Architecture And Design

Great Game Changers: One Worldwide Plaza, A Classy Attraction for Sleazy 1980s Midtown

Image of WWP via Macklowe Properties

May 24, 2016

Great Game Changers: One Worldwide Plaza, A Classy Attraction for Sleazy 1980s Midtown

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What does it take to jump-start an unglamorous neighborhood? A huge development? A mixed-use project? New transit facilities? When this full-block, mixed-use development project was conceived in the mid-1980s the area in and around Times Square was one of the city’s worst. It was riddled with crime and pornography and was run-down, especially along Eighth Avenue. The proposition to add a building that was the scale of the full-block One Worldwide Plaza development, therefore, was not only surprising, but shocking and downright unthinkable. The legendary Madison Square Garden designed by Thomas W. Lamb had occupied its site from 1925 to 1966, but its second incarnation here was rather ramshackle especially in comparison to its previous glorious building on Madison Avenue at 26th Street. When it moved south next to the “new” Penn Station 16 blocks to the south, this site became the city’s largest parking lot and it took about a decade and a half for it to find a new life. The site was finally developed and completed in 1989 by a syndicate headed by William Zeckendorf Jr. that included Arthur Cohen and Worldwide Realty partners Frank Stanton and Victor Elmaleh.
more on the rise of worldwide plaza and how it revived midtown manhattan
Landmarks Rejects Skinny Fort Greene House Because It ‘Looks Like Sing Sing Prison’
May 24, 2016

Landmarks Rejects Skinny Fort Greene House Because It ‘Looks Like Sing Sing Prison’

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When talking townhouses, width matters. Aside from location and condition, width is usually the salient factor determining a home's desirability and pricing. While a 20-foot wide house is the coveted standard, the adored building type comes in an assortment of sizes, ranging from this narrow 12-foot wide townhouse in Park Slope upwards to the enviable 30-foot wide homes dotting Brooklyn Heights. On the tighter end of the spectrum, along a tree- and brownstone-lined block in the Fort Greene Historic District, R.A.Max Studio is seeking to secure the Landmarks Preservation Commission's approval to build a 12-foot wide, environmentally-conscious, two-family house at 39 South Elliott Place. Hemmed in on a vacant lot measuring just 1,200 square feet in area, the developer, Fort Greene Properties LLC, envisions building a four-story, 3,200-square-foot structure similar in scale to a previous house that stood at the site some sixty years ago, but with a more modern exterior. But this scheme did not go over so well at today's LPC hearing.
The full story, right this way
This Lamp Only Turns On If You Turn Your Phone Off
May 24, 2016

This Lamp Only Turns On If You Turn Your Phone Off

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If you don't posses the willpower to put your smart phone down once and for all, this lamp will give you that extra nudge -- that is, if you don't want to walk around in the dark. Tranquillo, created by industrial designer Avid Kadam, is "an interactive piece of lighting where the user’s phone acts like a switch." Basically, if you want to see, you'll need to put your phone on the dock, where it'll go into do-not-disturb mode.
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Triplex Penthouse at the Late Zaha Hadid’s High Line Condos Lists for $50M
May 24, 2016

Triplex Penthouse at the Late Zaha Hadid’s High Line Condos Lists for $50M

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The 6,853-square-foot triplex penthouse atop the 11-story 520 West 28th Street condominium on the High Line, designed by the late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, has arrived on the market for the first time for the as-promised ask of $50 million. The architecturally unique 39-unit building, Hadid’s first–and, sadly, only–ground-up structure in New York City, has interiors also overseen and designed by the architect. Related Companies, the building's developer, speaks of the honor of collaborating with "one of the world’s most visionary architects, Dame Zaha Hadid, on the design for 520 West 28th. The design is being realized as she envisioned–each residence is a work of art unto itself–and the penthouse in particular is a spectacular example of this, including various unique elements such as a sculptural three-story staircase, designed by Hadid, which unites all levels of the triplex residence.”
Find out about this one-of-a-kind penthouse
Empire State Gateway Plan Stretches Twin Suspension Bridges from NJ to Queens
May 23, 2016

