Architecture And Design

Right on schedule for a June opening, developer Silverstein Properties took the lead in celebrating on Monday the highly anticipated opening of 3 World Trade Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Led by CEO Larry Silverstein, the morning celebration at 3 World Trade Center at 175 Greenwich Street marked the official completion of four of the five buildings in the new World Trade Center complex. With nearly 40 percent of the building leased on opening day, the 80-floor tower designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners rises to 1,079 feet. "Starting with 7 WTC and the rest of the towers that followed, we sought to create modern, environmentally-conscious and technologically-advanced offices," Larry Silverstein, the chairman of Silverstein Properties, said in a statement. "Places that foster creativity where young people would want to work and collaborate. That meant great architecture and sustainable design, but also improved transportation, a more vibrant streetscape, new shops and restaurants, great public spaces, and exciting and fun public space art."
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INTERVIEW: Lighting designer Joel Fitzpatrick on his desire to permanently illuminate Manhattan

Aurora at 277 Fifth Avenue, courtesy of Victor Group and Lendlease

June 8, 2018

INTERVIEW: Lighting designer Joel Fitzpatrick on his desire to permanently illuminate Manhattan

Joel Fitzpatrick is a master of many trades. He has a diverse background in theater, fashion, interior design, and dance but the one common element through everything he does is light. Fitzpatrick started as a sculptor but yearned for more collaboration and found that through lighting. In his most recent work, a dynamic, multicolored light show called "Aurora" for Rafael Viñoly's 277 Fifth Avenue, his career has come full circle. After feeling the cosmos pulsate with the northern lights, there was no turning back. Now Fitzpatrick dreams of building an outdoor light show to permanently shine on the Manhattan skyline. 6sqft recently talked to Fitzpatrick, who shines a light on how his past informed his present and what to expect from him in the future.
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June 8, 2018

Progress, pricing and new renderings for David Adjaye’s 130 William Street skyscraper

Back in April 6sqft reported on the progress of British-Ghanian architect David Adjaye's first NYC skyscraper at 130 William street, with the nearly-800-foot tower at street level and rising. Adjaye, who has achieved international renown for projects like the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and named one of TIME’s 2017 most influential people, was inspired by the historic masonry architecture of the Financial District for the new building's anything-but-ordinary design. And we're now seeing more of that design: The New York Times reveals information on what the pricing for the building's 800 units is likely to be once sales launch, along with some new renderings of its unique architecture and interiors.
Let's hear those prices. And when can we move in?

June 7, 2018

$3.7M historic Hamilton Heights townhouse hits the market for the first time in 50 years

Here's a rare opportunity to own one of the gorgeous neo-Tudor townhouses on Convent Avenue in Hamilton Heights. Built in 1890 and offered for the first time in 50 years, 327 Convent Avenue is asking $3.7 million. Located a gorgeous block steeped in history (Alexander Hamilton's country estate was originally just one block away), this six-bedroom home is nearly 5,000 square feet with tons of original details and a sun-drenched backyard.
Get a look inside

June 6, 2018

Rafael Viñoly reveals new renderings of ‘Auto Row’ office addition

Historically, Auto Row, the stretch of eleventh in the 50s, has been somewhat a no-man's land to most, save for those rare New Yorkers who own a car. But with Hudson Yards pushing development westward, it's now coming out of the shadows. One of these projects is Rafael Viñoly Architects' addition to 787 Eleventh Avenue, an Art Deco industrial building that was originally home to the Packard Motor Company when it opened in 1927 to the designs of Albert Kahn. Viñoly's $100 million commission is adding two stories off office space to the top of the eight-story building, converting the other floors to commercial space, and retaining the current auto dealerships on the lower five levels. It's been more than two years since the first renderings were revealed, and now the firm has released an additional batch that show aerial views of the addition, more office views, and a closer look at the 12,000-square-foot roof deck.
More details and renderings ahead

City’s Gowanus rezoning draft calls for more public space, residential development

The banks of the Gowanus. Image courtesy of Department of City Planning

June 6, 2018

City’s Gowanus rezoning draft calls for more public space, residential development

