Architecture And Design

Outspoken starchitect Frank Gehry is taking the whole "I'm moving if Trump wins" thing quite literally. The Canadian-born, LA-based architect told French paper La Croix just before the election that President Francois Hollande assured him he could go into exile in France if Trump became president. But as ArtNet points out, a possible relocation may have more to do with a personal beef than political leanings. In 2010, Gehry's 8 Spruce Street surpassed Trump World Tower as the city's tallest residential building, and we know how feisty the Donald gets when it comes to size...
The rest of the story

November 15, 2016

See new photos inside the world’s tallest modular tower; leasing kicks off at 461 Dean

It's been a long an tumultuous journey for 461 Dean, also know as the B2 tower, and better known as the world's tallest prefab tower. The fire-engine-red stacked building has seen numerous delays in the last four years thanks to lawsuits, leaks, and alignment issues. Its developer Forest City Ratner even opted to exit the modular business last month—although that's not to say that the technology developed is any less valuable (more on that ahead). But now that celebratory champagne bottle can finally be popped, as this afternoon the developer held a grand opening ceremony to kick off the official start of leasing.
more details here

November 15, 2016

Where I Work: Go inside Lite Brite Neon’s colorfully gritty Gowanus workshop and showroom

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we take a tour of the Gowanus studio of Lite Brite Neon. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! Among the manufacturing and arts tenants in the Old American Can Factory, a converted six-building industrial complex at the Gowanus Canal, is Lite Brite Neon, which has been described as "the darling of artists and designers." And after touring their funky workspace/showroom, the description definitely fits. They were founded in 1999 in Brooklyn and have been creating neon art, signage, lighting, and displays ever since, in addition to preserving and restoring historic neon. 6sqft recently got an insider's look at their colorfully gritty home and spoke to lead designer Wayne Heller about how the company functions and what makes neon unique.
Take the tour here

#NotMyAIA: Architects reject AIA statement pledging to ‘work with’ Trump

Promises and reality: Trump’s failed attempts to build the world’s tallest buildings in NYC

November 15, 2016

#NotMyAIA: Architects reject AIA statement pledging to ‘work with’ Trump

. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) issued a statement last Wednesday pledging that "The AIA and its 89,000 members are committed to working with president-elect Trump to address the issues our country faces, particularly strengthening the nation's aging infrastructure." The statement issued by organization chief Robert Ivy assured that the country's architects would help the incoming president and congress with construction industry-related matters: "During the campaign, president-elect Trump called for committing at least $500 billion to infrastructure spending over five years,” said Ivy–possibly providing an imperative for the message. But that does not appear to be reason enough for members, who say they do not necessarily "stand ready to work with him and with the incoming 115th Congress.” A swift and indignant backlash led to an apology by Ivy released early this week.
Read on

November 14, 2016

New York Wheel’s first two pedestals arrive on Staten Island

In early October, the New York Wheel welcomed its four massive legs at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park—the first physical components of the project to find their way to NYC. Now another milestone has been met, as Friday marked the first delivery of parts to the official Staten Island construction site. According a press release, two of the wheel's four pedestals have been unloaded, and another two will arrive later this week.
check out the photos

Architecture And Design

November 11, 2016

432 Park Avenue will become a beacon of light beginning Monday

Just in case you had trouble spotting the Western Hemisphere's tallest residential tower, beginning Monday, 432 Park Avenue will debut a brand new lighting feature that will turn the 1,396-foot supertall into a glowing beacon. As LLNYC reports, 32 LEDs will fill the tower's five open-air "drum floors" where the building's mechanicals are situated. 432 Park's starchitect, Rafael Viñoly, worked with HDLC Architectural Lighting Design to develop the scheme.
more details here