Empire State Gateway Plan Stretches Twin Suspension Bridges from NJ to Queens

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Just two months ago, the state allocated $70 million for early engineering work on a new Hudson River tunnel, part of the larger $20 billion Gateway project to fix the crumbling, century-old tunnels that currently carry New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains under the Hudson River. Despite the move forward, a traffic consultant from Delaware thinks he has a better idea. NJ.com shared Scott R. Spencer's proposal for twin suspension bridges that would stretch 3.5 miles from New Jersey, across Manhattan at 38th and 39th Streets, and in to Queens. He believes the plan, aptly titled the Empire State Gateway, would be a much quicker solution to the current transportation woes, with one bridge taking about five years to complete versus 20+ years for the tunnels. Spencer's idea, however, would also cost $20 billion, and as Untapped points out, would cast quite the shadow over Midtown (not to mention the countless approvals and variances it would require).
Get all the details this way
Bjarke Ingels Designed the VIA57 Chair As an Homage to His West Side Tetrahedron
May 23, 2016

Bjarke Ingels Designed the VIA57 Chair As an Homage to His West Side Tetrahedron

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For those of us who love the unusual shape and dramatic angles of Bjarke Ingels' famed VIA 57 WEST tetrahedron, but aren't in the market to pay $3,800 a month for a one-bedroom (or didn't qualify for the building's affordable housing lottery), there's now a way to bring a piece of the starchitecture into our own homes. Dezeen reveals the VIA57 chair, designed by Ingels for furniture brand Fritz Hansen along with KiBiSi to mark the completion of the pyramid-shaped building. "The rotated corners allow a variety of social configurations while also evoking the tetrahedronical geometry of its parent architecture," he explains.
More this way
‘All My Plants Are Dead’ Tote Bag Lets Black Thumbs Laugh Off Their Misfortunes
May 23, 2016

‘All My Plants Are Dead’ Tote Bag Lets Black Thumbs Laugh Off Their Misfortunes

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With spring in full swing, farmers markets and corner bodegas are teeming with plants, begging bright-eyed New Yorkers to take a pot or two home with them. While some of these verdant gems will enjoy a long-lasting life within their new indoor confines, a larger percentage will end up a droopy mess or a dried up skeleton of their former self. If you're one of those whose plants have been (or you know will be) doomed to such unsightly fate, don't let your black thumb ruin your day; instead take it all in stride and wear your private shame like a badge of honor for all to see.
more this way
CWB Architects Build a Modern Asian-Inspired Beach House in Southampton
May 22, 2016

CWB Architects Build a Modern Asian-Inspired Beach House in Southampton

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Back in 2004, a client with a taste for traveling approached CWB Architects to design a beach house with a distinctly Asian flavor, styled after houses he’d seen in Thailand and Japan. The result is this stunning, appropriately-dubbed 'Thai Style Southampton' home, which stands on stilts above a wetland. In addition to verandas, pointed gable roofs and Mahogany interiors, the charming home features a splendid view out to the Atlantic Ocean.
Learn more about this stunning Thai-home
Infographic: How NYC’s Supertalls Compare in Height and Girth to Global Towers

Gray silhouettes from left to right: Shanghai World Financial Center, CTF Finance Centre, One WTC, Lotte World Tower, Mecca Royal Clock Tower, Shanghai Tower, Burj Khalifa. Click link here to enlarge >>

May 20, 2016

Infographic: How NYC’s Supertalls Compare in Height and Girth to Global Towers

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As the Skyscraper Museum so aptly writes, "Tall and BIG are not the same thing." Echoing 6sqft's recent post on global supertalls, the infographic above illustrates how when the height of New York's tallest towers are stacked up against the sky-high constructions abroad (and 1 WTC), our city's skyscrapers truly are "runts on the world's stage." The image also reveals that not only do these towers lack significantly in height, but also in girth. This means what really makes the design of all of New York's new skyscrapers so unique is not how tall they are, but rather, how slender they are.
more on all that here
Live on Half a Floor of a Stately Limestone Mansion in Fort Greene for $1.1M
May 20, 2016

Live on Half a Floor of a Stately Limestone Mansion in Fort Greene for $1.1M

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This Victorian mansion, a limestone beauty at 26 South Oxford Street in Fort Greene, is so spacious that you can fit an entire two-bedroom, two-bathroom co-op on just half of one floor. (There are eight units in the mansion total.) Now on the market for $1.1 million, the apartment boasts quirky, modern upgrades to the historic interior with details like carved woodwork and a beautiful bay window in tact.
See more
40 Percent of Manhattan’s Buildings Would Be Unbuildable Today

