it was sad news not only for longtime residents in the neighborhood, but a horror for New Yorkers worried about the city's transformation into a sea of characterless new constructions. The Real Deal now reports that the site of the historic institution has officially changed hands, closing yesterday for $30.5 million. According to city records, Midtown developer Cogswell Realty is the new owner of the four-building property which totals 50,000 square feet.
So, what's next for this site?
Nordstrom Tower Adds 20 Feet to Become the Tallest Building in NYC and Western Hemisphere

Rendering of the tower at its new height by NY Yimby

May 11, 2015

Nordstrom Tower Adds 20 Feet to Become the Tallest Building in NYC and Western Hemisphere

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One World Trade Center's claim to the title as the city's tallest building could soon be nil. NY Yimby reports that the ultra-super-tall Nordstrom Tower at 217 West 57th Street has experienced a growth spurt that's pushed its already jaw-dropping height from 1,775 to 1,795-feet. Though the addition of 20 feet seems insignificant for a skyscraper of such size, the consequences are not: The tower will now not only be the tallest building in the city (19 feet higher than 1 WTC) when completed, but also the tallest in the U.S. and the western hemisphere.
FInd out more here
VIDEO: Starchitect Norman Foster Offers Up Some Sage Career Advice
May 11, 2015

VIDEO: Starchitect Norman Foster Offers Up Some Sage Career Advice

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Do what you love. We've all heard it before, but for some reason it seems so much more poignant coming from the mouth of starchitect Norman Foster. In this latest installment of the Louisiana Channel, Marc-Christoph Wagner meets up with Foster in his Geneva home to get some career insight from the icon. Though Foster's worlds are for those in the art and architecture professions, his passion and words can certainly be carried across the spectrum.
Watch the video here
Brooklyn Buyers Sell Off Their Homes and Head Back to a Cheaper Manhattan
May 8, 2015

Brooklyn Buyers Sell Off Their Homes and Head Back to a Cheaper Manhattan

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Brooklyn has long been thought of the place to find great deals, but increasing interest in the borough has also brought with it an increase prices across the board. A story published today by the Times takes a look at the shift back to Manhattan as the "better value" for buyers and renters. Although the median price in the city does remain higher than Brooklyn—$970,000 versus $610,894—northern neighborhoods like Washington Heights, Inwood and Morningside Heights do provide a much cheaper alternative to coveted neighborhoods like DUMBO and Boerum Hill. But is the offer really worth the move?
More on the shift here
Combine Life, Work and Sleep in a 7x7x7-Foot Catch-All Pod
May 7, 2015

Combine Life, Work and Sleep in a 7x7x7-Foot Catch-All Pod

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As New Yorkers we're used to multi-tasking; we eat while we work, we text while we walk, check our e-mail while we brush out teeth. So why not bring all of our urban dweller idiosyncrasies under one very, very small roof? The creation of Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign, this tiny 7x7x7-foot pod is actually a space designed for young entrepreneurs who can't turn it off. But given the habits of most of New York's labor force (yes, you), and the fact most of us are used to squeezing into smaller than average quarters, this petite pod could prove a boon to the work-obsessed—or what finally pushes them over the edge.
Find out more here
VIDEO: Bjarke Ingels Takes Us Through His 57th Street Pyramid ‘Courtscraper’

Photo by Field Condition

May 7, 2015

VIDEO: Bjarke Ingels Takes Us Through His 57th Street Pyramid ‘Courtscraper’

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Even though big dreamer and BIG architect Bjarke Ingels's 57th Street pyramid was recently christened a less-than-desirable "Via" by its developer, Ingels and his team have given the building a moniker of their own, nicknaming it "courtscraper." In this video produced by Bloomberg, the architect takes us inside his 625 West 57th Street project, which he describes as "the lovechild of a courtyard building and a skyscraper."
Watch the video here
New Renzo Piano-Designed Residential Tower to Rise in Soho
May 6, 2015

New Renzo Piano-Designed Residential Tower to Rise in Soho

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Renzo Piano's versatility continues to win the hearts of NYC developers, and it looks like the starchitect is finally getting his chance to flex his muscle in the residential realm. The Post reports that Piano—who just cut the ribbon to the new Whitney to rave reviews—has been chosen by Michael Shvo and Bizzi & Partners to design a brand new 290-foot tower at 100 Varick Street in up-and-coming Hudson Square bordering Soho.
FInd out more here
Gowanus Brownstone Has an Inhabitable Blob in Its Living Room
May 6, 2015

Gowanus Brownstone Has an Inhabitable Blob in Its Living Room

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During the mid-'90s and early 2000s, blobitecture was all the rage. But it didn't take very long for the trend to fall out of favor—because at the end of the day you can't really build a city full of blobby buildings. But it looks like the movement just might be seeing a second life within residential design. In this 2014 renovation by RAAD Studio, the architects transformed the innards of a historic brownstone on the border of Gowanus and Carroll Gardens into an ultra-modern space with clean lines, sleek surfaces, and most notably, an amoeba-like sculpture growing out of the living room wall.
Have a closer look inside the home here
Two Artists Turn Famous U.S. Landmarks into Fun Animations
May 6, 2015

Two Artists Turn Famous U.S. Landmarks into Fun Animations

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Looking for a midday mental break? Fix your gaze on these adorable animations created by illustrators Kirk Wallace and Latham Arnott. Using their artistic skills and backgrounds in computer science, the duo have turned a handful of America's most recognizable landmarks—like the Statue of Liberty, The Golden Gate Bridge and Seattle's Space Needle—into wonderful works of art with loads of personality.
more adorable animations this way
One-Third of 220 Central Park South Sold; One Vanderbilt Moves Forward with Full City Support
May 5, 2015

One-Third of 220 Central Park South Sold; One Vanderbilt Moves Forward with Full City Support

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After just six weeks, one-third ($1.1B) of 220 Central Park West has been sold. “Acceptance by brokers and buyers has been extraordinary and unprecedented.” [TRD] One Vanderbilt is well on its way to becoming a reality. This morning SL Green cleared its final major hurdle, receiving approval, with some amendments, by a key City Council subcommittee. [Crain’s] Philip […]

Westward Ho! More and More New Yorkers Are Moving to Los Angeles
May 4, 2015

Westward Ho! More and More New Yorkers Are Moving to Los Angeles

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New York and Los Angeles have long been rivals, but while New York has historically emerged as the center of all things cool, the tides seem to be turning. The Times reports that more and more of the city's creatives are turning to Los Angeles as a place to call home, spurring a renaissance in a town once considered a cultural wasteland. No longer is L.A. a sun-soaked land littered with dejected actors and models, but instead it's emerging as a haven for those looking to experiment with their art without struggling to make ends meet. Read: The rents are cheap!
Find out more here
Robert De Niro Lived in a Penthouse with Seven-Car Garage; Leasing Starts at Brooklyn’s Tallest Tower
May 4, 2015

Robert De Niro Lived in a Penthouse with Seven-Car Garage; Leasing Starts at Brooklyn’s Tallest Tower

By

Turns out Robert De Niro called this extravagant penthouse with glass floors and a seven car garage home for two years. [NYP] Brooklyn’s upcoming tallest tower, the Avalon Willoughby West, has started leasing. Studios will go for $2,890 a month. [Brownstoner] A federal transportation bill could lead to the city to removing some of the oversize […]

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