Architecture And Design

The Olnick Spanu House is a modernist beauty on the banks of the Hudson River in Garrison, New York. Its simple design consists of a glazed box built on an extended platform and topped by a light cantilevered roof supported by an array of cylindrical pillars. The project is by Spanish architect and lecturer Alberto Campo Baeza, who sought to create a modest but modern home peacefully immersed in nature.
Learn more about this modern glazed home

January 2, 2015

The Brooklyn Home Company Blends the Old with the New to Transform a Park Slope Home

By Aisha Carter

As an artist, there’s nothing more liberating than being given total control to show what you can really do. So we’re guessing the design team at The Brooklyn Home Company was more than happy to be approached by a Park Slope family to renovate and redesign this historic four-story Lincoln Place townhouse. The team was given complete creative license while incorporating the family’s substantial art and furniture collection into the design. The final product is a completely fresh and new look for the owners, even though it features many familiar elements of a classic Brooklyn brownstone.
More photos inside

January 2, 2015

A House in the Woods by William Reue Uses Locally-Sourced Materials and Bold Geometry

Just one look at A House in the Woods by William Reue and you know this is not your average piece of architecture. Located in the Hudson Valley on a densely forested 8.5-acre lot at the base of the Shawangunk Mountains, the 4,800-square-foot, LEED-certified home was realized through the owner's request for "an artful home that responded to her values of order, beauty, and environmental stewardship." Reue arrived at this goal by using bold, locally-sourced materials to create a seamless transition between the built structure and its surrounding landscape.
Much more on A House in the Woods ahead

December 31, 2014

REVEALED: 141 Willoughby, 30-Story Mixed-Use Tower to Replace Site Once Slated for Eminent Domain Takeover

A Downtown Brooklyn school once planned to be seized through eminent domain will sprout a 30-story mixed-use tower by Savanna Partners. Renderings posted on Savanna's website reveal a glass tower at 141 Willoughby Street with a retail base, student housing, and commercial or residential space above. The project will replace the three-story building that's home to the Institute of Design and Construction, a 77-year-old technical college.
More details on the project

December 31, 2014

West Village Townhouse by 1100 Architect Maximizes Natural Light in a Historic Structure

The West Village may be one of the toughest neighborhoods in which to undergo a complete renovation of one's home since a large portion of the area is landmarked and consists of historic rowhouses. For this overhaul, though, 1100 Architect masterfully blended the old with the new, all while maximizing natural light throughout the townhouse. The home combines original brick walls with and wood elements with exposed steel and glass, resulting in a structure that both blends with its neighbors and stands out as an eye-catching work of architecture.
Check out the house here

December 30, 2014

REVEALED: Mixed-Use Development One Flatbush Avenue to Rise from Prominent Brooklyn Corner

Here's our first look at 1 Flatbush Avenue, a 19-story, 160,000-square-foot mixed-use building planned for the very visible corner of Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Images on the website of Ryder Construction show a dignified building that blends with its streetscape. Slate Property Group is listed as the owner of the site and Goldstein Hill & West Architects (GHWA) as the architects.
More details ahead

December 29, 2014

Eclectic Bond Street Apartment Stuns with Brilliant Colors and Texture

By Aisha Carter

Nothing says Happy New Year quite like a zebra head mounted on a sleek black wall. And that’s just a taste of the whimsy you’ll find in this recently completed collaboration between James Dixon Architect and interior designer Carolina George. The eclectic apartment on Bond Street in Noho expertly combines a chic, modern look with subtle quirks dispersed throughout.
Take a look inside here

December 29, 2014

Upstate Adirondack-Style Cabin by James Thomas Is a Cheerful Winter Retreat

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is nearing an end, we're daydreaming about winding down in a cozy winter cabin, complete with snowy views and warm, crackling fires. And this upstate Adirondack-style cabin by James Thomas is exactly what we've been envisioning. Though the family retreat can't produce snow on the spot, it can offer a tranquil getaway with two fireplaces, comfortable furniture, and an organic mix of natural wood and stone.
Take a look around

REVEALED: New East Williamsburg Rental 66 Ainslie Street Aims for Ubiquitous Factory Look

Rendering of 66 Ainslie Street via Slate Property Group

December 29, 2014

REVEALED: New East Williamsburg Rental 66 Ainslie Street Aims for Ubiquitous Factory Look

