Architecture And Design

If you love architecture and urban design from historic to contemporary, there has never been a better time to join Open House New York for a rare weekend of access to typically off limits sites. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, this year’s OHNY will take place on Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15, opening up more than 200 buildings and projects across the five boroughs for tours and talks with architects, urban planners, preservationists, and city leaders. OHNY has just released a sneak preview of the program, which includes a tour of SHoP Architects' American Copper Buildings and their iconic skybridge, a peek inside the artifacts and archival gems at the New York Transit Museum Archives, the Bridge at Cornell Tech at the university's new Roosevelt Island Campus, and the new global headquarters of West Elm.
This way for a sneak peak at what’s in store this year for OHNY

September 12, 2017

Loci Architecture took this 1878 Carroll Gardens brownstone and decked it out with wood

The Manhattan-based firm Loci Architecture took plenty of care in the renovation of this historic Carroll Gardens townhouse, which dates back to 1878. (According to the firm, the home was once occupied by the last queen of Sikkim, a northeastern state of India.) In a complete renovation and rear extension, Loci completely decked the interior out with wood--everything from salvaged pine, to Douglass Fir, to reclaimed barn timbers. Wood floors, ceiling beams, built ins, and storage space make for a warm, textural interior.
Now go see the finishes

September 11, 2017

VIDEO: Drone footage shows construction of ODA’s massive Rheingold Brewery site

Slated to be the largest influx of housing created in Bushwick ever, ODA Architect’s two projects on the old Rheingold Brewery site continue to progress. Rabsky Group’s 10 Montieth Street, a nearly 400,000-square-foot, seven-story building with 392 units, just topped out. And All Year Management’s impressive development, totaling one million square feet, at 123 Melrose Street is currently being clad. Overall, the two projects will span three full city blocks.
Watch the video

September 11, 2017

News journalist Linda Ellerbee lists her historic West Village townhouse for $10.75M

After finding this incredible townhouse at 17 Saint Luke's Place–one of 15 identical Italianate row houses built in the 1850s on land owned by the Trinity Church--in the New York Times real estate section 40+ years ago, legendary journalist Linda Ellerbee knew she had to have it, even though it was above her budget. "I bought the house 30 minutes after touring it," she told LL NYC. "It was like every movie I had ever seen growing up about what it was like to live in Greenwich Village in a brownstone." But now that her children are grown and she plans to spend most of her time in the Berkshires and Puerto Vallarta, she's decided to list the well-renovated and well-preserved home for $10.75 million.
See what's upstairs and downstairs

September 11, 2017

David Rockefeller’s 75-acre Westchester estate asks $22M

Some call it the end of an era of understated wealth. David Rockefeller, philanthropist, art collector and former CEO of Chase Manhattan bank–and the last surviving grandson of oil baron John D. Rockefeller–died in March at the age of 101. His properties have been up for sale since then, including his legendary art collection featuring works by Matisse, Cezanne, Gauguin, Seurat, and Picasso that headed for auction at Christie’s, his Upper East Side townhouse with an ask of $33 million and a retreat in Maine asking $19 million. The billionaire’s treasured Westchester estate, Hudson Pines, has just been listed at $22 million. Only 45 minutes from New York City, the property, which was home to the aforementioned art collection as well as the owner's antique carriage collection and his collection of 250,000 beetle specimens–Rockefeller was an avid entomologist–seems a world away from the bustle of daily life.
Find out more about this magical estate

September 11, 2017

Live in an octagon-shaped, Victorian style home in Westchester for $40,000 a month

The listing goes right ahead and calls this "one of the most visually unique homes in the world," and it'd be hard to argue with that. This is known as the Armour–Stiner House, or the Carmer Octagon House, a unique octagon-shaped and domed Victorian style home located in Irvington, a town of Westchester County. It was built in 1860 by financier Paul J. Armour, enlarged between 1872 and 1876, and is now the only known residence constructed in the eight-sided, domed colonnaded shape of a classic Roman Temple. The current owner, Joseph Pell Lombardi, a preservation architect with his own firm, has listed it for rent asking a hefty $40,000 a month.
See the breathtaking interior

