Manhattan

In 2006, the doors of the Hearst Tower were swung open for business. The design of starchitect Norman Foster, the building was one of the most cutting-edge of its time, lauded for its diagrid form, its green construction, and the then-radical approach of marrying the old with the new. Apart from becoming one of New York's most iconic structures, the building also holds a special cultural significance in city's history: It was the first skyscraper to break ground after September 11th. Now, a decade later, Foster has returned to the Hearst Tower to mark its anniversary and reflect on his creation.
Watch the film here

Architecture And Design

January 15, 2015

Chelsea Apartment Is Flea Market Chic with a Pop Art Punch

There's no shortage of trendy flea markets in the city these days. From Brooklyn Flea to Green Flea, New Yorkers can easily deck out their entire apartments in retro, second-hand finds. And that's exactly what Brazilian design entrepreneur Houssein Jarouche did in his Chelsea pied-à-terre. But to keep the studio loft from looking like one big antique store, he enlisted the help of his friend and New York-based interior designer Ana Strumpf and infused the space with punches of contemporary, pop art and quirky pieces that reflect his passion for the American Industrial Era.
Take a tour around the flea market-chic apartment

First Four Essex Crossing Buildings Revealed

Rendering via SHoP Architects

January 15, 2015

First Four Essex Crossing Buildings Revealed

After 45 years of sitting vacant on the Lower East Side, the failed SPURA (Seward Park Urban Renewal Area) project site is being transformed to a $1.1 billion, 1.65 million-square-foot, mixed-use mega-development anchored by 1,000 residential units and a mix of cultural, community, and retail facilities. We've gotten snippets here and there on what the Essex Crossing project will look like–such as the Andy Warhol Museum and a 14-screen movie theater–but now Curbed has revealed renderings of the development's first four buildings. Construction on phase one of the project, which will occupy sites one, two, five and six (there are nine sites in total), is expected to commence this spring, and the notable architects who will spearhead the charge are SHoP, Handel Architects, Beyer Blinder Belle and Dattner Architects.
See what these architects have planned for Essex Crossing

January 15, 2015

Tribeca Bachelor Pad with Pool Table Asks $3.5 Million

It’s pretty clear right from the start that this loft at 81 Walker Street is a bachelor pad built for entertaining: partial walls, fluid floor plan, questionable bathroom artwork that would make your mother blush. It’s all there. But don’t let appearances fool you. This $3.475 million renovated full-floor condo has original loft details and quality finishes that make it ideal for any party.
Take a look inside, here

Distinctive Homes

January 14, 2015

To Ski or Not to Ski? That Is the Question in This Adorable Thorndale Condo

We dare you to look at this home and not want to make a cup of hot cocoa, sit down in front of the gas-burning fireplace, wrap yourself up in a blanket and lose yourself in a good book. This 1,209-square-foot Thorndale pad charms with ski lodge appeal, making the cold winter months an experience–and it’s available for rent, asking $8,500 per month.
Hold on while we grab some cocoa, then let’s take a look inside

Making the Cut: Is NYC Still the World’s Fashion Capital?

Via j-No via photopin cc

January 13, 2015

Making the Cut: Is NYC Still the World’s Fashion Capital?

By Michelle Cohen

Will 21st century New York City be able to retain its fashion capital status? How does an aspiring fashionista build a brilliant career? The answers come from a winning combination of education, innovation and inspiration, plus financial and media support. Though styles come and go with dizzying speed and designers fall in and out of favor, New York City has held the title of global fashion capital since the mid 20th century, when it rose to prominence with the unprecedented idea of developing sportswear as fashion. Today’s NYC is home to some of the world's top fashion schools whose famous graduates add to the city’s fashion culture and networks. Foreign designers choose to live and work here because of this status and creative energy, adding even more to the fabric. We may share this pedestal with quirky London–and trés chic Paris, the brainy Belgians, the stylish Scandinavians and the ascendant Aussies make things more interesting–but NYC is known as the place where style ideas and trends are born and exchanged.
But is NYC still the world's fashion capital?

Architecture And Design

January 13, 2015

$6.8M Soho Duplex with Tin Ceilings Will Make You “Greene” with Envy

By Stephanie Hoina

It doesn’t get more classic than this five-bedroom Soho loft located at 33 Greene Street between Broome and Grand Streets. From the building’s gorgeous cast iron façade to the nearly 5,000 square feet of living space, you’ll be easily won over by the duplex’s 13 oversized windows, 12-foot tin ceilings, large arched doorways, and beautifully preserved wood floors.
Envy, this way

Distinctive Homes

January 13, 2015

Chetrit Group Plans $1.8B Sellout for 96 Condos in the Sony Tower

Back in June, we learned that the Chetrit Group was planning to partially convert the Philip Johnson-designed Sony Tower at 550 Madison Avenue to high-end condos. And it has now been revealed that the 96 condo units will amount to a jaw-dropping $1.8 billion sellout, according to plans the developer filed with the Attorney General's office. By comparison, the initial total sellout at One57 was $2 billion, and at 432 Park Avenue it was $2.4 billion.
More on the luxury conversion

January 12, 2015

Four Architects Reimagine Times Square as a Place You Actually Want to Visit

While beloved by tourists, