Events & Things To Do

October 23, 2014

Event Round Up: The Best Halloween Activities in NYC

It's official--fall is here. And one of the greatest things about this time of year is the plethora of seasonal activities that come with it. We've rounded up some of the best that New York City has to offer this fall, from corn mazes for kids to funeral reenactments for adults.
Check out our full list

Events & Things To Do

October 21, 2014

Learn About Three Urban Projects That Could Transform the City at MAS’ Jane Jacobs Forum

By Dana Schulz

As part of the Municipal Art Society's (MAS) 2014 Summit for NYC, the Jane Jacobs Forum: Projects That Ignite will showcase three unique urban interventions with the potential to positively impact the city. This free session, taking place on Thursday, October 23, was inspired by Jacobs' passion for livable cities and the ability of all people to change them. The three projects that will be highlighted are: Startup Box, a social enterprise and tech incubator prototype designed to increase opportunities for South Bronx community members; 9×18, a proposal that considers the city's parking lots as opportunities to help with the affordable housing crisis; and the Boogie Down Booth, a vibrant public space in a previously forlorn area under the low and loud 2 and 5 trains in the South Bronx.
More on the projects and the event here

October 14, 2014

Robert Kolenik’s Stylish Aquarium is Actually a Kitchen Island

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

If you like keeping aquariums filled with fish in your home, you might as well turn the tank into a stylish and useful feature. Designed by Robert Kolenik, this eye-catching kitchen island doubles as a stunning bluish aquarium. The crazy idea comes from the Netherlands and is called Ocean Kitchen.
Learn more about this fishy design

October 13, 2014

Holiday Field Trip: Where to Find Christopher Columbus in NYC

By Dana Schulz

It's easy to forget that Columbus Day is more than just a day off from work (which we're not complaining about), but rather a holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1942. But if you need reminding, look no further than these memorials scattered around New York City.
Take a tour of where to find Christopher Columbus monuments in NYC

October 13, 2014

Studio Swine Makes Extraordinary Objects from Human Hair

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Anglo-Japanese designer Studio Swine makes luxurious objects and furniture that sit at the intersection of culture and the future of resources. Their latest project is a collection of extraordinary objects inspired by the 1930s Shanghai-deco style translated into all sorts of objects, including boxes, vases, mirrors, screens and hair combs. But there's something in particular that makes them stand out. Called Hair Highway, their weirdly enchanting aesthetic can be attributed to the use of resin and human hair!
Learn more about these hairy designs

<b>Sukkot Architecture: New York City’s Sukkahs Come in All Shapes, Sizes, and Locations</b>

Photo © Paul Clemence

October 9, 2014

Sukkot Architecture: New York City’s Sukkahs Come in All Shapes, Sizes, and Locations

By Susan Cohen

The Jewish holiday Sukkot, which began on Wednesday evening, has architecture, construction, and design built into the festival. To observe the holiday, Jews around the world build and decorate temporary "booths" known as sukkahs, and spend Sukkot's eight days eating meals with friends and family inside them. Depending on one's level of observance, some individuals sleep in them as well. When it comes to sukkahs in New York, where backyards are few and far between, institutions and individuals take advantage of the space available to them. This includes having sukkahs in parks or courtyards, on roofs and balconies, and even on the sidewalk dining area of a restaurant. We wanted to highlight a few of the city's sukkahs with particular interest to either their location, design, or both.
See sukkahs we've spotted around the city

October 9, 2014

Futuristic-looking Pink Amoeba by THEVERYMANY Wants You to Explore Its Insides

By Dana Schulz

The latest art installation at the Storefront for Art and Architecture is much more than a futuristic-looking pink amoeba. Oslo-based artist Jana Winderen and Architect Marc Fornes of THEVERYMANY have created this interactive piece, entitled Situation NY, as a way to invite visitors to question the properties of matter and the built environment surrounding us. A vibrating sound piece, it also uses light and form to heighten the experience.
Lots more on the installation ahead

October 7, 2014

openhousenewyork Weekend App Will Enhance Your Touring Experience

By Dana Schulz

As if we weren't looking forward to openhousenewyork Weekend enough, a new app to help guide and organize tour goers has us even more excited. Created through a partnership with dsgnfix, the free, location-based iPhone app "enables users to search, discover, and share design destinations and experiences." During OHNY weekend (October 11-12) those with the app downloaded will be able to scroll through all of the 150 free Open Access sites, organized by the user's real-time location.
More on the OHNY Weekend App

October 6, 2014

Hilton to Sell the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to Chinese Insurance Company for $1.95 Billion

By Dana Schulz

It's where the Waldorf salad was invented; it was the first hotel to offer room service; and it has its own railway platform to Grand Central, large enough to fit FDR's car. The historic tidbits about the Waldorf Astoria are plenty, but now the world-famous hotel is making big changes to its future. Hilton Worldwide Holdings, who has officially owned the Art Deco landmark since 1972, has agreed to sell the 1,232-room hotel to the Anbang Insurance Group Co., a financial and insurance company based in Beijing, for $1.95 billion. Hilton, the world's largest publicly traded hotel operator, will continue to manage the property under a "strategic partnership."
More on the plans here

October 6, 2014

LAST CHANCE: Win Two Tickets to Dwell on Design New York!