720 Park Avenue could not be built today. Image via Google Maps

May 20, 2016

40 Percent of Manhattan’s Buildings Would Be Unbuildable Today

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Many feel that the city's current construction boom is unprecedented, but while towers may be reaching new heights, according to a new report by architecture firm KPF, nearly three-quarters of the city's existing square footage was actually built between the 1900s and 1930s. More interestingly, The Times points out that forty percent of the buildings that currently make up Manhattan could not be built today because they break at least one zoning code violation—among which include being too tall, having too many residential units, or having too much commercial space.
find out more here
Richard Meier Flips Favored Palette from Ivory to Ebony for Developer Pal’s Turtle Bay Tower

Photo: Rendering of 685 First Avenue designed by architect Richard Meier for developer Sheldon Solow VIZE/RICHARD MEIER & PARTNERS ARCHITECTS

May 19, 2016

Richard Meier Flips Favored Palette from Ivory to Ebony for Developer Pal’s Turtle Bay Tower

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Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier has long been known for his modestly-scaled building designs with exteriors on the whiter side of pale. But for developer Sheldon Solow's new 42-story 556-unit residential building, currently under construction at East 39th Street and First Avenue on Manhattan's East Side, the New York Five starchitect will be designing a tower of black glass. The developer will be unveiling a residential tower, Meier's tallest and largest in New York City, according to the Wall Street Journal, that will consist of a rectangular slab with a recessed niche above the midsection, "a polished specimen of neo-Modernist simplicty" in typical Meier fashion–except it will be clad in glassy black. The mix seems to perfectly represent a collaboration between old friends and East Hampton near-neighbors Meier and Solow, who has pointed out that "All my buildings are black."
Find out more about the new rental, condo and commercial project
Madison Equities Files Permit for 1,115-Foot Supertall Condo in the Financial District
May 19, 2016

Madison Equities Files Permit for 1,115-Foot Supertall Condo in the Financial District

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Madison Equities and Pizzarotti Group filed a new building application yesterday to construct a 1,115-foot supertall skyscraper at 45 Broad Street in the heart of the Financial District. When finished, reportedly in 2018  (good luck with that), the tower will be the second tallest building in lower Manhattan after 1 WTC, and the sixth tallest in the city. As detailed by the application, the tower will comprise 371,634 gross square-feet of floor area spread across 66 floors. Listed are 150 units, a bit less than the 245 condo-residences Pizzarotti CEO, Rance MacFarland said there would be earlier this year. Supposedly, the building will cater to "entry- and mid-level buyers" with relatively conservative prices of  below $2,000 per square foot on average. To afford the maximum amount of residences with coveted views of the harbor and the skyline, apartments will begin on the 15th floor where they are configured at four-units per floor up to the 33rd level. Floors 35-51, 53,55 and 57 will have three units per floor and floors 52, 54, and 58 just two units. Floors 61 and 62 will host two duplex aeries and the uppermost residential floor, 62, will house a single full floor penthouse that will be the highest residence in hemisphere outside of Billionaires' Row. Amenities on the lower, view-deprived floors will include  a 60-foot indoor lap pool, a gym, a garden, a pet spa, a game room, bike room and other entertainment areas.
find out more here
‘Amalgamated’ Vases Are Made From Hundreds of Pencils Glued Together
May 19, 2016

‘Amalgamated’ Vases Are Made From Hundreds of Pencils Glued Together

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Pencils are used in a variety of applications and can be a powerful tool of expression for people who associate themselves with the written word or visual arts. "Amalgamated" is a collection of vases from Finnish designer Tuomas Markunpoika in collaboration with Gallery FUMI and Faber-Castell, created to explore the relationship between the mass produced "tool" and the potential individualism it facilitates. By repurposing the objects as raw material, this project aims to provide commentary about how the pencil when being used for its intended purpose, goes unnoticed.
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45 Park Place Condos on ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Site Will Move Forward With $219M Loan

Rendering of 45 Park Place via Williams New York (L); Aerial view of 45 Park Place in the downtown skyline created by CityRealty