Photo via Kev Harb on Flickr

September 8, 2017

Penn Station’s foul bathrooms will get much-needed upgrades

After announcing the official end of the “summer of hell” last week, Amtrak said the next thing on their to-do list is to finally fix the disgusting and dilapidated bathrooms at Penn Station. Both men’s and women’s bathrooms at the busiest transit center in the country will be refurbished beginning this fall, as the New York Times reported.
Find out more

New renderings and construction photos reveal full design of Jean Nouvel’s 53W53 ‘MoMA tower’

Central Park View; Rendering by Hayes Davidson

September 7, 2017

New renderings and construction photos reveal full design of Jean Nouvel’s 53W53 ‘MoMA tower’

6sqft checked in almost a year ago on starchitect Jean Nouvel's MoMA-adjacent tower, 53W53 at 53 West 53rd Street, when photos from the Billionaires’ Row construction site showed the building getting the first of its intricate diagrid skin. Construction on the 82-story building recently reached the 58th floor, and newly-released renderings and construction photos show the full design of the 1,050-foot-tall tapered tower, which will have interiors by celebrated designer Thierry Despont, from crown to ground level. The new images also show how the Museum of Modern Art will have three new gallery levels within the tower's base on floors 2, 4 and 5.
Check out the renderings and photos this way

Albo Liberis’ Red Hook office concept proposes a colorful kaleidoscope next to the BQE

All concept renderings via Albo Liberis

September 6, 2017

Albo Liberis’ Red Hook office concept proposes a colorful kaleidoscope next to the BQE

Unusual and flashy aren't words that come to mind when describing the industrial architecture of Red Hook, but a new proposal from the architects at Albo Liberis wants to infuse some colorful personality into the relatively sleepy waterfront 'hood. First spotted by CityRealty, the firm published renderings for a kaleidescope-looking, glassy office building at 150 Mill Street, right next to the BQE and less than a five-minute walk from Ikea and the NYC Ferry stop. And though the renderings are merely conceptual at this point (no permits have been filed), they certainly think outside the box, complete with a festive roof deck, their signature diaganal angles, and ground-floor retail.
More renderings right this way

East Village’s $3.5M rooftop cottage finds a buyer in just over a month

6sqft marveled earlier this summer at the utter coolness of the two-unit, three-story property that atop the building at 72 East 1st Street in the East Village. The unit arrived on the market for $3.5 million in June; its top floor is comprised of one of the city’s handful of rare rooftop cabins and cottages. The Nantucket-style cottage is an artists’ studio, with a full-floor penthouse duplex below. Rare and cool clearly count for a lot, because the property has already entered contract at its asking price according to the listing site (h/t Curbed).
Take a look at how these unique homes are laid out

August 31, 2017

Simple geometry connects Janson Goldstein’s sleek Hudson guesthouse with its hillside locale

Nestled within a four-acre hillside property just outside the upstate town of Hudson, this striking guesthouse and pool were built to complement an existing contemporary home. The work is by the design firm Janson Goldstein, who placed the 950-square-foot structure smack dab in the middle of a new meadow. The building is simple, clean and modern, clad in wooden slats, but the locale makes this a visually stunning addition to the property.
Tour the site

Architecture And Design

August 29, 2017

For $1.85M, live in Mark Twain’s former Connecticut farmhouse

Known as “Jean’s Farm,” the 18-acre Connecticut property that literary great Mark Twain bought for his daughter in 1909, is for sale for $1.85 million. Located in Redding, the estate at 325 Redding Road includes a farmhouse built in 1787, an antique barn and a studio. While it has been recently renovated, the sprawling estate maintains its rustic charms (h/t TODAY.com). Residents of the five-bedroom, three and a half bathroom home have access to lots of open space and greenery, as well as a heated gunite pool.
See the sprawling estate

August 29, 2017

Young Projects used interior gardens to combine three floors at a Tribeca penthouse

Brooklyn architecture firm Young Projects is known for transforming New York properties in inventive and visually stunning ways--just look at how they upended the traditional townhouse for this Williamsburg project. For their Hudson Street Residence project, the firm took the top three levels of a Tribeca building and created a gorgeous 13,000-square-foot penthouse apartment tied together by interior garden courts and topped with a striking roof garden. A continuous cast aluminum surface--which the firm specially designed for this project--gracefully weaves together each living space of the residence.
You have to see these outdoor space

