Policy

August 7, 2014

A Subjective Map of New York City: Dutch Graphic Artist Takes Virtual Check-Ins to a New Level

Social media has certainly made it easier to take a nostalgic look back in time; a quick perusal of one’s past Facebook statuses or Twitter feeds is all it takes to remind us of what we were doing last week, month, or even last year. (Yes, we know some of those photos are cringe-worthy; we have them too.) Consider all of the different places those statuses and tweets were generated from, and imagine what it might look like if you tracked all of those locations on a map of the city – a literal "walk" down memory lane, if you will. That’s exactly what Dutch graphic designer Vincent Meertens and his girlfriend did between March 2012 and January 2013, using an application called OpenPaths. The result? An intricate series of dots and lines (10,760 data points in all) representing all of their movements through New York City.
More details ahead

Policy

August 6, 2014

AquaFence Flood Barriers Pop Up at NYC Waterfront Buildings

By Dana Schulz

Nearing the two-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, developers, architects, and building owners are still wrestling with how to keep their waterfront properties safe from any future storms that may wash up on New York's shores. Some have moved mechanical systems above ground, white others have installed heavy duty generators and emergency lighting and elevator systems. But a popular preventative mechanism among the posh residences of the West Village and Lower Manhattan is AquaFence, a portable, temporary flood barrier system that can defend structures from flood heights of up to eight feet.
See how this product is constructed and installed

Policy

August 5, 2014

Spray-Painted Solar Cells Get One Step Closer to Reality

By Dana Schulz

You may have heard last year that scientists began exploring the idea of spray-paintable solar cells, and now researchers at Sheffield University in England have made a breakthrough that could bring this green energy dream one step closer to reality. The advance comes from the use of organometal halide perkovskite, a mineral/crystal, organic/metal hydra, which offers the potential to combine high-performing, mature solar cell technologies with organic photovoltaics that have a low embedded energy cost.
More on the technology ahead

August 5, 2014

CB4 Housing Plan Calls for 11,000 Units of Affordable Housing

By Dana Schulz

Mayor de Blasio called for all 59 New York City community boards to propose ways to increase the number of affordable housing units within their district, and CB4, which covers Chelsea, Clinton, and Hell's Kitchen, is the first to respond. The Manhattan District Board 4 Affordable Housing Plan was voted on internally by the board on July 23, but is expected to be officially presented to the city on August 8th. The 81-page plan, which could influence affordable housing policy throughout the city, focuses on six major themes that will outline how the west side neighborhoods tackle the addition of 11,000 units of affordable housing.
We break down the themes

July 24, 2014

Preservationists Publish Report Asking City to Better Protect Soon-To-Be-Landmarked Buildings

By Dana Schulz

It's not always as easy as one might think to successfully advocate for the landmark designation of an historic building in New York, especially when that building's owner is not on board with preservation efforts. According to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), more than 20 historically significant buildings (including those designed by renowned architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Morris Lapidus) have been heavily altered or altogether demolished over the past 12 years after city officials gave word to owners that their buildings were under consideration for landmarking. This comes from a new report that GVSHP commissioned, which examines the Bloomberg administration's actions regarding the notification given to developers and owners that the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was looking at their properties, allowing alteration and demolition permits to slip through before any historic protections were granted.
We take a closer look at this preservation predicament

Policy

July 22, 2014

Landmarks Deems S.L. Green’s One Vanderbilt Tower ‘Appropriate’ for Its Grand Central Site, Others Not Happy

By Carter B. Horsley

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing today on a proposal by S.L. Green to build a huge tower on the northwest corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and 42nd Street directly across from Grand Central Terminal. The proposal before the commission was an application for a “certificate of appropriateness” for a transfer of air rights from the former Bowery Savings Bank Building at 110 East 42nd Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. The developers of S.L. Green made their moves by wooing Landmarks with renderings of Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed tower which would be 1,350 feet tall not counting a 100-foot-high spire—this is significantly higher than the Chrysler Building on the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street and higher than all the supertalls in construction or planned for 57th Street.
Reactions from the hearing this way

July 18, 2014

NYC’s Threat of Earthquakes on the Rise, But Tall Towers Have a Lower Risk of Being Affected

By Dana Schulz

You read it right, tall towers in New York City actually have a lower risk of being affected by an earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey, the federal agency responsible for reporting and recording earthquake activity, recently updated their National Seismic Hazard Maps, which "reflect the best and most current understanding of where future earthquakes will occur, how often they will occur, and how hard the ground will likely shake as a result." One change to the maps since they was last updated in 2008 is that the east coast has the potential for larger quakes than previously outlined, but residents of NYC high rises are in a slightly lower risk bracket.
Learn why straight ahead

July 18, 2014

Swipe Left or Right? There’s Now a Tinder for Architecture

By Diane Pham

Don't get too excited. That's architecture, not architects. But either way, if you're an architect, or just an opinionated architecture enthusiast, you'll love "swiping" left or right on this fun new app developed by Daniele Quercia and her team at Yahoo Labs in Barcelona, Spain.
Find out more here

July 16, 2014

Quirky QLOCKTWO Clock Tells Time with the Written Word

By Patty Lee

Forget numbers, this quirky clock is using a far more innovative method to tell time. Instead of numerals, the QLOCKTWO employs common phrases — such as "It's half-past twelve" — to keep you up to speed with the hour.
Details on the unique timepiece here