By Alyssa Alimurung

In just a few days, Archtober will bring us one of the biggest architecture and design events of the year: Dwell on Design. Curated by the editors of Dwell magazine, DOD will fill 82 Mercer in SoHo with 5,000 renowned creatives ready to showcase and chat about new design ideas, products, and services. There will also […]

Following Demo of 5Pointz, New Group DEFACED Seeks to Preserve Artistic Relics

By Dana Schulz

We were pretty bummed over the summer when we heard that Long Island City graffiti mecca 5Pointz was being torn down and replaced with condos. But now that the site has officially been razed, a group of architects are taking this crime against architecture and using it to fuel their mission of preserving the city's unofficial artistic and cultural landmarks. Arianna Armelli, Ishaan Kumar, David Sepulveda, and Wagdy Moussa created DEFACED as a group that "values artistic freedom and expression, protecting the cultural relics of New York City refusing to witness the complete disregard for the history of New York." As their first order of business, they've created a proposal to buy back the 5Pointz site from developers and build a creative oasis that includes an urban rooftop with rainwater collection system, artist gallery, and recycling center.
More on DEFACED and its proposal

October 1, 2014

Strivers’ Row Home Tour & Exhibit at Macy’s Showcase Harlem’s Elegant Enclave

By Dana Schulz

This weekend, all you old-house lovers will have two opportunities to step back in time and explore the elite Harlem enclave known as Strivers' Row. Located on West 138th to West 139th Streets, between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Boulevards, the area was once home to prominent, wealthy African-American performers, artists, and professionals who lived in the harmonious row of stately brick dwellings. Running until Sunday, October 5th is an exhibit at Macy's called “Strivers’ Row Style: Uptown Comes Downtown,” which will feature vignettes by various designers of what the interiors of these historic homes would have looked like during the heyday. Also on the 5th is the Strivers' Rome Home Tour, which lets participants inside eight of the distinctive residences and four historic churches.
More on Striver's Row and the upcoming events

Eldridge Street Synagogue. Image courtesy of ohny

September 30, 2014

openhousenewyork’s Weekend Event Guide is Finally Here – Take the Tours!

By Dana Schulz

You can probably guess that we're pretty excited about the 12th annual openhousenewyork weekend, taking place this year on October 11th and 12th, so of course we couldn't wait to share the just-announced guide to the spaces on this year's roster. Tour goers will have access to 300 sites and tours in all five boroughs, including private residences, new buildings, and sites of architectural, cultural, and historical significance. Some of the sites we're most looking forward to touring are the TWA Flight Center at JFK, Kickstarter headquarters, the Manhattan Micro Loft, and El Barrio's Artspace PS109.
More on these sites and the entire OHNY Weekend

September 26, 2014

Upcoming Exhibition at MCNY Showcases Hyper-Real Photos of NYC from Artist Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao

By Dana Schulz

An upcoming exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, New York: Assembled Realities, will showcase more than 40 works from Taiwanese artist Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao. His large-scale panoramas push the boundaries of traditional documentary photography by mixing several exposures of the same location taken over the course of many hours. The photographs that result are hyper-real and complex and provide a fascinatingly accurate depiction of the frenzy that is New York.
More on the exhibit and Liao's work

Events & Things To Do

Image of The Oslo Opera House from the film Cathedrals of Culture

September 25, 2014

GIVEAWAY: Win Two Tickets to the Architecture and Design Film Festival!

By Alyssa Alimurung

Your three favorite things rolled into one five-day event: the Architecture and Design Film Festival. Starting October 15th, 25 curated films will be on show at the Tribeca Cinemas for the nation’s largest film festival dedicated to architecture and design. Sound like something you’d love to see? We’ve teamed up with ADFF to give one lucky reader two free […]

September 24, 2014

Our Top 10 Event Picks for Archtober 2014

By Jason Carpenter

New York City's architecture and design month is almost here. "Archtober" is 31 days of architecture and design events, including talks, tours, receptions, and festivals. There are dozens of events for you to check out, but we've hand-picked ten that will give you a well-rounded and memorable Archtober.
Find out here what events to check out

