By Diane Pham, Mon, June 16, 2014 Believe it or not, before Trader Joe’s and Rag & Bone came along, Boerum Hill was a neighborhood filled with boarding houses for ironworkers who came to work on Manhattan’s bridges and skyscrapers. A number of manufacturing factories also made their way into the neighborhood during the early 20th century, including a construction at 120 Boerum Place. This beautiful pre-war building was converted into a condo in the early 80s. But instead of demolishing the whole thing, they fused the old with the new, keeping a number of industrial details intact, including an incredible “skytrack” that wraps the entire roof of the building.
For those who love the comforts of living in a premiere neighborhood, but want a more unfinished aesthetic, apartment #2J at the Skytrack is calling for you…
photos of the interiors and terrace here
By Patty Lee, Mon, June 16, 2014 Row after row of wood-framed houses fill the quaint, tree-lined streets of Brooklyn’s Windsor Park neighborhood. Many are decades old and like this cozy home on Reeve Place, require a bit of a face-lift after many years of wear and tear.
In 2013, the owners enlisted the architects at Brooklyn’s Barker Freeman Design Office to give the semi-detached house a makeover, complete with a brand new wood-paneled exterior.
See how they mix the old with the new straight ahead
By Patty Lee, Fri, June 13, 2014 There’s no doubt that the aluminium facade of this Midtown townhouse is a showstopper. Set between two traditional red brick homes on East 51st Street, the building’s shiny, punctuated front is sure to get every passersby’s attention. But it wasn’t designed just to become talk of the town — it’s also meant to give the owners some much-needed privacy.
The interiors are just as unique
By Diane Pham, Fri, June 13, 2014 Lovers of NYC landmarks rejoiced just last week when it was announced that Justin Korsant of Long Light Capital would be keeping the frontage of his recent Greenwich Village buy intact. But even with plans in the works to gut the interior and start fresh, Long has no intention of living in the home at 18 West 11th. The soon-to-be-updated pad and was just listed for $13.5 million over at Urban Compass. Long originally paid $9.25 million for the property. Downtown flip, anyone?
See the new floorplan and renderings here
By Aisha Carter, Fri, June 13, 2014 If you didn’t like the renderings revealed earlier this year for the much-anticipated tower at 101 Murray Street, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that they were incorrect. New renderings – the right renderings- have been released to New York YIMBY… and she’s a beauty.
101 Tribeca, as she’ll be called, is being developed by Fisher Brothers and The Witkoff Group, and designed by Kohn Pederson Fox. The building is set to soar over Tribeca at roughly 950 feet tall with a sleek, slender design that elegantly bevels out at the top. The 63-story structure will house 129 condominiums, totaling 433,800 square feet. Its tall ceilings, coupled with its sheer height, promises to deliver unobstructed views that will stretch as far as New Jersey and Long Island.
Find out more about this record-breaking structure here
By Diane Pham, Thu, June 12, 2014 The new Level Hotel planned for 55 Wythe in Williamsburg wasn’t much more than a rendering when it was revealed last month, but one of 6sqft’s intrepid reporters swung by the site recently only to find that construction on the Jetson’s-like building had commenced. Permits for the 320,000 square foot hotel were approved in early April, and according to locals, heavy equipment arrived on the scene a few weeks ago with groundwork now well underway.
Now, further cementing Level’s status as a hotel of the future, the hotel’s developer, Zelig Weiss, closed on an $18.35 million loan from Madison Realty Capital to purchase the site for about $30 million, according to Crain‘s.
More details and photos here
By Patty Lee, Thu, June 12, 2014 James Biber’s portfolio features plenty of famous and easy-to-recognize works. In New York, the acclaimed architect has made his mark with designs like the Fashion Center kiosk and CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College. Outside of the city, he’s been on board projects that include the Harley-Davidson Museum and Arizona Cardinals Stadium.
These big-name clients are the result of nearly 25 years in the industry, but often it’s the smaller ones that leave the strongest impression. Case in point: Biber calls these three houses in Long Island “a seminal course in building.”
Details on the three buildings here
By Patty Lee, Wed, June 11, 2014 An overturned ark has washed ashore Socrates Sculpture Park. But don’t worry, Long Island City isn’t the scene of a maritime accident — the upside-down barge is a brand new art installation designed by Philadelphia’s Austin + Mergold.
Dubbed the SuralArk, the hulking vessel — which spans 50-feet-wide and 18-feet-tall — is the 2014 winner of Folly, Socrates Sculpture Park’s annual design competition co-sponsored with the Architectural League of New York. Austin + Mergold beat out 169 other entries from established designers and studios across the country to nab the top honors, giving their ark a summer-long stint at the park.
Get a close-up of the sculpture
By Dana Schulz, Wed, June 11, 2014 The Van Alen Institute has convened its new International Council of architecture, planning, and design leaders in Venice, Italy during the Biennale this month. The inaugural group represents 13 firms from across more than 17 cities and ten countries. Five of these Council members have offices in NYC — Allied Works Architecture, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), Jan Gehl Architects, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, and Snohetta.
More details here
By Patty Lee, Tue, June 10, 2014 At first glance, there’s nothing particularly unique about the facade of this white brick townhouse, but take a second look and you’ll see that there’s more to the building than meets the eye. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that the protruding bay windows aren’t made from ordinary frames, but from sections of stainless steel truck bodies.
The recycled windows are a signature of LOT-EK, the studio that owners Lawrence and Alice Weiner hired to re-do their Greenwich Village townhouse. Founded in 1993 by Columbia University grads Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Liganano, the New York and Naples-based firm has become known for its sustainable approach to construction and architecture, namely the use of upcycled steel containers.
More photos of the inside here