July 14, 2014

Glass Towers to Go Green? Environmentalists Are Calling for Stricter Regulations for Supertalls

By Dana Schulz

Two of the biggest trends in the current NYC real estate market are tall, glass towers and eco-friendly design. Oftentimes, though, these two architectural movements don't meet, and now environmentalists are calling for stricter regulations that would make this marriage a requirement, by way of decreasing the huge expanses of curtain wall windows that the towers have adopted as their hallmark.
More of the debate this way

‘Human’ Smartphone App Tracks How New Yorkers Move Through the City

By Annie Doge

As New Yorkers we're constantly on the go and our movements are very much the pulse of the city. A new smartphone app developed by Human is tracking these movements and turning them into an incredible map that beautifully visualizes how we navigate our streets. Are you part of the pack?
Find out more here

June 25, 2014

Landmarks Greenlights BKSK Architects’ Glass Topper for the Pastis Building – Locals Not Happy

By Diane Pham

What's a little more glass and metal in a town overrun by supertalls, right? After getting shot down by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) for their design of a two-story, mixed-use glass crown to top the Pastis Building in the Meatpacking District, BKSK Architects went back to the drawing board only to emerge with a new idea that's won the LPC's blessing. Set to top the low-rise brick building at 9–19 9th Avenue, the redesign is a somewhat more subdued iteration that uses the same materials and form, but with much less glass.
See the before and after here

June 17, 2014

PENSA’s DIWire Machine Lets You Bend Wires Into Sculptural Decor for the Home

By Patty Lee

In a day and age when printers give us the ability to create 3D models, we're surprised that it's taken so long for a machine like the DIWire to hit the market. Developed by the creative tinkerers of PENSA, this sleek gadget's seemingly simple job — to bend wires with a click of a button — is an absolute game-changer for DIY enthusiasts.
See how the DIWire works

June 3, 2014

Lighting Designer David D’Imperio Captures Mother Nature in His Hanging Lamps

By Patty Lee

A lighting artist who typically helps spruce up the homes we live in is looking to Mother Nature for inspiration. From his studio in rural Pennsylvania, award-winning designer David D'Imperio creates one-of-a-kind fixtures that pull from natural structures. Among the wild objects you may spot in his works? Moth wings, orchids and bluebirds.
There's a light for every style

May 19, 2014

Clever Kangaroo Light Bends and Flexes to Brighten Up Any Type of Space

By Patty Lee

The inventors of the viral Ostrich Pillow are at it again, promoting another cool new product on Kickstarter. Only this time, instead of an item that's meant to block out light, the team at kawamura-ganjavian are making it easier to see. Dubbed the Kangaroo Light, this flexible, glowing pad is meant to be a playful and practical solution to flashlights, which all too often get lost in the deep abyss of purses, bookbags and cabinets.
See the light in action

May 15, 2014

UM Project Gives the Maypole a Modern-Day Makeover for Reclaim NYC

By Patty Lee

After an impossibly long and cold winter, it's fitting that one of the pieces on display at the upcoming Reclaim 3 exhibit is an ode to spring and renewal. But the Maypole created by whimsical furniture designer UM Project is no ordinary ribbon around a stick. Inspired by the charitable spirit that drives Reclaim NYC — which started out in 2012 as a way for the design community to raise money for Hurricane Sandy victims — UM Project founder Francois Chambard teamed up with the High School of Art & Design to create an interactive installation that combines folk custom with modern-day technology.
Details on the high-tech Maypole ahead

May 14, 2014

Bonsai-Inspired Solar Charger Also Lights Up at Night

By Dana Schulz

The design of this compact solar charging lantern, called Electree Mini, was influenced by bonsai trees and fractal patterns found in nature. Created by French designer Vivien Muller, it "provides solar-derived power to environments typically void of renewable energy." On the movable branches are small solar panels which capture sunlight — a play on photosynthesis. The solar energy is then stored in small batteries that can directly power up your gadgets. Electree Mini has the capability to charge AA and AAA batteries and comes with a USB port that will charge smartphones. At dusk, the tree automatically lights up, and when rotated the LED light sensors change colors.
More design details this way

April 29, 2014

Park Avenue Historic District Approved with Major Modifications, Extell’s New Tower May Soon Rise as a Result

By Carter B. Horsley

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has just approved the creation of the Park Avenue Historic District, but with major modifications that could mean big changes for the neighborhood. The boundaries of the district were proposed to run from 79th to 96th Street, but the final version passed today excludes the blocks north of 94th Street, which encompasses the Morris Ketchum Jr.-designed Hunter College School as well as The Loyola Grammar School at 48 East 84th Street. More importantly, today's ruling would appear to give Extell Development the green light to replace a Park Avenue church rectory with a condominium tower.
Park Ave will soon be afoot with change

April 14, 2014

The Strange World of Scaffolding and Why We’ll Be Seeing More of It

By Jason Carpenter

Scaffolding in New York City is as much a part of the city’s skyline as the Empire State Building itself—and has been around for much longer. On the surface, scaffolding seems to be a necessary ugly; a kind of urban cocoon from which a beautiful new butterfly building emerges. But if you are one of those people who cringes every time you see a building wrapped in scaffolding, you better get used to it because it’s only going to get worse. All while the scaffolding companies laugh all the way to the bank.
What's with all the scaffolding?

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