Architecture And Design

The Bovina Residence: A 19th-Century Wooden Barn Gets a 21st-Century Upgrade
February 22, 2015

The Bovina Residence: A 19th-Century Wooden Barn Gets a 21st-Century Upgrade

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Brooklyn-based Kimberly Peck gave a 19th-century barn a stylish 21st-century upgrade. To make the stunning Bovina Residence, the architect restored and relocated the old farm building to its new location in Bovina, the town that gives the home its oxen-like name. Due to the extremely cold winters in the Catskills, insulation was a primary concern, but once that was out of the way, the architect designed some stunning, eclectic interiors using plenty of reclaimed wood, which provides the house with an undeniable warmth.
Learn more about this renovated barn
Gluck+’s Inverted Outbuilding Features Corrugated Copper Hangar Doors
February 20, 2015

Gluck+’s Inverted Outbuilding Features Corrugated Copper Hangar Doors

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Nestled among Douglas fir trees in Lake George, New York, sits an ultra-modern building with a corrugated copper facade. Designed as a guesthouse for a summer family retreat, the Inverted Outbuilding by Gluck+  beautifully combines wood, glass and rusty copper. The unusual use of the industrial material gives this home a totally unique look, emitting a warm maroon glow when the sun hits it.
Learn more about this copper-skin guesthouse
Chelsea Townhouse Channels Its Inner Diva with Bold Patterns and Textures
February 20, 2015

Chelsea Townhouse Channels Its Inner Diva with Bold Patterns and Textures

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Where’s Beyoncé when you need her? If she is indeed looking for another place, she might want to look at this Chelsea pad for design ideas. DHD Interiors gave this Robert Young Architecture-designed townhouse its own alter ego with bold textures and colors in the family and kids’ spaces and soft, polished style in other areas like the master bedroom and dining room.
More pics inside
REVEALED: Lions Group Developing Complementary Skyscrapers in Long Island City
February 19, 2015

REVEALED: Lions Group Developing Complementary Skyscrapers in Long Island City

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Just north of Long Island City's Court Square and its once lonely Citigroup Building, the Long Island-based Lions Group will erect a complementary pair of residential towers fronting opposite sides of Jackson Avenue. Sensibly dubbed Jackson East (26-32 Jackson Avenue) and Jackson West (27-01 Jackson Avenue), the project is just one of the more than two dozen high-rise developments underway in LIC's Court Square / Queens Plaza area. While details remain scarce, renderings recently posted on the Lions Group's website depict that the taller east tower will rise nearly 40 stories while the shorter west building will be about 30.
More details ahead
REVEALED: Long Island City’s One Queens Plaza by Raymond Chan Architect
February 19, 2015

REVEALED: Long Island City’s One Queens Plaza by Raymond Chan Architect

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Here's your first look at an upcoming 18-story, 110-unit residential building called One Queens Plaza in Long Island City. Situated at 42-10 27th Street, the tower is being developed by the ever-growing-in-ambition New York Lions Group, also the developer of the two nearby Court Square towers that we revealed earlier today. Late last month, The Real Deal broke news of the development's initial construction permit filing, which calls for a 90,000-square-foot tower that will include 8,645 square feet of commercial space, as well as a 55-car parking garage. It will be just a single stop from Midtown along the N and R lines–meaning residents can be whisked from their doorsteps to Bloomingdales in roughly five minutes.
More on the project ahead
Proposed ‘Triboro Rx’ Subway Line Would Better Connect the Outer Boroughs

Map of the Triboro RX via RPA

February 19, 2015

Proposed ‘Triboro Rx’ Subway Line Would Better Connect the Outer Boroughs

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The problem with moving to many affordable neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx is the lack of transportation options, but a new report from the Regional Plan Association calls for a Triboro RX subway line, which would weave together existing subway stops in far-reaching spots, as well as provide additional locations. And forget toll hikes to fund the line; it would run mostly above ground on existing freight train tracks, making implementation easy and cost effective.
More on the transportation proposal and see the full Triboro RX map
INTERVIEW: Marcelo Ertorteguy and Sara Valente of Stereotank on Fusing Architecture and Music

Marcelo and Sara at the unveiling of HeartBeat, image via Times Square NYC Flickr

February 18, 2015

INTERVIEW: Marcelo Ertorteguy and Sara Valente of Stereotank on Fusing Architecture and Music

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Marcelo Ertorteguy and Sara Valente want you to do more than just admire their architectural designs from afar–they want you to hear them. The Venezuelan-born designers are the brains behind the creative firm Stereotank, where they create public art installations that fuse the disciplines of architecture, music, environmental sciences and much more. From Taku-Tanku, a traveling, floating house made out of water tanks, to HeartBeat, an urban drum installation currently on view in Times Square, all of Stereotank's innovative work takes a fresh and playful approach to socially conscious designs that engage their audiences. We recently chatted with Marcelo and Sara about how they developed their unique design philosophy and what their creations mean to them and New Yorkers.
Read the interview here
Developer Matthew Blesso Settles into a Spectacular Park Slope Townhouse for $4.05M
February 18, 2015

Developer Matthew Blesso Settles into a Spectacular Park Slope Townhouse for $4.05M

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Developer Matthew Blesso is doing a total architectural 180. Blesso, who used to call  this uber-sleek Noho penthouse home, has just closed on a far more cozy historic construction in the heart of Park Slope according to city records filed today. No official listing could be found for the three-story pre-war home, but previous reports show that it was last being rented out by its former owner William Lawrence for about $11,000 a month. The neighborhood and the townhouse are certainly quite a change for Blesso, whose last home was about as modern and metropolitan as they get.
Have a gander inside this architectural gem ahead
Live in Your Very Own Lighthouse and Tugboat for $425,000

Image via NY Post

February 17, 2015

Live in Your Very Own Lighthouse and Tugboat for $425,000

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Factories, stables, churches—even former department stores—have all found new life as residential properties within the five boroughs, and we’ve had the pleasure of bringing many of those to you as part of our Cool Listings. But every now and again a uniquely special property outside the borders of New York City catches our eye and we feel compelled to let you in on the secret.
More on the lighthouse here
Chinatown Loft by Buro Koray Duman Architects Mixes Tenement Details with Bright, Modern Geometry
February 17, 2015

Chinatown Loft by Buro Koray Duman Architects Mixes Tenement Details with Bright, Modern Geometry

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If you take a look at the exterior of this Chinatown tenement building located across the street from Sarah Roosevelt Park, you might imagine that the apartments inside are typical cramped railroad-style units with the token exposed brick wall as a selling point. But this unit, renovated by Buro Koray Duman Architects, looks like it could be in a swanky Miami hotel or sunny LA condo. When Turkish-born architect Koray Duman bought the residence in 2011, the 750-square-foot corner apartment was a dark, three-bedroom renovation from the 1980s. He and his firm transformed it into a bright, open one-bedroom loft with bold, sculptural architecture and décor.
Tour the home here
Two Non-Glass Homes on Philip Johnson’s Iconic Glass House Campus Will Open to the Public

Calluna Farms © Craig White via Flickr

February 17, 2015

Two Non-Glass Homes on Philip Johnson’s Iconic Glass House Campus Will Open to the Public

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If you've never visited Philip Johnson's world-famous Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, you probably imagine it as a single, transparent structure sitting on a vast swath of land. But, in fact, it's one of 14 buildings on the 49-acre campus, which together made up what Johnson and his partner David Whitney considered "the perfect deconstructed home." So, the couple didn't live in the Glass House quite like most of us thought, but rather used it as the focal point of a glamorous weekend retreat. When the Glass House compound reopens for tours this spring, two of these lesser-known structures will be open to the public–the 1905 shingled farmhouse Calluna Farms, which was used as an art gallery and sometimes as a sleeping spot, and an 18th-century timber house called Grainger that served as a movie room for Johnson and Whitney.
More on the Glass House compound
Proposed Condo Tower Could Stall Entire South Street Seaport Redevelopment Plan

Rendering of the proposed tower

February 17, 2015

Proposed Condo Tower Could Stall Entire South Street Seaport Redevelopment Plan

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Less than a week after it was revealed that the Howard Hughes Corporation paid $31 million for more than 300,000 square feet of air rights at the South Street Seaport, it looks like the entire $1.5 billion redevelopment project could be stalled. The overall plan would breathe new life into the downtown historic district by rehabilitating crumbling piers, preserving and finding new use for landmark buildings and constructing a 42-story waterfront condo tower at the foot of Beekman Street. And it's this last point that has local officials, civic groups, preservationists and some community residents worried or downright angry. The 494-foot-tall, SHoP Architects-designed tower has already been scaled back from its original 650 feet, but concerned parties still feel that the building would "obscure views of the Brooklyn Bridge and clash with the low-scaled, early-19th-century brick buildings that make up the 11-block seaport district, once the center of the city’s maritime industry," according to the New York Times.
More on the debate
Historic Ship-Inspired Townhouse in Prospect Lefferts Gardens Hits the Market for $1.5M
February 16, 2015

Historic Ship-Inspired Townhouse in Prospect Lefferts Gardens Hits the Market for $1.5M