Attempts to rezone the area surrounding the Gowanus Canal, a neighborhood both affluent and in transition, have been in the works for over a decade. Now, Brownstoner reports, the long-anticipated Draft Planning and Land Use Framework of Gowanus has just been released by the Department of City Planning (DCP). The 188-page report is the result of 100 hours of outreach since the launch of the Gowanus PLACES Study in 2016 as well as information contained in a previous Bridging Gowanus Study released in 2014.
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Architecture And Design

Amazing aerial photos show One Vanderbilt’s ascent

Photo by Max Touhey

June 6, 2018

Amazing aerial photos show One Vanderbilt’s ascent

Construction of SL Green's supertall One Vanderbilt continues to push forward, with the steel erection on the 16th floor now complete. By the end of the year, the developer expects to reach the 30th floor of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed, 1,401-foot skyscraper, which will become the city's second tallest skyscraper when completed in 2020. A fresh set of aerial photos of the tower provide a new perspective of the surrounding buildings, including neighboring Grand Central Terminal. And with even more sky-high news, SL Green reportedly announced that tickets to One Vanderbilt's 1,000-foot observatory will cost about $39, or $5 more than that of One WTC.
See the pictures

Photo credit: Daniel Levin

June 6, 2018

REVEALED: First look at Williamsburg’s Domino Park ahead of Sunday opening

Two Trees Management announced today that Domino Park, the long-awaited new waterfront recreational public space at the 11-acre Domino Sugar Factory site, will celebrate its grand opening this Sunday, June 10. In April, 6sqft revealed renderings of the new park and esplanade that will anchor the three-million-square-foot Williamsburg mega-development at the Domino Sugar Factory site, designed by James Corner Field Operations (of the High Line fame). The quarter-mile long public park, located just north of the Williamsburg Bridge, celebrates the history of one of the city's most iconic industrial waterfront sites with adaptively reused syrup tanks, warehouse columns, and original cranes (now painted the park's signature turquoise color "untealed"). There will also be a taco kiosk from Danny Meyer, a water feature, bocce courts, and a children's playground designed by Mark Reigelman as a reinterpretation of the original factory.
Check out industrial artifacts, water features and more

June 5, 2018

$1.2M 18th-century stone mill in NJ was transformed into a home full of original details

Less than 50 miles from NYC, a piece of history is for sale for $1,175,000 in Hackettstown, New Jersey (h/t CIRCA). The landmark Beattystown Stone Mill, built around 1750, was redesigned, reconstructed, and renovated by Yale architect/owner Charles Buckley, in the 1980s. Sitting above the Musconetcong River in Warren County on over 1,500 feet of river frontage, this incredibly unique home with four bedrooms has almost 6,000 square feet of open concept, loft-style living space with exposed hewn ceiling beams and structural and sculptural beams, stone walls, an entire wall of glass, and even the original millrace that still flows under the living room!
You have to see inside

Why is Woodlawn Cemetery carving its trees into animals?

By Stephanie Hoina

Opened in 1863, and long known as the final resting place of some of history’s most notable figures-- Irving Berlin, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Robert Moses, F.W. Woolworth, and Herman Melville, to name a few--the Bronx’s Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservatory is also home to many treasures of the living variety. When one of Woodlawn's trees (of which there are a whopping 140 different species!) meets its ultimate fate, the cemetery doesn't merely bury it but rather celebrates its life by carving it into an animal that can be found on the grounds.
Find out the meaning behind this tradition

June 1, 2018

Own a pair of 1840s clapboard houses in Clinton Hill for $4.4M

Wooden houses are certainly dispersed throughout Brooklyn, but it's a rare opportunity when one hits the market. A few months ago, we uncovered a listing for Crown Heights' oldest home, a circa-1850s wood frame. Now, a pair of rare clapboard homes have hit the market in Clinton Hill and they're even older. Numbers 448 and 450 Waverly Avenue are thought to have been built in the 1840s or even earlier, according to the neighborhood's designation report. "The unusual pair of extremely wide (25 feet) clapboard houses" are the only example of pure Greek Revival buildings in the district, and they can be yours, individually or together for $4.4 million.
Take the tour

