Architecture And Design

Wood-Clad Long Island home by Bates Masi takes inspiration from Quaker architecture
October 4, 2016

Wood-Clad Long Island home by Bates Masi takes inspiration from Quaker architecture

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Simplicity, humility and inner focus were key to early Quaker architecture, principles that also inspired Bates Masi + Architects' latest project. The beautiful Underhill home sits in Matinecock, a village within Oyster Bay, Long Island, on the site of an old Quaker settlement. It's composed of a series of interconnected wooden pavilions topped by angled gabled roofs, "each one focused inward on its own garden courtyard instead of out to the surrounding neighbors," according to the firm.
Learn more about this Quaker-inspired home
Geometric sound-absorbing wall panels are made from wood wool
October 3, 2016

Geometric sound-absorbing wall panels are made from wood wool

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Made from wood wool, a mix of leftover wood chips, cement, water and pigments, these sound absorbing wall panels come in assorted colors and shapes that can be arranged and re-arranged, turning any cookie-cutter apartment into a unique space. Designed by Swedish studio Form Us With Love and known as BAUX Träullit, they're a great example of how construction materials can also be functional and stunning.
Learn more about this lovely wall piece
Flood regulations may thwart plan to convert Lower Manhattan public spaces to retail
October 3, 2016

Flood regulations may thwart plan to convert Lower Manhattan public spaces to retail

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When plans surfaced last March for a rezoning of the Financial District that would allow property owners to bring in retail tenants to the underutilized public plazas and walkways at the base of their buildings, it was met with mixed reviews. While some felt it would increase foot traffic and create a more vibrant street presence, others thoughts it would result in a loss of public space, but a gain for developers. These concerns may be a moot point, however, as Crain's brings news today that the plan could be "upended by federal flood regulations being applied to more areas of the city since Superstorm Sandy."
What's the deal?
$5.75M Federal rowhouse in the West Village was once owned by Aaron Burr
October 3, 2016

$5.75M Federal rowhouse in the West Village was once owned by Aaron Burr

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It seems the hype of "Hamilton" the musical is having an affect on the real estate market. Just five months ago, the former East Village home of Alexander Hamilton, Jr. sold for $10 million, and now a rowhouse across town in the West Village that was once owned by Aaron Burr, who famously killed his father, is hitting the market for $5.75 million. The Post reports that the charming brick, Federal-style home at 17 Commerce Street sits on land that Burr owned just north of his country estate during the turn of the 18th century.
More history and a look through the house
Historic upstate property with 15 acres sells itself as a $915K getaway for New Yorkers
October 2, 2016

Historic upstate property with 15 acres sells itself as a $915K getaway for New Yorkers

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This property is being sold as the perfect haven for a New Yorker who needs an escape upstate. Located at 287 Marcott Road, in Stone Ridge, it's a sprawling 15 acres that's just 80 minutes from Manhattan and 20 minutes from the Amtrak station. On all that land is an 1800s stone structure, which has been renovated and is used as the main house, a heated in-ground pool and a guest house, all surrounded by forest. And it's asking about the price of a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, $915,000.
Walk the grounds
Hexagonal Frank Lloyd Wright ‘Usonian’ house for sale for $995K in Glen Ridge, New Jersey
September 30, 2016

Hexagonal Frank Lloyd Wright ‘Usonian’ house for sale for $995K in Glen Ridge, New Jersey

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This unique listing should definitely get the attention of modern house lovers and math geeks. One of three remaining New Jersey homes (a fourth was moved to Arkansas in 2014) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is up for sale for $995,000. The home was purchased by the current owners in 1996 and restored to "purists' standards" in 2006. The house follows the architect’s “Usonian” plan which incorporates native materials and strong visual connections between interiors and the exterior landscape.
Check it out
Vishaan Chakrabarti reveals idea to repurpose Madison Square Garden as part of the Penn Station overhaul
September 30, 2016