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It's not rare to find an amazing historic townhouse in Brooklyn, but this is a first for us–an Arts and Crafts-style home inspired by the original owner's career as a shipbuilder. Built in 1914, 26 Winthrop Street is a 20.5-foot-wide, three-story red brick house that sits on an extra-deep lot of 132.5 feet in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. What makes the residence one-of-a-kind is the living room, modeled after a ship's stateroom and complete with a vaulted ceiling and floor-to-ceiling mahogany wainscoting.
See the rest of the house here
Check Out Studio Benjamin Dillenburger’s Wild ‘Phenomena’ Submission for MoMA’s 2015 YAP
February 15, 2015

Check Out Studio Benjamin Dillenburger’s Wild ‘Phenomena’ Submission for MoMA’s 2015 YAP

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Last week, MoMA PS1 announced the winning design for this year’s Young Architects Program (YAP), which will be featured this summer in the Long Island City museum’s outdoor courtyard. The top spot went to Andrés Jaque of the Office for Political Innovation for COSMO, a moveable environmental artifact made out of customized irrigation components. And while this interactive water purification sculpture is highly deserving, the runners-up shouldn't be ignored. Among the short list of finalists was Phenomena by Benjamin Dillenburger and Michael Hansmeyer of Studio Benjamin Dillenburger, which "addressed the idea of phenomenology in design, creating an experiential space that stimulates all the senses and hosts multiple programs." It combines a performance space, a highly articulated projection screen, and an ornate fountain, challenging how people experience live events by making the viewer part of the production.
READ MORE
Single for Valentine’s Day? The Towers of Hudson Yards Are Looking for a Date
February 13, 2015

Single for Valentine’s Day? The Towers of Hudson Yards Are Looking for a Date

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Single building lovers, have no fear. Hudson Yards is happy to be your Valentine. As a marketing tactic, the entire project, along with all five of its towers, got profiles on the fake dating site Building Mingle. 15 Hudson Yards, the residential tower designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has a celeb crush on the Guggenheim and its great curves and describes his type as "Anyone who works with concrete and steel. I'm looking for stability."; 10 Hudson Yards enjoys "When Harry Met Sally" (It's a classic romantic comedy!); and 30 Hudson Yards is a little shallow and is looking for someone tall and slender who isn't afraid of heights.
See all the profiles here
Tiny Brooklyn Apartment Is Covered with 25,000 Ping Pong Balls
February 13, 2015

Tiny Brooklyn Apartment Is Covered with 25,000 Ping Pong Balls

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From afar, the walls of this tiny Brooklyn apartment look they're covered in geometric wallpaper, but get up close and you're in for quite the surprise. Daniel Arsham, partner and co-founder of Snarkitecture, a cross-disciplinary firm that blends art and architecture, used 25,000 ping pong balls that had lost their bounce to create this incredible wall mosaic as part of an accelerated design experiment.
More on this incredible design
OBRA Architects’ Centrifugal Villa Is a Wooden Home with a Hollow Heart
February 13, 2015

OBRA Architects’ Centrifugal Villa Is a Wooden Home with a Hollow Heart

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OBRA Architects' Centrifugal Villa is not your average wooden family home. Located on a five-acre site in Southampton, it overlooks a pristine agricultural reserve framing the green landscape through its many all-around windows. Its name comes from its original circular layout, which in the architects' own words, is "arranged around a hollow center, as if the heart of the house had somehow fallen outside its body."
Learn more about this centrifugal wooden home
Pier 55 Floating Park Moves Forward with a Lease Deal
February 12, 2015

Pier 55 Floating Park Moves Forward with a Lease Deal

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Last we heard about Pier55–the 2.4-acre futuristic floating park and performance space proposed by billionaire media mogul Barry Diller that would jut 186 feet into the Hudson at 13th Street–Community Board 2 had mixed feelings about the project. They liked Thomas Heatherwick's design, but cited concern over the lack of transparency from Diller and the Hudson River Park Trust. Despite these feelings, though, we've learned today from the Times that the Trust approved a lease agreement with Pier 55 Inc., a nonprofit group controlled by Diller, to help develop the $130 million public space. Diller has already pledged $113 million toward the project through the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation (his wife is fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg). So, what's next?
What's to come for Pier 55
The New Broadway Plan Could Bring 3,000 Housing Units to West Harlem, 50 Percent Will Be Affordable

Broadway and 146th Street, a typical stretch in West Harlem

February 11, 2015

The New Broadway Plan Could Bring 3,000 Housing Units to West Harlem, 50 Percent Will Be Affordable