June 1, 2018

New, permanent public pool coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park

A conceptual rendering of the pool via Brooklyn Bridge Park After five years of having a pop-up pool at Pier 2, Brooklyn Heights is getting its own permanent public pool. This morning, Brooklyn Bridge Park officially announced plans to build a pool at Squibb Park, above Pier 1 near the Pierhouse condo. Together with the NYC Parks Department, BBP will develop, operate and maintain the pool and future amenities. Tentatively, the pool is scheduled to open in 2020, with community planning sessions to be held this summer and fall ahead of issuing a Request for Design Proposals.
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Architecture And Design

May 31, 2018

New 9/11 Memorial monument honors first responders exposed to Ground Zero toxins

Sixteen years ago as of yesterday, the rescue and recovery effort for the September 11th attacks ended. It's estimated that 400,000 people were exposed to life-threatening toxins, and since then, nearly 70,000 first responders and more than 14,000 survivors have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program. Yesterday, former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart and 9/11 Memorial & Museum president Alice Greenwald revealed the official design for Memorial Glade, a monument to all those who have lost their lives or are sick due to these related illnesses. In addition to increasing awareness about the health crisis, the memorial will also "recognize the tremendous capacity of the human spirit, as exemplified during the rescue, recovery and relief efforts following the 9/11 attacks."
Learn about the design

May 31, 2018

202-year-old Soho rowhouse lists for just under $8M

Here's a chance to own one of the oldest homes in Manhattan, and likely the oldest home in the neighborhood, for $7.75 million (h/t Curbed). The Federal-style rowhouse at 57 Sullivan Street was built in 1816 and throughout its 200+ year-history it's served as a microcosm for the diversity of the neighborhood, first owned by a local mason, then by both Irish and Italian immigrants, and most recently by a couple who fought the property's inevitable landmarking in 2016.
Check it out

May 30, 2018

Just an hour outside NYC, this historic NJ ‘bank house’ is less than $350K

Just over an hour's drive west of Midtown, in Lebanon Township, NJ, this three-story, three bedroom house is asking just $347,000 (h/t CIRCA). And though it's priced much less than most Manhattan studios, it sits on nearly nine acres of land. For sale for the first time in 35 years, the circa 1810 Bank House has a modern kitchen and baths and a third-floor addition, but retains its vintage charm with preserved interior period details such as hand-hewn beamed ceilings, wide-plank pine floors, deep window wells, a wood-burning fireplace, and Jersey winder stairs.
Look around

May 30, 2018

Controversial expansion of the Frick Collection hits another road block

All renderings courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects The planned expansion of the Frick Collection is delayed again after the Landmarks Preservation Commission decided Tuesday to not vote on the project, following hours of public testimony. Dozens of neighborhood advocates, preservationists and museum goers attended the hearing to discuss the Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects-designed expansion, which would include 60,000 square feet of repurposed space and 27,000 square feet of new construction. The plan would expand the existing Upper East Side building's second level, add two set-back stories above the music room and an addition behind the Frick Art Reference Library. According to Curbed NY, critics of the expansion said the additions would be too large and block the design of the existing library. Despite a presentation from head architect Annabelle Selldorf, no decision was made about whether to grant the $160 million project its certificate of appropriateness.
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May 25, 2018

For $5M, own the private Potato Island with a 90-minute commute to NYC

Own your very own private island that feels like it’s a million miles away, or at least off the coast of Maine, but is actually off the shore of Connecticut for only $4.9 million (h/t Mansion Global). With the not-at-all charming name of Potato Island, named for a group of potato-looking boulders near the shore (you say potato, we say po-tentially change that name!), this private island is part of the Thimble Islands, an archipelago of small islands, 23 of which are inhabitable, in the Long Island Sound in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut.
Get a look at island life