Vishaan Chakrabarti reveals idea to repurpose Madison Square Garden as part of the Penn Station overhaul

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Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo revealed plans to transform a revamped Penn Station-Moynihan Train Hall complex into a "world-class 21st century transportation hub." Despite the flashy new renderings and promise of a 2020 completion date, not everyone is sold on the plan, including Vishaan Chakrabarti, former principal of SHoP Architects and founder of the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism. As outlined in the Times, he feels that Cuomo's scheme has one glaring omission--Madison Square Garden. Instead of demolishing the arena, as earlier plans had called for, Chakrabarti proposes repurposing it and "using its stripped skeleton to make a glass pavilion, which becomes a neighborhood gathering spot, not just a station." The venue would then move to the west end of the Farley Building.
Lots more details and renderings ahead
Aerial gondola proposed to better connect Staten Island with Manhattan
September 30, 2016

Aerial gondola proposed to better connect Staten Island with Manhattan

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With subway plans stalling and bus service failing, planners are turning their sites to alternate modes of urban transportation such as ferries and aerial gondolas. The latter has picked up steam over the past year thanks to the East River Skyway, which would run along the Brooklyn waterfront and into Manhattan, and it looks like the transit-starved folks over on Staten Island have taken note. Earlier this year, the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation launched a conceptual design competition for an aerial tramway that would better connect the borough to surrounding areas. As Untapped tells us, the winning proposal is a line that runs parallel to the Bayonne Bridge from Elm Park to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail in Bayonne.
Find out more this way
Tishman Speyer officially files plans for Bjarke Ingels’ $3.2B Hudson Yards tower
September 30, 2016

Tishman Speyer officially files plans for Bjarke Ingels’ $3.2B Hudson Yards tower

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Developer Tishman Speyer has officially filed plans with the Department of Buildings for Bjarke Ingels' Hudson Yards tower The Spiral at 509 West 34th Street. As reported by The Real Deal, the filing confirms that the office tower will rise 65 stories and 1,005 feet and encompass 2.2 million square feet. When renderings were first released of the $3.2 billion project, which is distinguished by cascading landscaped terraces and hanging gardens, Ingels said his design "combines the classic ziggurat silhouette of the premodern skyscraper with the slender proportions and efficient layouts of the modern high-rise."
More details ahead
New renderings for JDS and SHoP’s 1,000-foot Lower East Side supertall
September 29, 2016

New renderings for JDS and SHoP’s 1,000-foot Lower East Side supertall

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Last 6sqft checked on the rental building at 247 Cherry Street in the Two Bridges area of the Lower East Side, it was revealed that the tower would rise to 1,000 feet, not surprising considering it comes from the supertall power team of JDS Development and SHoP Architects. And now, after a Community Board 3 meeting earlier this week where JDS and SHoP addressed the controversial project, CityRealty.com brings a new set of renderings that show close-ups of the 77-story building's green terra cotta facade and sky decks.
Check out all the new views
Matt Damon checks out Brooklyn’s most expensive house, a Brooklyn Heights mansion with a mayoral past
September 29, 2016

Matt Damon checks out Brooklyn’s most expensive house, a Brooklyn Heights mansion with a mayoral past

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Way back in February 2015, 3 Pierrepont Place hit the market for $40 million, making it Brooklyn's most expensive listing ever. The Brooklyn Heights Promenade mansion boasts 17,500 square feet, 15 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, and more than 9,000 square feet of garden and outdoor space, in addition to a wealth of period details. Plus it comes with a bit of historic pedigree; it was built in 1857 as the Low Mansion for businessman A.A. Low, whose son, Seth Low, became mayor of Brooklyn, mayor of New York City in 1902, and president of Columbia. Perhaps it's all these bragging rights that attracted Matt Damon, as the Post reports that he and wife Luciana Barroso recently toured the grand property.
See the entire mansion
$1.5B in construction financing secured for Midtown supertall One Vanderbilt
September 28, 2016

