Architecture And Design

The long-awaited Hudson Yards development opened on Friday and with it, the centerpiece of the 28-acre project: a 150-foot-tall climbable public art piece, known as "Vessel." Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the impressive bronzed steel-and-concrete structure offers visitors a one-mile vertical climbing experience through 154 interconnected flights of stairs and 2,500 individual steps. On Friday, 6sqft joined the first group of people to ever climb the honeycomb-shaped sculpture. Ahead, get up close to the intricately-designed Vessel and learn how to reserve tickets to climb it.
See inside the sculpture

Proposed 40-story tower in Downtown Brooklyn gets City Council approval

Rendering of 570 Fulton Street via Slate Property Group

March 15, 2019

Proposed 40-story tower in Downtown Brooklyn gets City Council approval

The New York City Council this week voted to approve a proposed 40-story building in Downtown Brooklyn, adding to the slew of new high-rises coming to the historically low-slung neighborhood. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the council voted to approve zoning measures that permit Slate Property Group to build at 570 Fulton Street. With council approval, the 200,000-square-foot mixed-use building will move on to Mayor Bill de Blasio's desk next, despite concerns from the local community board.
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Architecture And Design

March 14, 2019

Step back in time in this charming row house on Washington Heights’ Sylvan Terrace, asking $1.5M

The quaint row houses of landmarked Sylvan Terrace are tucked away on one of the city’s “secret” streets in Washington Heights, which used to be the carriage drive to the Morris-Jumel Mansion, the oldest house in Manhattan where General George Washington held a temporary headquarters during the Revolutionary War. Residences on the charming street rarely become available, but the three-bedroom at 14 Sylvan Terrace just hit the market for $1,589,000. With plenty of original details, including two fireplaces, pocket doors, and period hardwood floors, here’s a chance to experience “romance from another era,” as the listing describes.
Take a look inside

Bjarke Ingels’ two twisting towers top out in Chelsea

Photo by Evan Joseph

March 8, 2019

Bjarke Ingels’ two twisting towers top out in Chelsea

Bjarke Ingels’ twisting towers at 76 Eleventh Avenue in Chelsea officially topped out this week, with the 36-story West tower reaching 400 feet shortly after the 26-story East tower hit its 300-foot height. The High Line-adjacent XI, located right across the street from Thomas Heatherwick’s bubbled condos at 515 West 18th Street, will offer 236 luxury condos, the first Six Senses Hotel location in the United States, commercial space, and a new public promenade that will extend from the park. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the XI's slanted shape gives the illusion the two buildings are being pulled apart, allowing for all residents to have views of both the city and the Hudson River.
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New renderings revealed for Greenpoint Landing’s OMA-designed towers

Rendering courtesy of Brookfield Properties and Park Tower Group.

March 7, 2019

New renderings revealed for Greenpoint Landing’s OMA-designed towers

Developers Brookfield Properties and Park Tower Group have unveiled the next phase of development in the massive Greenpoint Landing waterfront project, including an addition to the public waterfront esplanade designed by James Corner Field Operations and mixed-income housing designed by OMA, the architecture firm founded by Rem Koolhaas. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer on the two new towers and an adjacent seven-story building that will bring the total number of units in the project to 745, of which 30 percent will be affordable.
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Rockefeller Center developer reveals first NYC residential tower in Nomad

Left: Rendering of Rose Hill; credit: Pandiscio Green and Recent Spaces. Right: Still from a video by artist Marco Brambilla, commissioned by Rockefeller Group to emphasize the building’s Art Deco influence.