May 19, 2016

45 Park Place Condos on ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Site Will Move Forward With $219M Loan

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Soho Properties has received $219 million in construction loans for a $174 million luxury condominium project at 45 Park Place in Tribeca, according to a statement from Manhattan developer Sharif El-Gamal, The Real Deal reports. The deal was funded by the London branch of Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) and Kuwait-based Warba Bank, with Saudi investment firm MASIC providing a $45 million mezzanine loan and Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo serving as documentation agent. The developer had previously secured $33 million in financing from Madison Realty Capital in 2014. The funding will be used for the residential tower and an Islamic cultural museum to be built next door at 51 Park Place. The condo project, to be designed by SOMA Architects, will be a 665-foot, 43-story tower with 50 high-end apartments, including two penthouses on the top four floors. Ismael Leyva Architects is listed as the architect of record.
Find out more
Interview: CetraRuddy Founder, Nancy Ruddy, Discusses Her Firm’s Notable New York Works

Image courtesy of CetraRuddy

May 18, 2016

Interview: CetraRuddy Founder, Nancy Ruddy, Discusses Her Firm’s Notable New York Works

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One architectural name dominating the new development scene is CetraRuddy. Nancy Ruddy and her husband Jon Cetra formed the firm back in 1987, and over the decades that followed the pair built an architectural powerhouse that’s erected countless buildings across the globe. But while their breadth of work touches everything from the educational to hospitality to […]

The World Trade Center’s Elevated Liberty Park Will Open This Summer

Construction image via Port Authority

May 18, 2016

The World Trade Center’s Elevated Liberty Park Will Open This Summer

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The city will cut the ribbon on another landscaped elevated this park this summer with the opening of the World Trade Center's Liberty Park—although no exact opening date has been pinned down, reports DNA Info. The park, which will measure just over an acre and rise 25 feet, is sited next to the Santiago Calatrava-designed St. Nicholas National Shrine (still under construction) and will provide an overhead view of the 9/11 Memorial and a leafy pocket of respite for FiDi workers, dwellers and tourists alike. But more practically, the park will give way to a pleasant pedestrian connection across West Street, on top of hiding the entrance to the WTC's security hub that sits beneath.
See more here
Clever Pour-Over Coffee Maker Poses As a Decorative Water Tower
May 17, 2016

Clever Pour-Over Coffee Maker Poses As a Decorative Water Tower

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Pour-over coffee makers are most-definitely favored by coffee connoisseurs, loved by those obsessed with the nuances that each bean carries. While the craft is considered cool, the large, bulbous glass vessels used during the process are hardly such. To improve the design of this method, Damon Ahola created TOWER, a single-serving pour-over coffee maker that masquerades as a decorative water tower—"the epitome of the New York City skyline," says Ahola.
Find out more here
Live On Artist Hannes Bend’s Boat for Under $300/Month – Tow It Wherever You Want
May 17, 2016

Live On Artist Hannes Bend’s Boat for Under $300/Month – Tow It Wherever You Want

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Now that we know it is very possible to live a (reasonably) comfortable life on a 200-square-foot boat with your significant other and a dog, there's no reason to pass up this opportunity to stretch out on a 28-foot sailboat for next to nothing. As Brokelyn first reports, artist Hannes Bend, is offering up his Bronx-docked boat up to anyone who wants to live a seafaring life—with the convenience of the city just handful of subway lines and stops away, of course—pretty much for free.
more details on how to move in here
Controversial Lower East Side Waterfront May Get Even More Tall Towers

One Manhattan Square on the left, the JDS/SHoP Project in the center. The above image, created by CityRealty, depicts the possible massing of the new towers if built to 50 stories; No official design has been released

May 16, 2016

Controversial Lower East Side Waterfront May Get Even More Tall Towers

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Just a few weeks ago 6sqft learned that the supertall super-team of JDS Development and SHoP Architects are planning a 900-foot, 77-story rental building at 247 Cherry Street, directly next to Extell's 850-foot One Manhattan Square. These waterfront developments in the Two Bridges area caused quite a stir since the neighborhood has historically been mostly low-income and low-rise, but now two more supertalls may rise at the site. Bowery Boogie reports that L+M Partners are looking to erect two 50-story towers on the nearby lots at 265-275 Cherry Street. Together, the buildings would hold about 1,000 units.
Find out more
Not Tall Enough! On the World’s Stage, New York’s Supertalls Are Ungraceful Runts
May 16, 2016