$1.5B in construction financing secured for Midtown supertall One Vanderbilt

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It's full steam ahead for SL Green's new Midtown supertall, One Vanderbilt. Early this morning the developer announced it had closed on $1.5 billion in financing for its 1,401-foot, full-block office tower slated to rise directly adjacent to Grand Central Terminal. As SL Green Managing Director, Robert Schiffer expressed in a statement: “Closing on the construction financing means that nothing stands in the way of One Vanderbilt becoming an iconic addition to the Manhattan skyline.”
find out more here
MOON lamp uses NASA-sourced data to replicate lunar phases in your living room
September 27, 2016

MOON lamp uses NASA-sourced data to replicate lunar phases in your living room

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On average we spend almost 90 percent of our time inside, so it comes as no surprise that there are several home-decor products on the market that attempt to mimic different systems in nature to help break up the monotony. The newest addition to this collection is MOON, a small model of the moon that actually uses data sourced from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to position the unit. The MOON model was created by designer Oscar Lhermitte in collaboration with London-based design studio Kudu.
READ MORE
Inside the mind of Ernest Burden, one of New York’s preeminent architectural renderers
September 27, 2016

Inside the mind of Ernest Burden, one of New York’s preeminent architectural renderers

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The art of architectural illustration paints a window into the future and intends to portray a designer's vision or work in its purest, most ideal light. As the art form has progressed from hand mediums to digital, Ernest Burden III and his studio Acme Digital have straddled the industry's dramatic transformation using both computer and manual approaches to inform and improve what they produce. As a renderer with more than 30 years in the industry, Ernest's roster of clients include some of the country's biggest real estate heavyweights, such as the Trump Organization, Related Companies and Tishman-Speyer Properties; and renowned architectural clients like I.M. Pei, Robert A.M. Stern and Kohn Pedersen Fox. Recently, Ernest completed a collection of renderings and detailed vignettes for Toll Brothers' and Barry Rice Architects' 100 Barrow Street. In the series, he effortlessly juxtaposes the timeless intent of the new structure with the energy of the surrounding West Villlage. In fact, Ernest's renderings played a considerable role in the Landmarks Preservation Commission's vote to approve the project in 2014. To learn more about Ernest's unique style and his thoughts on the evolving business and craft of architectural rendering, 6sqft sat down with him for a chat.
read our interview with ernest here
1890s carriage house fronts a glass-walled Gramercy home with six terraces for $16.8M
September 27, 2016

1890s carriage house fronts a glass-walled Gramercy home with six terraces for $16.8M

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A block from Gramercy Park, 150 East 22nd Street lies just outside the borders of the Gramercy Park Historic District, but the property's owners have preserved and restored one of the most substantial carriage houses still in existence in the coveted neighborhood. The original carriage house, commissioned by one Miss E.L. Breese, a prominent New York socialite known for her rare (for the time) level of independence, was constructed in the Neo-Flemish style in 1893. It now functions as a private garage for the home, its uniquely decorative façade enveloping the front of a thoroughly modern five-story townhouse–on the market for $16.8 million–that spans nearly 7,000 square feet and boasts an elevator, six bedrooms and six terraces including an amazing rooftop paradise.
Check out this amazing combination
Could Bjarke Ingels’ floating shipping containers work for student housing in NYC?
September 26, 2016

Could Bjarke Ingels’ floating shipping containers work for student housing in NYC?