March 6, 2019

Rockefeller Center developer reveals first NYC residential tower in Nomad

Formed over 90 years ago to develop and build Rockefeller Center, developer Rockefeller Group has never built a residential tower in its New York City hometown–until now. Their new condominium tower, Rose Hill has just been unveiled along with the launch of the building's teaser site. The 600-foot tower is currently under construction at 30 East 29th Street. The building will be designed by CetraRuddy; first looks show an Art Deco-inspired facade that does not diverge heavily from the architectural style of Rockefeller Center.
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NYPL’s new entrance and public plaza on 40th Street gets green light from Landmarks

Rendering of the Marshall Rose Plaza by Mecanoo with Beyer Blinder Belle

March 6, 2019

NYPL’s new entrance and public plaza on 40th Street gets green light from Landmarks

The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved the New York Public Library's plan to add a new public entrance and plaza to its Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in Midtown. The changes fall under the library's larger master renovation plan, a $317 million project first unveiled in 2017. The LPC approved the changes to the exterior of the building--subject to the city's landmark rules--after design modifications suggested at a presentation in February were made by the library, Curbed NY reported.
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Hudson Yards Park renamed in honor of activist and former NY congresswoman, Bella Abzug

Rendering via MVVA and the Hudson Yards Development Corporation

March 5, 2019

Hudson Yards Park renamed in honor of activist and former NY congresswoman, Bella Abzug

Update 3/25/19: Tishman Speyer bought last week an auto repair building on West 36th Street for $20 million, the New York Post reported Monday. The company will demolish the two-story building to make way for a greenway that will be the next segment of Bella Abzug Park. In exchange for paying for the new park, Tishman Speyer will get air rights from the city to put up a tower bounded by Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. The city on Friday renamed a park near Hudson Yards in honor of the late Bella Abzug, a former U.S. Representative of New York and stalwart supporter of the women's rights movement. The greenspace, formerly Hudson Yards Park, stretches just over two acres between West 33rd and 36th Street. First developed with the extension of the 7 subway line to 34th Street, the park will soon be extended to 39th Street and run over an Amtrak rail cut.
Details here

Architecture And Design

Proposed project would bring 167 affordable housing units to East New York using modular construction

Hoping to create affordable housing more quickly and at a lower cost, New York City is turning to cutting-edge construction methods. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced on Monday plans to develop 167 affordable housing units in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York using modular construction. The $70 million project would become the first under Mayor Bill de Blasio's Housing New York 2.0 program to use this method of building on property owned by the city. As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, officials think modular construction could reduce the project's timeline by 25 to 30 percent.
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DXA Studio’s pedestrian bridge design would connect Hudson Yards and Moynihan Train Hall

Rendering: DXA Studio.

March 4, 2019

DXA Studio’s pedestrian bridge design would connect Hudson Yards and Moynihan Train Hall

A curvy urban pathway designed by DXA Studio could allow commuters to pass between the new Moynihan Train Hall at West 31st Street to the High Line and Hudson Yards at 30th Street without having to deal with cars at all. The design is the grand prize-winning entry–for a $15,000 prize–in the 2019 Design Challenge by Metals in Construction magazine. The contest asked architects, engineers, and students to create a pedestrian bridge that could safely move the approximately 100,000 people daily that travel from the train hall to Hudson Yards while keeping the foot traffic from affecting the street below.
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Architecture And Design

180 East 88th tower tops out at 524 feet, set to be tallest tower north of 72nd Street

Rendering via DDG; Construction shot of 180 E 188th in early January via CityRealty

February 28, 2019

180 East 88th tower tops out at 524 feet, set to be tallest tower north of 72nd Street

The highly anticipated tower rising at 180 East 88th Street recently topped out, taking the title of the city’s tallest building north of 72nd Street, as CityRealty first reported. Developed by DDG, the 524-foot structure will bring 48 expansive condos to the Upper East Side and is expected to open this Spring. Photos from a recent construction visit show crews adding the final pieces of the concrete-enclosed rooftop bulkhead. Crews are still working to fully cover the facade of the 32-story tower in hand-laid Kolumba brick (there are 593,987 individual bricks) which will be accented by bronze-colored window frames.
See the shots