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You may remember the Harlem Promenade project, which proposed transferring air rights over the Amtrak rail lines in West Harlem to create affordable housing and using the sale of the air rights to pay for $170 million in community improvements in Hamilton Heights, including a High Line-esque park. We've now learned that the project has taken on a new life as the New Broadway Plan, which may be smaller in scope than the original plan, but would be the largest creation of affordable housing in Manhattan since 1959 if fully realized. It would also make a huge dent in Mayor De Blasio's goal of creating or preserving 200,000 affordable units over ten years. The Plan proposes a rezoning of portions of Broadway from 125th to 155th Streets in order to build 3,000 new units of housing, 50 percent of which will be permanently affordable, and to equalize the amount of new affordable to market rate housing stock, which is currently at a disproportionate ratio of 20 percent to 80 percent, respectively.
Get the scoop here
A New Bjarke Ingels or Rem Koolhaas-Designed Development Could Be Coming to the High Line
February 11, 2015

A New Bjarke Ingels or Rem Koolhaas-Designed Development Could Be Coming to the High Line

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The High Line is continuing its trajectory as the destination for the city's most exciting new architecture, and it looks like another starchitect could soon join the already impressive roster of designers making their mark on the area. The New York Post reports that HFZ Capital Group is currently in the works to bring a "monumental" new structure to a lot located next to the elevated park at 76 11th Avenue—a site that spans from 17th to 18th and across 10th to 11th Avenues. Although the parcel is still in contract (expected to close in April), HFZ has reportedly already tapped Bjarke Ingels (BIG) and Rem Koolhaas for initial drawings, which were revealed by the company's head, Ziel Feldman, yesterday at the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association luncheon. The renderings are said to show "triangular structures that won't block views".
Find out more here
CWB Architects’ Bug Acres Uses a Screened Porch to Bring the Outdoors In
February 11, 2015

CWB Architects’ Bug Acres Uses a Screened Porch to Bring the Outdoors In

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Standing among an idyllic garden with centenarian trees, a stream and granite rocks, this beautiful Woodstock retreat is perfect for a relaxing weekend away. Dubbed "Bug Acres," it was built to replace an old property that used to stand on the same site, and it was exclusively designed for "amplifying the owner’s visual and auditory experience of the landscape from the interior spaces," according to CWB Architects. Our favorite part of the house is the screened cedar porch, which comes complete with minimal decoration and a sweet wood-burning stove, letting you be one with nature from the comfort of a warm home.
Learn more about this woodland retreat with a stream
Snøhetta Transforms a Gowanus Warehouse into a Mural Studio for Cuban Artist José Parlá
February 11, 2015

Snøhetta Transforms a Gowanus Warehouse into a Mural Studio for Cuban Artist José Parlá

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You've probably seen the murals of Cuban-American artist José Parlá in the lobbies of One World Trade Center and the Barclays Center. With such high-profile clients, it's no wonder he worked with starchitecture firm Snøhetta, who completed the 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilion, to create his personal artist's studio. Collaborating together, Parlá and Snøhetta transformed a Gowanus warehouse into a double-height workspace that retains industrial characteristics of the building like beamed ceilings, exposed piping and electrical fixtures, and concrete floors. To tailor the studio to their client's needs, the firm re-opened old skylights to let natural light in to the middle of the work space, and they painted all the walls neutral grey tones so Parlá's bright paintings really stand out.
More on the project
My 3,900sqft: Four Ladies Turn a Clinton Hill Townhouse into a ‘Pop-Up Mansion’

Our new series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. On our first interior adventure, we check out a home in Clinton Hill.

February 10, 2015

My 3,900sqft: Four Ladies Turn a Clinton Hill Townhouse into a ‘Pop-Up Mansion’

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What happens when you let four ladies run loose in a four-story Clinton Hill townhouse? Closets, corners and a pantry spilling over with shoes and coats, apparently. "There are shoes lining the kitchen pantry shelves; the tiny third bedroom upstairs that resembles a Swiss chalet in the twilight zone is filled with racks of vintage frocks, coats and designer handbags. You can really tell almost everyone in this house either works in fashion or hoards it," says owner and 6sqft writer extraordinaire Michelle Cohen.  We recently visited Michelle in her Brooklyn home to see the pretty amazing setup she has created for herself. Michelle, whose house you've certainly seen on our site before, is currently undertaking a major renovation that will turn her and her fiance Stanley's brick-clad buy into a modern-meets-historic home with a rental garden apartment. But while Michelle's poring over drawings with her architect, she's found a few friends to share the journey, and the house; namely three fabulous women with wonderfully different personalities. "Stanley likes to call it a sorority for outstanding ascendant young creative professional women," she muses. Jump ahead to meet Michelle and the girls—who range from a Vogue fashion stylist to a creative producer to a journalist who covers evolution, disease and health policy—in their home to get a closer look.
See more here
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