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When college students arrive to the big city they often bring with them dreams of glamorous apartments, but they soon get hit the reality of a cramped dorm room covered by student loans or an awkward apartment shared with several strangers. Over in Denmark, where 40,000 beds are needed to accommodate an exploding student population, Kim Loudrup realized the enormity of the student housing shortage (inventory and affordability) and partnered with the country's prodigal son Bjarke Ingels on a new, sustainable student housing design made from floating shipping containers. Called Urban Rigger, they hope this modular idea can extend to other waterfront cities and even solve other housing problems like the refugee crisis.
Could this idea take off here?
1920s stone house built on the cliffs of the Palisades is asking $4.6M
September 26, 2016

1920s stone house built on the cliffs of the Palisades is asking $4.6M

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This 1920s stone house couldn't come with a much better location: built into the cliffs of the Palisades, with sweeping views of the Hudson River. This two-acre property is located at 61 Woods Road in the upstate town of Orangetown, and has just hit the market for $4.6 million. The home boasts long stone terraces that face the water, stone steps that lead to the lower-level lawn, built into the rock face, and a charming guest cottage. The stunning property was also once home to Diane Sawyer and the late Mike Nichols.
Take the grand tour
Greenpoint row house features two-story kitchen and bone-dry wine cellar
September 23, 2016

Greenpoint row house features two-story kitchen and bone-dry wine cellar

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The renovation of this row house, located in Greenpoint's landmarked historic district, was an inspired project right from the get go. The owner's original intention was to sell the home on account of its unstable structure, seasonal flooding, vinyl siding and asbestos laden facade. However, the team at Delson or Sherman Architects convinced them to give the property an architectural facelift instead. From the front facade to the backyard, the property has been majorly upgraded with some beautiful additions including a two-story kitchen and wine cellar.
READ MORE
‘The Barnacle’ is a windshield cover that could replace the parking boot
September 23, 2016

‘The Barnacle’ is a windshield cover that could replace the parking boot

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A Philadelphia native is looking to streamline parking enforcement with a new device that kicks boots to the curb. The “Barnacle,” created by Kevin Dougherty, president of Ideas That Stick, is a device that attaches to a car’s windshield, obstructing a driver’s view and immobilizing the vehicle. It’s a replacement for a parking boot, which the […]

REVEALED: Port Authority releases five design proposals for new bus terminal
September 22, 2016

REVEALED: Port Authority releases five design proposals for new bus terminal

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On Tuesday, an agreement was reached between West Side elected officials and the Port Authority that said the agency would expand the planning process for a new $10 billion bus terminal with more local input. And just today they've revealed the five proposals that were submitted to a design competition to replace the currently loathed site. Crain's brings us videos of the ideas, which come from big-name firms Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Arcadis, AECOM in partnership with Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Perkins Eastman, and Archilier Architecture Consortium. Though this seems counter to the agreement, John Degnan, the Port Authority's New Jersey-appointed chairman, said he doubts "any one of them will be the final design," since they either further complicate existing planning issues or cost billions over budget.
Take a look at them all here
Paul Foeckler creates rustic indoor lighting using reclaimed California firewood
September 22, 2016

Paul Foeckler creates rustic indoor lighting using reclaimed California firewood

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For fireplace-starved apartment dwellers, here's an alternative way to bring in some woodsy warmth as we approach the cooler months. Designer Paul Foeckler's Split Grain lighting collection is made from firewood he forages himself in California and then slices uses a splitting technique that reveals the grain patterns of the cross sections. These intricacies are then highlighted when the light emanates from the sculptural piece.
See more of these beautiful lights
Sales launch at Renzo Piano’s first residential project in NYC
September 21, 2016

Sales launch at Renzo Piano’s first residential project in NYC

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Last we heard from starchitect Renzo Piano's 565 Broome SoHo, his first residential project in the city, it was March and with construction underway, a slew of new renderings came online of the Soho condominium. Now Curbed reports that sales have finally launched at the pair of glassy, 30-story structures, with currently available units ranging from a $990,000 studio to a $6,135,000 two-bedroom (the penthouses and duplexes will top $20 million). Perhaps the most noteworthy tidbit from the press release is that some residences will feature "enormous private terraces with 25-foot private, saltwater pools," which seems to be a growing trend in the luxury market.
More details and new views
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