IKEA’s newest curtains will purify indoor air

Images courtesy of Ikea

February 26, 2019

IKEA’s newest curtains will purify indoor air

The World Health Organization estimates that 90 percent of people worldwide are impacted by the harmful effects of pollution, which provoke a range of life-threatening diseases. While pollution is thought to cause around eight million deaths a year, more than half of those are the result of indoor pollution, not the smog-filled city streets we’re more commonly wary of. To help with this problem, IKEA is preparing to launch GUNRID, an air-purifying curtain. The low-cost, low-tech option will give New Yorkers (who are always short on space) a simple way of destroying indoor air pollution without using any bulky filtering systems.
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Usonian-style Bronxville home built in 1950 by Frank Lloyd Wright collaborator asks $5M

Images courtesy of William Pitt/Julia B. Fee for Sotheby’s International Realty; photo credit: Chris Collins Studio.

February 26, 2019

Usonian-style Bronxville home built in 1950 by Frank Lloyd Wright collaborator asks $5M

This unique home tucked into a gorgeous wooded landscape in Bronxville, NY, was built in 1950 by architect and Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice David Henken in the iconic Usonian style. A complete renovation by renowned architect Markus Dochantschi in 2012 modernized and expanded the 5,500-square-foot home; Dochantschi, founder of StudioMDA, is a former director of Zaha Hadid Architects and specializes in minimalist, functional design. The property is on the market for $4.995 million.
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Finalists announced in Transit Tech Lab accelerator program to help modernize NYC public transit

Image via Flickr

February 26, 2019

Finalists announced in Transit Tech Lab accelerator program to help modernize NYC public transit

As part of the much-needed effort to modernize New York City public transit, the MTA and the Partnership for New York City have announced six finalists for the inaugural Transit Tech Lab accelerator program. The eight-week program, which began this week, will give the six chosen companies an opportunity to try new technologies customized to solve for specific subway and bus priorities such as reducing cost and cutting down subway delays by employing predictive maintenance, deploying a transit network planning platform, using computer vision to untangle bus lane traffic and using sensors to address platform crowding.
More innovation this way

February 22, 2019

Sotheby’s announces $55M expansion and redesign of NYC headquarters by Rem Koolhaas’ OMA

Renowned auction house Sotheby’s has revealed renderings of its reimagined Upper East Side headquarters, designed by OMA New York’s Shohei Shigematsu. Slated to open on May 3rd to coincide with their auctions of Impressionist & Modern and Contemporary Art, the redesign features 40 galleries across four completely transformed floors and will increase Sotheby’s exhibition space from 67,000 square feet to more than 90,000 (a whopping two acres of space!).
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Architecture And Design

INTERVIEW: Architect Nancy Ruddy on 30 years in NYC, adding to the skyline, and restaurant design

Photo courtesy of CetraRuddy

February 22, 2019

INTERVIEW: Architect Nancy Ruddy on 30 years in NYC, adding to the skyline, and restaurant design

By Dana Schulz

When Nancy Ruddy and her husband John Cetra formed architecture firm CetraRuddy in 1987, they wanted to "create inspirational spaces and buildings based upon the ideas of craft and the human touch." Thirty-one years later, and the 100-person firm has achieved this goal and then some, marking the skyline with their soaring One Madison tower, transforming Tribeca's 443 Greenwich Street into the hottest celebrity residence, and adapting historic buildings by prolific architects such as Ralph Walker and Rosario Candela. They've also distinguished themselves by combing architecture and design practices, which was most recently showcased at their designs for the new Time Warner Center restaurant Bluebird London. Ahead, 6sqft talks with Nancy Ruddy about how all of these successes came to be, where she sees the architectural landscape of NYC heading, and what it was like creating a destination dining space overlooking Central Park.
Hear from Nancy