3 Hudson Boulevard gets new spire-less rendering as construction commences

Rendering via FXFOWLE/Moinian Group (L); Current construction shot via CityRealty (R)

August 29, 2017

3 Hudson Boulevard gets new spire-less rendering as construction commences

Earlier this month, a new view of 3 Hudson Boulevard added a 300-foot spire, bringing its total height to 1,350 and setting it up to become the tallest tower in Hudson Yards and the fifth tallest in the entire city. However, CityRealty has uncovered another new rendering of the FXFOWLE-designed supertall, which was posted at the work site now that construction has commenced, and noticeably absent is the spire. While the superlative height isn't confirmed, the new rendering does maintain the updated design of a five-story retail podium, tapered body, terraces and "sky gardens," and a rooftop terrace surrounded by glass windscreens.
More details ahead

August 28, 2017

19th century Hudson River estate built for an Astor gets a price cut to $20M

This incredible 290-acre estate was built in 1851 for Franklin Hughes Delano (whose great-nephew was Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and Laura Eugenia Astor (granddaughter of John Jacob Astor, known as the nation’s first multi-millionaire). The property was listed last summer for $22 million by its current owners, the investor Martin Sosnoff and his wife Toni. Now it's just gotten a price cut to $20 million. That will get you a 17,000-square-foot mansion with 28 rooms, 10 full bathrooms, 18-foot coffered ceilings and 16 fireplaces, along with rolling, green hills, a guesthouse, gardener’s cottage, equestrian center, and pool house. After 133 years in Astor and Delano ownership, the property--known as Atalanta--is looking for its next buyer.
Go inside the lavish home

A Guide to the gilded age mansions of 5th Avenue’s Millionaire Row – Part II

Mrs. Astor’s House on 65th Street and Fifth Avenue. Image via Library of Congress

August 28, 2017

A Guide to the gilded age mansions of 5th Avenue’s Millionaire Row – Part II

By Michelle Young

Last week, 6sqft went through the many mansions, predominately lost, along Millionaire's Row on Fifth Avenue up to 59th Street. Most of this stretch has been converted into upscale luxury retail and corporate skyscrapers, but Millionaire's Row continued northwards along Central Park, which opened in 1857. Though some have been lost, a significant number of these opulent Gilded Age mansions still stand within this more residential zone. The AIA Guide to New York City calls this area of Fifth Avenue from 59th Street to 78th Street the "Gold Coast," and rightly so. Walking up 5th Avenue, you'll first pass the decadent Sherry-Netherland Hotel with its recently uncovered 1927 Beaux-Arts mural and the Stanford White-designed Metropolitan Club, founded by J.P. Morgan in 1891 for friends who were rejected from the old-money Knickerbocker Club. But even before the construction of the Metropolitan Club, a mansion was rising less than a block away on 61st Street and Fifth Avenue.
Find out more about these incredible mansions here

August 25, 2017

James Wagman Architect designed this East Village apartment around a custom helix staircase

This 1,410-square-foot apartment in the East Village, owned by sculptor Yvonne Hananel, is the work of the Manhattan-based firm James Wagman Architects. Their client needed a reconfiguration of the interior to improve its "circulation" and increase the livable square footage for studio space. The entire pad got upgraded, then the architect added a custom-designed, open helix staircase not only as the focal point but as a way to open up more floor space. As for the design, Hananel kept it minimalist. “By keeping the walls white and uncluttered, everything from the green leaves of my ficus trees to the colorful books on the shelves stand out in high relief,” she told Houzz.
Hear more about this East Village reno

August 25, 2017

Whitney museum architect Marcel Breuer designed this $1.6M modern stone home in Connecticut

Acclaimed modernist architect Marcel Breuer is perhaps best known in New York for designing the original Whitney Museum of Art, now home to the Met Breuer. But his work wasn't limited to iconic museums--he also designed homes, like this one in Orange, Connecticut. The 4,000-square-foot abode known as the Donald N. Clark House was built in the 1950s with stone, ceilings of wood, and open, airy patios. The owner has also filled the house, as well as the 5.5-acre property, with unique artwork and sculptures. And it could be yours for $1.6 million.
Take a look inside