September 24, 2014

REVEALED: Beekman Hotel and Condo Interiors

By Dana Schulz

Last month, pricing and exterior renderings were released for the much-anticipated Beekman Hotel and Condo conversion project. The long-shuttered historic structure (originally known as the Temple Court Building) will be topped off with a 51-story condominium tower adjacent to the 1883-built landmark and its famous atrium. It will contain 68 residential units designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen. The building's lower levels will house 287 hotel rooms. Now, Curbed has received the first reveal of the interior renderings, and they do not disappoint. From the modern apartments with Woolworth Building views to the luxe amenity areas, the rooms at 5 Beekman Street exude luxury and prestige. One of the most impressive interior shots is of the atrium, which extends through all nine stories of the original Terra Cotta structure and is topped off by a large, pyramidal skylight. It will be a lounge by Tom Colicchio known as the Living Room, the centerpiece of the hotel and a fine dining spot for residents and guests alike.
Tour the rest of the conversion, from the atrium to the roof terrace

September 17, 2014

Get Your Tickets for the Architecture & Design Film Festival

By Dana Schulz

For the sixth year, the Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) will take over the screens at Tribeca Cinemas, offering guests access to a special lineup of over 25 curated films from around the world. Running from October 15-19, this year's festival features an impressive panel of distinguished speakers, Q&A's, and special parties. It also will host the U.S. premier of Cathedrals of Culture, a 3D film project by German filmmaker Wim Wenders. Tickets go on sale today.
More details on this year's festival

September 17, 2014

Highlights: What Real Estate Big Wigs Have to Say About Brooklyn and Its Future

By Carter B. Horsley

Brooklyn real estate is hot, very hot, and there’s no cooling off in sight, according to most speakers at yesterday's sold-out Brooklyn Real Estate Summit, sponsored by Massey Knakal and held at the Brooklyn Museum. From Billy Macklowe to David Shorenstein and Jonathan Rose, get the run-down of what the industry's leading pundits have to say about BK real estate.
What they're saying about Brooklyn here

September 16, 2014

Event: Join Top NYC Architects and Artists at the 14+ Foundation Benefit to Build Schools in Zambia

By Dana Schulz

The second Annual 14+ Foundation Benefit on October 2nd will support the building of schools in Zambia with the help of top New York architects and artists. Julian Schnabel, Rashid Johnson, and the Bruce High Quality Foundation have donated works for a live art auction, and Solange Knowles is set to perform. The event will take place at the Diamond Horseshoe from 6:00pm to 2:00am. It follows the organization's work on the Chipakata Children's Academy in Lusaka, Zambia, a new school, orphanage, and community facility that will provide arts-based learning programs, as well as daily meals.
More details on the benefit and 14+ Foundation's work

September 16, 2014

Daily Link Fix: Visit These Lesser-Known Museums; 9 Disasters That Helped Make NYC a Safer City

By Alyssa Alimurung

Tired of trips to MoMA and the Met? Try out these 10 obscure NYC museums, like the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art or the Underpenny Plane and Cast Iron Museum, rounded up by Untapped Cities. In case you were wondering, this is where NYC’s poop goes. Gizmodo does the dirty work. Help out the sweetest […]

Events & Things To Do

September 16, 2014

Pee-Eww! Artist Kate McLean is Creating a ‘Smellmap’ of NYC

By Diane Pham

New York City stinks, yes, but this city of ours is rich in smells like no other. To document the odors that linger, excite and nauseate inhabitants, British multi-sensory artist Kate McLean and her army of sniffers are running around town with their noses to the wind—and deep in trashcans. McLean has so far mapped a block of Greenwich Village and her latest jaunt took her and her team out to Bedford Avenue, where she found the most offensive odor to be "the aroma of a marijuana joint". Not convinced?
Her findings here

Events & Things To Do

September 16, 2014

Line In-Between Is a New Album That Plays the Noises of New York City

By Dana Schulz

We've heard about people who move out of the city in search of a more quiet lifestyle, but then can't think or sleep due to the silence. Well, there's a new album that might be just what the doctor ordered for these sleep-deprived NYC expats. Line In-Between is an album recorded entirely from the noises of New York City, highlighting that sounds and music are interconnected. And what makes us love this project even more is that while the urban tunes roll, striking images of the city's architecture play along.
More details on the album here

Events & Things To Do

September 15, 2014

Ben Shahn Murals and a Market? YoungWoo & Associates Tries Again at the Bronx General Post Office

By Stephanie Hoina

The firm that once hoped to bring a Bronx market to the Kingsbridge Armory site may get their chance with another historic building in the borough. Last week it was announced that developer YoungWoo & Associates purchased the landmarked Bronx General Post Office building on the Grand Concourse and East 149th Street for an undisclosed sum.
What's in store for the building and its treasures?

September 14, 2014

Fall House Tour Roundup: From Victorian Homes to Industrial Lofts

By Dana Schulz

Though spring is typically considered the height of house tour season, the fall months offer their own roster of open-door events. It pretty much goes without saying that we love peeking inside all kinds of homes, so we've rounded up here the best of the upcoming tours. From industrial Tribeca lofts to Victorian homes on the Delaware River, there's definitely something for every interior design lover.
All the events here

Events & Things To Do

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