Staten Island Levee project secures funding, will move forward

Rendering of original sea wall plan via Governor Cuomo’s office

February 19, 2019

Staten Island Levee project secures funding, will move forward

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, United States Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, and United States Congressman Max Rose announced today that funding has been secured for the Staten Island Levee project. The news gives the green light for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to build a long-awaited 5.3 mile sea wall that would protect waterfront communities in Staten Island from future storms.
Good news for Staten Island

February 19, 2019

Plans for Norman Foster’s Red Hook office complex may be kaput

According to sources close to the project, plans for Norman Foster’s Red Hoek Point, a 7.7-acre commercial campus at the former Revere Sugar Factory on the Red Hook shoreline, appear to be getting scrapped, The Real Deal reports. The website still advertises the “revolutionary office campus on the Brooklyn waterfront,” but Thor Equities is reportedly going to abandon the 800,000-square-foot complex and replace it with warehousing, a change of course that Thor’s founder Joseph Sitt may have been considering as early as last October, as new renderings for Red Hoek Point were being developed.
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Facing poor sales, the partners behind Jean Nouvel’s 53W53 seek additional price chops

Rendering by Hayes Davidson

February 14, 2019

Facing poor sales, the partners behind Jean Nouvel’s 53W53 seek additional price chops

The partners behind the Jean Nouvel-designed tower at 53 West 53rd Street (also known as the MoMA Tower) will be serving even more price chops to the ultra-luxury project in the midst of lackluster sales, though they disagree on how much that should be. As Crain’s reported, Hines, Goldman Sachs, and Singapore’s Pontiac Land Group recently underwent an arbitration process to settle the matter, with Hines seeking aggressive discounts. The 1,050-foot condo building has already received $167 million in price cuts since hitting the market almost four years ago with a projection of $2.14 billion in sales. About 15 percent of the 145 units at 53W53 are under contract currently, with closings set to begin in the spring, a spokeswoman for the project said.
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Timber bridge between Greenpoint and Long Island City gets support from local politicians

Rendering via CRÈME / Jun Aizaki Architecture and Design

February 14, 2019

Timber bridge between Greenpoint and Long Island City gets support from local politicians

6sqft reported last May on a proposal for a civic design project aimed at reconnecting the neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Long Island City. Brooklyn-based studio CRÈME's concept, called Timber Bridge at LongPoint Corridor, calls for constructing a floating bridge made of durable timber that would span Newtown Creek and expand past it to the LIRR rail yard in LIC. Not only would the new bridge provide greater access to transit options, but, according to the design team, Timber Bridge would give cyclists and pedestrians a safer commute than the car-jammed Pulaski Bridge. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that this grassroots initiative is now just a bit closer to becoming a reality with the creation of a nonprofit and new support from local civic leaders.
Bridge love, this way

Architecture And Design

February 13, 2019

For $849K, this Westchester geodesic dome home offers energy efficiency and endless views

Just 45 minutes from Manhattan, this three-bedroom home in the Westchester County, N.Y. village of Pleasantville, asking $849,000, sits on a 40-foot granite rock cliff. Though that alone might make it a standout property, the 2,519-square-foot home is a geodesic dome, built by the dome kit experts at American Ingenuity, according to Curbed. The current owners built the home to follow their dream of building a geodesic dome within an hour of NYC, with a view, close to town and the Metro North commuter train. Its construction far exceeded the building codes at the time while making it 50 percent more energy efficient than a regular house.
Get a closer look

February 13, 2019

Landmarks approves Snøhetta’s new designs for Phillip Johnson’s 550 Madison Avenue

In December, 6sqft reported that architecture firm Snøhetta had unveiled a preservationist-friendly revision to a controversial design for an updated AT&T building at 550 Madison Avenue; last month brought more details from the firm's proposal that was submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). The most recent design is one of several revisions, each followed by controversy over being seen by preservationists as diverting too much from the building’s original design by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. Yesterday LPC approved the new preservation-friendly designs–with some modifications. The office tower is now on track to reopen in 2020.
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February 13, 2019

New renderings for Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed redevelopment of One Madison Avenue