$2B redevelopment of Times Square’s Palace Theater gets new renderings

Rendering of the Palace Theatre entrance via Maefield Development

August 24, 2017

$2B redevelopment of Times Square’s Palace Theater gets new renderings

Two years since the plan’s approval by the LPC, the redevelopment of the historic Palace Theatre at 1568 Broadway is nearly ready to take off. The theater will be raised 29 feet above its current level, making room for 70,000 square feet of new retail and entertainment space. With help earlier this month from L&L Holding Company, who became an equity and development partner, the ambitious project continues to progress; as CityRealty discovered, new renderings show the theater enveloped by an expanded Doubletree Guest Suites hotel, a new glass facade, and a sweeping LED screen at its podium. And though the gilded Beaux-Arts interiors will be preserved (they're interior landmarks), some preservationists have expressed concerns that moving the actual structure is a bit too aggressive.
Find out more

August 24, 2017

Hamptons estate that was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s inspiration for ‘The Great Gatsby’ asks $17M

F. Scott Fitzgerald's cult-classic novel "The Great Gatsby," about hard-partying Long Island millionaires in the '20s, was inspired by actual soirees the author attended at mansions along the North Shore, aka the Gold Coast. One such locale, a French Normandy-style residence on Sands Point known as the Rumsey-Harriman Estate, is said to have inspired the book's fictional East Egg, and as the Post first reported it's just hit the market for $16,880,000. Designed in 1928 by none other than McKim, Mead & White, the 5.3-acre waterfront property was owned by Junior League founder Mary Harriman Rumsey, whose father was railroad tycoon E.H. Harriman and brother New York governor W. Averell Harriman. Fitzgerald spent a good deal of time at the home with Rumsey and her family, widely believed to have inspired Gatsby.
Take a tour

BFDO Architects renovated this Brooklyn rowhouse to capture light from every corner

Photo courtesy of BFDO Architects

August 23, 2017

BFDO Architects renovated this Brooklyn rowhouse to capture light from every corner

Photo courtesy of BFDO Architects Brooklyn townhouses aren't exactly known for their light-filled, modern interiors. But BFDO Architects (aka Barker Freeman Architects) had the opportunity to completely re-imagine this 20-foot wood-frame home, which came with a four-foot-wide side yard as well as front and rear extensions. The goal: bring in light wherever possible and bring textures to the exterior and interior in the forms of natural wood, gray tones, and graphic tile patterns. The firm "selectively carved and expanded" each room, adding skylights and window walls to create a super bright, super open house that welcomes you inside.
Time to go in

Construction Update: SHoP’s first Domino Sugar Factory building approaches completion

Image by CityRealty

August 23, 2017

Construction Update: SHoP’s first Domino Sugar Factory building approaches completion

By Diane Pham

Just over one year ago, 6sqft reported on the initial climb of 325 Kent Avenue, the first tower of the SHoP-designed Domino Sugar Refinery master plan slated for the Williamsburg waterfront. Now, CityRealty shares that the building is nearly finished with its distinct, upside-down U-formation standing tall. When complete, the 189-foot, 400,000-square-foot building will be the second largest residential structure in the neighborhood (just after 2 North 6th Street), fronted by a spectacular 11-acre park designed by James Corner Field Operations that will open next summer.
see more photos

August 22, 2017

For $3M, a sprawling 1930s Tudor on Staten Island with pool and greenhouse

The Staten Island enclave of Emerson Hill is one of the borough's most sought after thanks to tree-lined, winding roads, its secluded hill-top location offering panoramic views of New York Harbor, and, an impressive collection of just about 100 grand, historic estates. One such residence, a Tudor manor house located at 2 Emerson Drive, is currently on the market for $2,995,000 (h/t CIRCA). At an impressive, 5,000 square feet, the home is full of period details such as spider web stained glass, moldings and paneling galore, hand-carved fireplace mantles, and beamed ceilings. Plus, outside there's a large in-ground pool and a Gothic greenhouse, all surrounded by beautiful gardens.
Take the full tour

Zaha Hadid’s futuristic 520 West 28th Street gets rental listings, from $15,000/month

520 West 28th Street via Zaha Hadid Architects

August 22, 2017

Zaha Hadid’s futuristic 520 West 28th Street gets rental listings, from $15,000/month