Not Tall Enough! On the World’s Stage, New York’s Supertalls Are Ungraceful Runts

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Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. Ahead, Carter brings us his ninth and final installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter takes at aim the quality of design of those towers rising around the city right now, and how they fail to inspire when compared to those found internationally. The explosive transformation of the New York City skyline now underway is occurring without any plan in a very haphazard fashion. Some of the new towers are not ugly but compared to many new ones elsewhere, especially those that are free-standing, they’re not going to win many top honors. Many are very thin, mid-block incursions. Others arrogantly abut and loom over landmarks with nary a thought to context. Some clearly are aimed at one-percenters and offer lavish amenities and layouts. But many others are squeezing potential residents like sardines into very small apartments in attempts to set new “density” records.
The towers that got it wrong, and right
Sander Mulder’s Ghostly Josephine Lamp Glows With Its Whole Body
May 16, 2016

Sander Mulder’s Ghostly Josephine Lamp Glows With Its Whole Body

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Less is more for just about everything when it comes to cramped NYC apartments; the notable exception, of course, being light. So here's a brilliant design that strikes a perfect balance between being hidden but also visually arresting when it needs to be. Sander Mulder's Josephine Lamp is a standing luminaire that takes on an almost ghostly form, only becoming apparent when one switches its on-off button.
Learn more about this magical lamp
Angular Design Dominates this East Hampton Home Renovation by Maziar Behrooz
May 15, 2016

Angular Design Dominates this East Hampton Home Renovation by Maziar Behrooz

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This dynamic East Hamptons home is located on the East End of Long Island in Wainscott, New York. The owners of the property originally purchased it 20 years ago when it was just a small structure. After a few expansions and renovations over a decade, in 2008, they decided they wanted an even bigger home and enlisted the help of architect Maziar Behrooz to build anew. The owners, who are originally from France, fell in love with the natural beauty of Long Island and wanted to reimagine their property without regard to its organic confines. In response to this request, architectural plans were created to include a dramatic 9,500-square-foot extension with asymmetrical triangles and a linear orientation that unifies the pool, grounds and garden.
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Rafael Viñoly Apologizes for Dissing 432 Park

Image of Rafael Viñoly via Rafael Viñoly Architects Facebook page for Fall 2011/Winter 2012 issue of Pin-Up: Magazine for Architectural Entertainment

May 13, 2016

Rafael Viñoly Apologizes for Dissing 432 Park

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Image of Rafael Viñoly via Rafael Viñoly Architects Facebook page for Fall 2011/Winter 2012 issue of Pin-Up: Magazine for Architectural Entertainment On Monday, the architecture world was gobbling up the comments starchitect Rafael Viñoly made about 432 Park Avenue at a Douglas Elliman talk last week. He admitted that the 1,400-foot supertall "has a couple of screw-ups," referring to the interior design and layout, as well as the window framing, which he blamed on developer Harry Macklowe. But it looks like the architect is a bit red in the face, because he penned a lengthy public letter to design blog Dezeen apologizing for his loose lips. "In the context of what we understood to be a private and off-the-record conversation, I expressed frustration, inartfully, about the consequences of my profession's diminished position in the real estate development eco-system. Sometimes I get a little excited and say things that can easily be taken out of context and stripped of their humor. I have to improve," he said.
Read more of his apology letter
Morris Adjmi’s Tribeca Condo Building at 83 Walker Street Gets Its Inverted Facade
May 13, 2016

Morris Adjmi’s Tribeca Condo Building at 83 Walker Street Gets Its Inverted Facade

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After a unanimously approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in June 2011, the Morris Adjmi-designed condo building at 83 Walker Street has fully risen and is nearly completely adorned with its creamy, concrete facade. The nine-story, 19,000-square-foot building is being developed by Brooklyn-based Abra Construction Corp. and will house a duplex unit at the ground and cellar levels and eight full-floor residences above. Its narrow 24-foot-wide lot is within the fast-changing eastern extents of Tribeca (formerly Chinatown) and sits within the Tribeca East Historic District. The realized project is slightly higher than zoning allows and had to seek approval from the City Planning Commission in addition to the LPC.
The story behind that inverted facade
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