Events & Things To Do

July 16, 2014

See the Winners of the “QueensWay Connection: Elevating the Public Realm” Design Competition

Earlier this year, AIA New York's ENYA (Emerging New York Architects) Committee held its biennial design ideas competition, focusing on the elevated viaduct portion of the QueensWay, a community-led project that seeks to transform a blighted, 3.5 mile stretch of abandoned railway in Central Queens into a linear park and cultural greenway. The winners of Queensway Connection: Elevating the Public Realm were announced in February, and are now going public tomorrow, July 17th, with an exhibition at AIANY's Center for Architecture. There were 120 entries from 28 countries for Queensway Connection, from which four winning entries and an Honorable Mention were selected. The jury included architecture, landscape architecture, public space, and transportation infrastructure professionals who reviewed the designs based on how well they created an effective and welcoming transition between the street and greenway. Other factors included community involvement, preservation of the existing infrastructure, and use of ecologically sustainable elements.
Your sneak peek before tomorrow's event
July 11, 2014

NYC Events 7/11: Art Battle in Staten Island; Tour the Woolworth Building

This week, we've got a well-rounded roster of events for you, spanning from sticker art to rare architecture to dance and film. Pay a visit to one of our fair city's oft forgotten boroughs and sail the high seas on over to Staten Island for Saturday's take over, which will transform Artist Alley into a festival of live art making, drinks, and music. Next week, break out the picnic blanket and catch a free summer flick in Midtown's best park, or wake yourself up with not only a coffee and fresh juice, but a raging (pre-work) dance party. Treat your architectural side to a private tour of very private sites—the newly renovated United Nations chambers or the closed-to-the-public lobby of the Woolworth building—and then finish the week off by satiating your inner modern art nerd with the contemporary abstractions of Carly Ivan Garcia.
All the best events here
July 1, 2014

Hear How Rafael Viñoly and Other Top Architects Tackle the Design of Buildings Over 100 Stories

There are skyscrapers going up left and right all over Manhattan, and in the race to build the loftiest and the glassiest, big name developers are seeking out even bigger name architects to brand their supertalls with iconic designs. As part of their ongoing Palaces for the People: Guastavino and the Art of Structural Tile series, the Museum of the City of New York will be hosting what's sure to be a riveting panel in which several of the world's leading architects and engineers will be discussing how they approach the design and construction challenges that come with building 100 stories and up.
Details on how to attend here
June 27, 2014

NYC Events 6/30: Jeff Koons at Rockefeller and the Whitney; Say ‘Oui’ with Air France This Weekend

We welcome this second week of summer with open arms as the warm weather we've been oh so patiently waiting for brings with it plenty of amazing art and design events happening outdoors (and in). This week, Jeff Koons descends upon New York, first hitting up Rockefeller Center with his giant living floral sculpture, Split Rocker, then rounding out this verdant new work with a full on retrospective at the Whitney's Upper East Side Breuer Building. But if you just want to relax and recline (literally), Air France will be kicking off the weekend by bringing a little bit of Paris to New York. Three days of French flavor are planned for anyone who wants to partake, and guests will get to indulge in delicious food and drink and even take French lessons while lounging in one of Air France's first class chairs. C'est bon!
All the best events here
June 26, 2014

Live Like an Outlaw (At Least for a Night) at the Urban Cowboy B&B in Brooklyn

As New Yorkers we love to think of ourselves as original and cutting edge, but there's no denying that many of us have a soft spot for things that harken back to gentler times. In a sea of towers and shiny new boutiques, Williamsburg's newest hotel addition bucks the steel and glass trend for a beautiful Adirondack design that will appeal to even the most unwavering modernist. If you're looking for an oasis in this concrete jungle of ours, look no further than the Urban Cowboy Bed & Breakfast, a ranch-style escape sure to turn any city dweller into a cowboy complete with a twang.
Check out the incredible interiors of this quirky B&B
June 23, 2014

Sneak Peek at the Hy-Fi Mushroom Towers Rising at MoMA PS1

Every year MoMA PS1 holds a competition that gives emerging architects the opportunity to build a full-scale pavilion for their courtyard space in Long Island City, Queens. Past winners of the Young Architects Program (YAP) have gone on to do some great things, becoming hotly sought after for their skills and world-renowned for their incredible works (Do HWKN, SHoP and Work Architecture Company, ring a bell?). As no surprise, this year's winner is no shrinking violet, and he together with his team are bringing something unprecedented to the PS1 courtyard space. Architect David Benjamin and his studio, The Living, have devised a plan to construct a spectacular "Hy-Fi" tower made from a self-assembling, mushroom-based material that can be completely composted once the summer is over. This past weekend we got a sneak peek of the towers rising at the LIC site. Check out our photos of the mushroom wonder ahead.
See more photos here
June 21, 2014