Architecture And Design

November 11, 2016

$70M FXFOWLE-designed Statue of Liberty Museum receives approval

It's full steam ahead for the FXFOWLE-designed Statue of Liberty Museum. Per the Journal, The National Park service approved plans on Wednesday to erect the free-standing structure on Liberty Island. The development team broke ground on the project in early October and at the same time releasing renderings of what would eventually rise on the site. As 6sqft previously reported, the $70 million museum is being helped along by Diane von Furstenberg, who has been named the honorary “godmother” of the project. Von Furstenberg is currently spearheading fundraising efforts for the museum and hopes to secure $100 million from donors for the development. Von Furstenberg, along with her husband Barry Diller, are also in the midst of pushing another civic project forward, Pier55 Park.
find out more here

Architecture And Design

November 11, 2016

Headed for auction, Trump’s childhood home could fetch Queens couple $10M

By Annie Doge

A divorcing couple in Jamaica Estates, Queens just got something new to fight over: proceeds from the sale of their relatively modest six-bedroom Tudor home at 85-15 Wareham Place, which will head for the auction block in the first week in December. The house, which the estranged couple tried to sell for $1.65 million, chopped to $1.2 million, then pulled from the market, just happens to be where President Elect Donald Trump spent his terrible twos, and is expected to fetch at least 10 times that ask at auction, according to the New York Post.
A rising Trump floats at least one boat

Studio Seilern designs boxy, mixed-use tower for West Chelsea’s ‘starchitects row’

The stretch of Eleventh Avenue that winds through Chelsea in the 20s has become a hotbed of starchitecture activity ever since plans were announced for the High Line. ArchDaily brings us the latest project that may rise along the corridor, and though it doesn't have the name recognition of its neighbors, its interesting design, inspired by MoMA's famed sculpture garden, fits right in. The 24-story glass tower from London's Studio Seilern Architects will have commercial space for a gallery on the lower levels with residential units above. Judging from the views, the project site appears to be near the corner of West 21st Street and Eleventh Avenue, directly across from Norman Foster's 551W21 and a block north of Jean Nouvel's 100 Eleventh Avenue and Frank Gehry's IAC Building.
More renderings and details this way

November 10, 2016

Spend the holidays in the infamous 28-room Grey Gardens estate

Though now this 28-room mansion looks like your typical East Hampton property, it was once a decrepit, crumbling, cat-infested, overgrown horror that came to be known as the Grey Gardens Estate, based on the title of the 1975 documentary that immortalized the isolated and impoverished lives of its residents Edith wing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale (the aunt and cousin to Jackie O). Back in September 2015, 6sqft shared that the now-restored 1.7-acre estate was up for rent asking $175,000 a year (except for August, when the owners presumably holiday). The Post also reports that there's shorter-term options for the upcoming holidays--$7,500 for Thanksgiving week and $12,500 the week of Christmas.
Get the full story ahead

November 9, 2016

Lincoln Center: From Dutch enclave and notorious San Juan Hill to a thriving cultural center

By Michelle Young

The glossy cultured patina of Lincoln Center reveals nearly nothing of what the neighborhood once was, and New Yorkers, accustomed to the on-going cycle of building and demolition, have likely forgotten (or never knew) about the lively San Juan Hill neighborhood that was demolished to make way for the famous cultural center. Any such development dating from the 1960s wouldn't be without the fingerprints of the now-vilified Robert Moses, who was more than willing to cut up neighborhoods both poor and wealthy in the eye of progress.
Learn more about Lincoln Center's incredible past here

Photographer Danica O. Kus provides new interior views of Bjarke Ingels’ Via 57 West

Photograph © Danica O. Kus

November 8, 2016

Photographer Danica O. Kus provides new interior views of Bjarke Ingels’ Via 57 West

Photograph © Danica O. Kus For architectural photographers, Bjarke Ingels' self-described "courtscraper" Via 57 West is a dream. From its sharp angles and unique tetrahedron design to its winding courtyards and geometric interiors, the 32-story rental offers plenty of artistic shots. A couple months ago, just as the Midtown West project wrapped up construction, Iwan Baan released a set of images that showed new vantages of the central outdoor space and views of how the building fits in with the skyline. Now, ArchDaily shares a collection of photos from Danica O. Kus, these providing never-before-seen looks at Via's interior spaces--including the lobby, pool, and balconies--as well views of the the building's public art piece and highly artistic shots of its facade.
go inside