Here's the first look at 66 Ainslie Street, a seven-story, 50-unit rental building set to rise from the East Williamsburg corner of Ainslie and Keap Streets. According to The Real Deal, the project is being developed by Slate Property Group, led by Martin Nussbaum and David Schwartz, and the site's previous sole owners, Tavolario and Meszaros Realty Corporation. Slate purchased the site for $15 million in an off-market deal in September. Construction permits filed this past November by Aufgang Architects indicate that the building will contain 42,500 square feet of residential and retail space, 23 parking spaces in an underground garage, and a roof deck and fitness center. The site is also around the corner from the Metropolitan-Lorimer G and L train stop. The filing of a "major alteration" application indicates that at least some part of the existing one-story factory building will remain.
More details ahead

TRA Founders Transform Soho Loft into Bright, Sophisticated Space

By Aisha Carter

Kids change everything. And that’s exactly what happened when architect Caterina Roiatti and designer/artist Bob Traboscia of TRA Studio welcomed their son into the world. Shortly afterwards, their apartment of 20 years—a 2,000-square-foot semi-raw “shoebox” loft in Soho—would be transformed from an open live/work space with few windows and doors and no storage to a more grown-up, light-filled home suited for a sophisticated New York family.
More photos inside

December 26, 2014

As the Met Prepares to Move into the Whitney’s Old Building, A Madison Avenue Block Is Transformed

All eyes have been on the construction of Renzo Piano's new downtown home for the Whitney Museum, set to open in May. But let's not forget about what's happening to the Whitney's old Marcel Breuer-designed building on Madison Avenue and 75th Street. The Brutalist building opened in 1966 and has since dominated its Upper East Side surroundings. It's set to be taken over as a satellite location for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to showcase their contemporary and modern art collections when it reopens in March 2016. And though the Met will not alter the façade of the landmarked museum building, its surroundings will certainly look different than in the Whitney's days. The biggest changes are happening right next door, where the row of six 19th-century Italianate and Greek Revival brownstones on Madison Avenue and two townhouses on East 74th Street are being reimagined as condos and retail space by developer and healthcare entrepreneur Daniel Straus, who bought the properties from the Whitney in 2010 for $95 million and subsequently was granted approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for their new design by Beyer Blinder Belle. According to the Times, who profiled the development, the flurry of construction could be considered "the Met effect."
More on the development here

December 26, 2014

Nikolo Kerimov’s Upon-Tea Beautifully Unveils the Visual Side of Brewing

Upon-tea is not just a teapot but also an object for admiring the process of brewing of tea. Made from a sleek combination of glass, renewable cork and white ceramic, it offers a unique visual experience in a common daily act. Designed by Nikolo Kerimov, this minimal design enhances one of life's most simple pleasures.
Learn more about this transparent Finnish teapot

December 24, 2014

A 1960s Upstate Log Cabin Transformed into a One-Room Family Home

Takaaki Kawabata (Taka), a senior associate at architecture firm Janson Goldstein, and his wife, designer Christina Kawabata, wanted to move their family from Williamsburg, where their rent had quadrupled, to a rural home still within commuting distance to the city. After first seeing a 1960s log cabin in Garrison, New York, Taka wasn't impressed. But, having grown up in a one-room farmhouse in Japan, when he looked over the plans he knew this was his family's new home. The couple bought the cabin for $335,000, embarked on a year-long $50,000 remodel, and transformed the outdated structure into an 1,100-square-foot family home with a completely open-plan layout and an excess-free living model.
Take a look at the result here

Architecture And Design

Say Goodbye to Williamsburg’s Iconic Diner, New Six-Story Apartment Building Coming

Image by Avagara via Panoramio

December 24, 2014

Say Goodbye to Williamsburg’s Iconic Diner, New Six-Story Apartment Building Coming

By Diane Pham

Amongst Williamsburg's ever-growing, rapidly-rising new developments remains a neighborhood icon that has managed to stick around in the face of change. However, it looks like time has finally caught up to this tiny 1950s treasure, as Brownstoner reports that permits were filed today to replace the classic metal structure with a six-story, 10-unit apartment building. The replacement may not surprise too many given the transformation of the area, as well as the restaurants taking up space—from a diner in '52 to a beloved burger joint from '97 to 2010 to today providing a somewhat less fitting location for upscale La Esquina's satellite Mexican restaurant/cafe—but without a doubt it's still one that we're sad to see happen.
More details here

December 23, 2014

WE Design’s Brownstone Renovation Melds the Old with Mid-Century Modern Touches

By Diane Pham

We've featured the work of WE Design before, but here's another one of their Brooklyn beauties that's captured our attention. In a gut renovation of a historic brownstone, the architects brought a 19th century home right into the 21st by juxtaposing the old and the new and making way for spaces that are all about modern living.
Have a look inside this stunning home