Giant Rocking Horse Head Sculpture by Jeff Koons Going Up at Rockefeller Center

Is it a giant rat? A horse? A dinosaur? Those passing by 30 Rock over the past week and a half have probably been wondering what's going up in the famed plaza (at least we have). Word has it that Jeff Koons is back in the 'hood, this time with a massive sculpture of a pony, or "Split-Rocker", grafted in living flowers and complete with an internal irrigation system. Editor's note 8/27: This article has been updated to show the completed work, seen above.
Find out more about the work here
June 20, 2014

NYC Events 6/20: Alice in Wonderland Drawing Bash; The New Museum White Party

There are some major ways to get your arty party on this week! Get weird and kick off the weekend while spurring your creativity and head to Brooklyn for Michael Alan's Alice in Wonderland themed draw-a-thon, complete with costumed models, booze and live music. Or go classic in Manhattan, break out your best whites and join the New Museum for their Annual White Party (just be careful with the open bar). But before you party, school yourself with the best in Italian Street Art, or channel your inner rocker on the Lower East Side with live music for The Cast's street party. Finish it off by indulging in an art film, with a free screening at the Tribeca Screening Room.
All the best events here
June 16, 2014

Prodigy Network Announces Winning Designs for 17John “Cotel” – NYC’s First Crowdsourced Hotel

Remember that competition held in February to crowdsource the design of a hotel to be located in downtown Manhattan? Looks like the results are in and Prodigy Network just announced the winners of the competition for the 17John ‘Cotel’ (collaborative + hotel = cotel). The winning designs cover both the public interior spaces and the private rooms of 17John, and as the competition brief outlined, all the rooms are specifically tailored to the modern business traveler. Rooms range from long-term living spaces to more standard short-stay hotel rooms. The hotel will also be equipped with flexible spaces for work and meetings, and digital services that "provide comfort, community, and connectivity for its guests".
see the winning designs here
June 13, 2014

NYC Events 6/13: Rock Out at the River to River Festival; 90s Bad Girls Exhibition Opens

Multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary art is at your finger tips this week in New York! Catch a flick featuring interviews with Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Commo and Questlove; experience the reprise of a 90s Bad Girls exhibition; or check selfies from the Austrian Cultural Forum. The week ends with the kick off of the River to River Festival, which will bring tons of art, performances and music to venues all across Lower Manhattan- all for free. Enjoy!
All the best events here
June 12, 2014

Crazy Futuristic Hotel at 55 Wythe in Williamsburg Now Under Construction, Developer Zelig Weiss Scores a $18.4M Loan for the Site

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
June 11, 2014

A Modern Day Noah’s Ark by Architects Austin + Mergold Pops Up at Socrates Sculpture Park

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
June 6, 2014

Your Art and Design Events Agenda, For the Week of June 6, 2014

We're welcoming the warmth of June with open arms. This week's listings are all about celebrating art in New York — indoors, outdoors, on screens in Times Square or on walls in Queens. Kick off the month with the family-friendly Figment art festival on Governors Island, or check out photographs by a rock star's kid, Mia Tyler. End your weekend by snagging a piece of affordable art at Cotton Candy Machine's annual Tiny Trifecta show, or checking out live street art in Long Island City.
All the best events here
June 6, 2014

New Yorker Spotlight: Natalie Vie, the Bushwick Artist and Olympic Hopeful

“New York is the meeting place of the peoples, the only city where you can hardly find a typical American.” - Djuna Barnes Natalie Vie is an Olympic hopeful, a sculptor, and a resident of Bushwick. On any given day, she can be found fencing epee at Fencers Club in Chelsea, sculpting in her studio in Bushwick, curating a show, or out and about in her neighborhood's coffee shops and bookstores. What's interesting about Natalie is that she sounds like a native New Yorker; able to masterfully pursue multiple undertakings in a single day. However, she is actually a native of the desert. Natalie, 28, grew up in Phoenix where she earned a B.F.A in Sculpture at Arizona State University, and was on the University's club fencing team. She possesses a deep love for her home, but set her sights on New York. The city is home to a number of top ranked Women's Epee fencers, and Natalie wanted to train alongside them. Almost three years ago, she moved cross-country and immediately felt right at home. Fencing is referred to as physical chess. It's complex, rhythmic, and demanding. Epee, one of three fencing disciplines, has an entire body for target. Natalie can score a touch on the hand, the leg, or even the foot. When she fences, she must analyze her opponent's every move to find an opening and make a touch. Currently, she is in the midst of the World Cup season.
Our interview with Natalie here
June 5, 2014

Brighten Up Your Floors With AVO’s Bold Graphic Rugs

It's not often a rug becomes the star of a room, but when it's as stunning and unique as the graphic mats from AVO, we guarantee it'll quickly become a a topic of conversation. The gorgeous leather rugs are hand-painted by Brit Kleinman, a Rhode Island School of Design grad now working out of Brooklyn. Kleinman — once a handbag designer at Jack Spade — is founder of The Way We Carry, a website that looks at how we transport our everyday things, and her travels from around the world are also reflected in the designs of her Painted Plains collection.
Take a look at the entire collection
May 30, 2014

New Yorker Spotlight: Photographer Barry Rosenthal on Living in the Financial District and Finding Inspiration in Nature