Architecture And Design

November 7, 2016

Proposed Penn Station-topping free-fall ride gets new video, details

When developers at Brooklyn Capital Partners and designers at AE Superlab revealed their proposal to erect the world's tallest free-fall ride atop Penn Station, it seemed like perhaps a commentary on Governor Cuomo's big-ticket overhaul of the station. But in fact, the team hoped their 1,200-foot Halo, as it's being called, would rise along with the renovations, serving as "an interactive beacon for the city." As 6sqft reported, "the ride’s 11 cars... could be modified to move as quickly as 100 miles per hour giving it a top-to-base free fall of about six seconds." A freshly uncovered video shows this in action, and a new project website provides more details on the logistical components, 20-month construction time period, and $130 million in annual projected revenue.
Plenty more details this way

November 7, 2016

$3.95M Yonkers castle with more than 20 rooms is out of this world

By Emily Nonko

Just outside of New York City, at 170 Shonnard Terrace in Yonkers, you could be living like a literal king. This property is home to a stone castle with over 20 rooms replicated to reflect 16th through 18th century European style. The castle, known as Greystone Court, began as a country house in the 1880s and expanded over the years until it became its luxurious, grand current iteration. The current owner, Kohle Yohannan, purchased it in 2000 after the property had become rundown and restored the castle to its original splendor. It is now on the market for $3.95 million.
Take the grand tour

November 7, 2016

ODA’s Eran Chen on why ‘inclusive amenities’ are overplayed, and the need for better public spaces

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Some architects just consider the building they are working on. But Eran Chen, the founder and executive director of ODA, Office for Design and Architecture, takes a broader view. Not only does he focus on the specific architecture for each building project but he considers the spaces the building creates, the way the architecture can […]

November 7, 2016

Interior renderings, more details revealed for Richard Meier’s Turtle Bay tower

The largest and tallest building in NYC from Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier is rising at 685 First Avenue, just south of the United Nations at 39th Street and First Avenue along the East River. Though developer Sheldon Solow bought the 30,000-square-foot site as part of his Turtle Bay South master plan 16 years ago, construction only kicked off in March. A couple months later, renderings were revealed of the 42-story slab tower's dark glass facade--a departure from Meier's typical beige designs and his first ever black building--and now the Times has shared the first interior renderings, along with new details about the residential breakdown (there will be 408 rentals and 148 condominiums) architectural specifics, and amenities.
More details and renderings this way

November 7, 2016

$18M Upper East Side townhouse duo hides rear boulder wall with a storied history

This almost-matched pair of townhouse apartment buildings at 316-318 East 77th Street on the Upper East Side is fronted by nondescript, fairly utilitarian facades, but the rear courtyard "rocks" an historic secret in the form of a massive chunk of Manhattan bedrock known as Lion’s Rock. In recent times the property was the site of a restaurant by the same name. The big boulder was part of the establishment’s rear garden, complete with water trickling from a spring that was a part of the old Saw Mill Creek. Lion’s Rock restaurant closed in the 1990s, but the rock remains (and probably will for the foreseeable future). But more interestingly, the rock is all that remains of a very different Manhattan.
A woods, and maybe a park

November 4, 2016

Boulon Blanc transforms from coffee table to dining room table in one motion

By Rebecca Paul

Efficient studio living in any city requires planning and ingenuity, and with a limited amount of square footage, multi-use furniture can help to optimize your available space. Now, thanks to the French furniture brand Boulon Blanc, you can easily and stylishly transform your living room into your dining room with one swift motion. Their clever new table changes height in an instant, and is made from high quality components and materials. Inspiration for the Boulon Blanc table is drawn from aeronautics and precision time pieces, and the team spent over two years developing the table's sophisticated helicoid mechanisms.
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November 3, 2016

Federico Babina’s ARCHIPLAY turns famous architects into dramatic set-design illustrations