December 23, 2014

170 Amsterdam Avenue: NYC’s First Concrete Diagrid Nears Completion

By Ondel Hylton and Adam Rothstein

Final touches are being added to the Upper West Side's exoskeletal rental building at 170 Amsterdam Avenue. The 20-story mid-rise between 67th and 68th Streets will be the first residential building in the city to feature a concrete "diagrid" structural system. Developed by Chicago-based Equity Residential, the tower will house 239 luxury rental units and is slated to begin leasing early next year. Rental pricing may be similar to the Aire next door, where available units range from $3,375 for a 25th floor studio to $15,000 for a three-bedroom penthouse. According to the New York Post, Equity signed a 99-year lease for the site from the American Properties Group for $76.5 million back in 2011.
More details here

Tiffany Stained Glass Window Found in a Salvage Yard Reveals a Piece of Upstate History

Images from Find Everything Historic

December 23, 2014

Tiffany Stained Glass Window Found in a Salvage Yard Reveals a Piece of Upstate History

By Alyssa Alimurung

Imagine waking up one morning and getting pulled into a whirlwind of adventure, art, history, and preservation. That’s exactly what happened to Doris Cultraro of DC Studios in upstate New York when she was called in to clean and restore a 60-square-foot stained glass panel with over 6,000 pieces in 2007. “Although the original studio […]

Architecture And Design

December 22, 2014

So You Think You Know Everything About One57?

Well, you might want to think twice. Even though the city's most expensive condo building is also perhaps the most written-about (even the Times has run out of ways to describe it), there are still plenty of little-known facts about the 1,005-foot-tall tower. One57 is considered the crown jewel of what's been dubbed "Billionaire's Row," and can also be credited with launching the ultra-luxury building boom. Developed by Extell's Gary Barnett and designed by Pritzker-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc, the sleek tower is currently the second tallest structure in the city. And that's just the beginning.
Bone up on your One57 factoids here

Architecture And Design

December 22, 2014

Kristina Kjær’s Wooden Desk is a Sweet Modern Design That Also Saves Space

When you live in a dense city like New York, you know that every inch that you can get your hands on is a sacred one. While sacrifice usually comes into play when taking up space in an urban environment, thankfully there are smart designs out there that don't require us to give up the simple things in life–like a desk. Perfect for your computer–or for your unruly piles–this compact desk designed by Kristina Kjær is practical, comfortable, and pretty easy on the eyes.
Learn more about this small-scale wooden desk

December 21, 2014

North Haven’s Peconic Residence Is Made from an Assemblage of Volumes in Harmony with Nature

Nestled amongst mature cedar, sycamore and black pines, this beautiful residence is made from an assemblage of different volumes. Featuring a mix of brown shades on its exterior, the Peconic Residence by Martin Architects in New York's North Haven was created in harmony with nature. Designed using passive house standards and sustainable materials, this beautiful dwelling also has a waterfall edge reflecting pool and a Japanese stone garden.
Learn more about this sustainable woodland home

December 19, 2014

REVEALED: 290-Foot Cantilevering Condo Coming to Hudson Square/West Soho

A development site at Greenwich and Charlton Streets promises to be among the first to bear fruit from Hudson Square's 2013 rezoning. Images uncovered on the website of Fernando Romero EnterprisE (FR-EE) detail a 26-floor, 116-unit condominium along the quiet commercial edge of the neighborhood. The L-shaped lot is owned by the developer Cape Advisors, whose forward-thinking projects include 100 Eleventh Avenue and One Kenmare Square.
More details ahead

December 19, 2014

MAD-Designed West Village Duplex Gets a Modern Update with a Cantilevered Staircase

By Rebecca Paul

Originally built in 1817, this West Village townhouse recently underwent a complete renovation by Matiz Architecture & Design (MAD). The transformation of this historic Bleecker Street duplex introduced custom millwork and a cantilevered wood stair as the focal point of the design. It also mixed the home's original features, like exposed brick, ceiling beams and wide-plank flooring with modern updates such as sleek countertops, whitewashed woodwork and contemporary art. By eliminating all full-height partitions and creating an open floor plan, the firm was able to make this space feel twice its size.
See what else this duplex has in store

December 19, 2014

REVEALED: NoMad Tower by FR-EE; Is It a Cowbell, Exclamation Point, or Cheese Grater?