Photographer and artist Barry Rosenthal is inspired by nature. His latest series, Found in Nature, is a response to what he was seeing and feeling while out on beaches. Barry, whose pieces can be found in the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York City and the Springfield Museum of Fine Art in Springfield, Massachusetts, is himself being found through Found in Nature. The series was recently featured in Brazil's National Geographic Magazine. Although Barry works in nature, he has lived in the caverns of the Financial District since 1987. Long before the neighborhood would become popular with young professionals and families, Barry and his wife, Elyn, found that the area — then made up primarily of office buildings — had just what they were looking for: space. Over the last 25 years, they and their daughter Macie, now 18, made the Financial District their home. The family was certainly ahead of the curve. As a New Yorker, I was curious to learn more about Barry. What was it like living in this neighborhood back in the '80s, especially from the perspective of a photographer and artist with a keen eye for observing the world? Why did he decide to head out of his studio and work in nature?
READ THE INTERVIEW WITH BARRY ROSENTHAL HERE
May 28, 2014

The Hidden City in Manhattan’s “Other” Skyline

As any fan of Spiderman knows, the “corridors” created by Manhattan’s tall buildings are a perfect way to beat traffic through a little web-swinging. But look more closely and Spiderman’s transportation of choice reveals a secret city like none other. One of the most famous and ubiquitous skylines in the world has seen its share of changes — most recently the rise of the Freedom Tower in place of the twin towers of the original World Trade Center — but has remained one of the most recognizable. Yet hidden among New York's tallest buildings is another skyline as unique as the city itself created by the negative air space formed between the granite and steel structures reaching for the sky on each side of the street.
READ MORE
May 27, 2014

Your Art and Design Events Agenda, For the Week of May 27, 2014

Boo! The long Memorial Day weekend and its endless picnics are over. But you can still celebrate the short work week with all things arty! Indulge in your love of film — from the silent era to tomorrow's documentary stars — or channel your inner entrepreneur at a panel on how to price your own designs. Also be sure to rest up for the weekend as artist studios open up across Brooklyn with Bushwick Open Studios and NARS Foundation. Just be sure to leave some time on your schedule to check out Bushwick's first art fair, the NEWD Art Fair!
All the best events here
May 27, 2014

See New Renderings of Fortis’s Waterfront Residential and Hotel Development at 151 Maiden Lane

New renderings of Fortis Property Group’s mixed-use development at 151 Maiden Lane have been revealed! As reported by New York YIMBY, permits were filed last week for the new tower which will sit upon a 281,000-square-foot waterfront development site that the company purchased back in August of last year. Fortis’s new residential project will boast a 161,000-square-foot, 52-story luxury condominium with […]

May 23, 2014

The Most Gorgeous New York City Hotel Interiors

Design is on display in New York's luxury hotels, where the interior look and feel is as important as where it's located. From the lobbies that welcome guests on their first steps into the building to the bars and dining areas later at night, some of a hotel's best design work lays outside the guests' rooms. Here are just a few of our favorite hotel interiors.
See more amazing hotel lobbies here
May 22, 2014

Memorial Day Events for the New Yorker Who Wants to Stay Local

Memorial Day is just a few days away, and if you're like us, you can't wait to take a break from the daily grind. While many have made plans that will sweep them off to far flung places like Paris, for those looking to stay local, there are plenty of incredible events going on across all of NYC's boroughs — rain or shine. Keep reading for our top events to check out this Memorial Day weekend. It’s going to be a busy few days!
All the events this way
May 20, 2014

10 New York Neighborhoods for Artists Now

It’s become all too common in New York City — artists move into a neighborhood, make it trendy and culturally vibrant, and then are forced out by rising rents. It happened in Greenwich Village, Soho, the East Village, DUMBO, and Williamsburg. Do not be disheartened, though, there are still plenty of artist enclaves with thriving creative communities. Ahead are our ten current frontrunners — some may surprise you!
Where the artists are flocking
May 19, 2014

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, No… It’s Sebastian Errazuriz’s Giant Golden Cow Piñata!

Undeniably, there is much symbolism attached to artist designer Sebastian Errazuriz’s giant golden cow piñata on display in Industry City in conjunction with NYCxDESIGN, New York City’s official citywide celebration of – you guessed it – design. One look at the suspended shimmering beast and you’re likely to be reminded of the infamous golden calf Bible story about idolatry (Exodus 32:1–6, if you’re interested) or notice its uncanny resemblance to Wall Street’s iconic charging bull.
See more of this oversized golden pinata
May 19, 2014

Your Art and Design Events Agenda, For the Week of May 19, 2014

We’re all looking forward to a long weekend this week, so why not get amped for Memorial Day by boning up on some of the knowledge this city has to offer? School yourself on Russia’s Modern Masters, learn about the genius of the Scandinavian design approach, or go one on one with a Whitney Museum artist. As Memorial Day looms, so does the opening of the city’s greatest isle of relaxation: Governors Island. You know summer is almost here when the ferries start running over to Manhattan getaway, so head to the ferry terminal this weekend!
All the best events here