May 24, 2018

Proposal revealed for new public park on the Gowanus Canal’s Salt Lot

The Salt Lot is a triangular piece of land just south of the point at which all three branches of the Gowanus Canal meet. The city-owned site hosts a NYC Compost Project facility, as well as the Gowanus Canal Conservancy's nursery and educational facilities. However, the EPA has mandated a new four-million-gallon retention tank be placed there to manage combined sewer overflow. Gowanus by Design (GbD) saw this new infrastructure requirement as a catalyst for sparking conversation about much needed public urban space in the area. They've therefore created a conceptual proposal for the Gowanus Salt Lot Public Park, which includes three buildings constructed with materials that reference the Canal's industrial history, along with sloping hills and wetlands.
More details and renderings ahead

Architecture And Design

May 24, 2018

A restored 1920s Arts and Crafts log bungalow is asking $2M in Stamford, CT

Originally built in 1904, “Orient Lodge” is a restored Arts and Crafts compound on Saw Mill Pond that looks like it belongs on an Adirondack lake. The original 40-acre lot housed a saw and grist mill, dating from 1825. Legend has it that the owner cut down chestnut trees on the site to build the house. The lot has since been reduced to just over two acres but it still has an estate feel and is now up for sale asking $1,950,000 (h/t CIRCA). Not only will that get you the three-story main house--which has been fittingly outfitted with historic Asian features--but a detached two-car garage with deck, a separate cottage, and the original landscaping.
Tour the whole property

May 23, 2018

Go off-the-grid glamping at the Catskills’ Eastwind Hotel

Off-the-grid, A-frame huts are all the rage in the Catskills. Last week, we wrote about Bjarke Ingels' triangular prefab "inspired by the Catskills." Now, another appearance makes the news as the Eastwind Hotel reopens June 1st. Just two hours north of New York City, Eastwind was originally built in the 1920s as a bunkhouse for hunters, fly fishermen, and outdoor enthusiasts. The hotel reopens in a few weeks with 19 rooms and three A-frame, glamping huts nestled in the woods.
Get a look around

May 23, 2018

Study looks at the tallest buildings ever demolished and confirms 270 Park Avenue will top the list

Back in February, 6sqft reported that the Union Carbide Building at 270 Park Avenue–currently the JP Morgan Chase headquarters–was set to be the largest intentionally demolished building in history when plans move forward to replace the 700-foot-tall structure with a tower that will likely rise to over 1,200 feet. ArchDaily brings us a study done by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) that looks at the 100 tallest buildings ever to be demolished by their owners. The study, aptly titled, "Tallest Demolished Buildings," confirms that if the current plans move forward, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's 270 Park Avenue would indeed become the tallest to go down–and the first over 200 meters in height.
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Daniel Libeskind will redesign a new star for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Image via Swarovski

May 18, 2018

Daniel Libeskind will redesign a new star for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Swarovski has tapped architect Daniel Libeskind to redesign a new star to top the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, the first time it will be replaced in 14 years. Libeskind, who is best known for designing the master site plan for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, called the star "a symbol that represents our greatest ambitions for hope, unity and peace." According to Architectural Digest, Libeskind's geometric, angular designs made him an easy choice as the new topper's designer.
Get the sparkling details

Proposal calls for a floating pedestrian bridge to connect Greenpoint and Long Island City

Rendering via CRÈME / Jun Aizaki Architecture and Design

May 17, 2018

Proposal calls for a floating pedestrian bridge to connect Greenpoint and Long Island City

A Kickstarter campaign launched on Thursday for a civic design project aimed at reconnecting the neighborhoods of Greenpoint and Long Island City and the residents who live there. Brooklyn-based studio CRÈME/ Jun Aizaki Architecture & Design's concept, called Timber Bridge at LongPoint Corridor, calls for constructing a floating bridge made of durable timber that would sit on Newtown Creek and expand past to the LIRR rail yard in LIC. Not only would it provide people greater access to transit options, according to the design team, Timber Bridge would give bikers and pedestrians a safer commute than the Pulaski Bridge, a less-than-ideal path with lots of cars.
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Architecture And Design

May 17, 2018

$5.5M converted firehouse could be Long Island City’s most expensive sale