By Rebecca Paul

When we think about architectural drawings, fanciful illustration is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, illustrator and architecture-fan Federico Babina continues to surprise us with his wildly creative and intelligent drawing series that playfully explores the crossover of architecture and illustration. His newest set, ARCHIPLAY, depicts 27 of history's greatest architects as if they were theatrical set-designs characterizing each one with signature elements from the designers' most notable works. ARCHIPLAY includes favorites like Zaha Hadid, Walter Gropius, Frank Gehry and many more.
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My 4000sqft: Tour the 113-year-old Ditmas Park home of an architectural preservationist

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the landmarked Ditmas Park home of architectural preservationist Norma Barbacci. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

November 3, 2016

My 4000sqft: Tour the 113-year-old Ditmas Park home of an architectural preservationist

Michelle Williams' move to Ditmas Park may have put the neighborhood on the real estate map, but for those in the know, the area's history is far more profound than any of its celebrity residents. More than a century ago, Ditmas Park was not much more than farmland, but with the arrival of the subway also came interest from developers. One notable developer who descended upon the area was Dean Alvord. In 1899, Alvord initiated a new housing project that he envisioned as a “park in the city” for the rich. What followed was the construction of a range of large and stately suburban-style houses, built in an assortment of styles, from Tudors to Victorians. The development was a great success, and even drew in Manhattan's upper crust (among them Guggenheims and the Gillettes). However, as New York declined in the 70s and 80s, so did Ditmas Park. But fast-forward a few decades you'll come to seen an area that is experiencing a revival. Though it admittedly remains quite sleepy when compared to other burgeoning Brooklyn neighborhoods, Ditmas Park's suburban vibes make it the ideal destination for city-loving families—particularly when its architecturally grand proportions are taken into account. In this My sqft feature, we check out one urban family's lovely home, a landmarked wood construction owned by preservation architect Norma Barbacci and her husband, architectural conservator Glenn Boornazian. The pair purchased the house in 2004 and raised two children within its historic walls. Ahead Norma takes us through the space—which maintains most of its 1903 character—and introduces us to the Ditmas Park of 2016.
Go inside the home here

November 2, 2016

100 Barclay: Restoring and reinventing a historic Tribeca landmark

This post has been sponsored by 100 Barclay. To learn more about available condos or to schedule a tour, visit the official 100 Barclay website. Finished in 1927, 100 Barclay is one of New York City's most pivotal structures. Designed by one of our country's most esteemed architects, Ralph Walker, while he was an associate at McKenzie Voorhees & Gmelin, the tower began construction in 1923, during a time marked by a dramatic shift in architecture and the beginning of the Roaring Twenties. Originally known as the Barclay-Vesey Building, the 32-story building ascends to a height of nearly 500 feet, which made it one of the globe's tallest towers upon completion. The voluminous building was also built as the largest telephone company building in the world, encompassing more than 1.2 million square feet of office and telecommunication space. Its Hugh Ferris-inspired massing, and nature-influenced ornamentation stands as a monument to man's prowess and the machine age, and is widely recognized by architects and historians to be the first Art Deco skyscraper, a prototypical example of the style in its finest form.
hear from the architects who have worked on this project

November 1, 2016

New renderings revealed for Essex Crossing’s 150,000 square-foot mega-market

The Essex Crossing megaproject is taking shape in the Lower East Side, most notably with the Market Line, the 150,000 square-foot retail area serving the project's buildings. Within will be the new home for the neighborhood's beloved 76-year-old Essex Street Market, upon which concept the modern retail destination was built. As 6sqft previously reported, the SHoP Architects-designed market will be among the largest in the nation. Principal Rohan Mehra of the project's retail development firm Prusik Group told Curbed that he compares the new market to Seattle’s Pike Place Market or Barcelona’s La Boqueria, “hubs of activity” all. The Market Line will stretch over 700 feet across three buildings, incorporating the new city-operated Essex Street Market and several new spaces.
More renderings this way

October 31, 2016

12 experts suggest creative ways to handle 9 million future New Yorkers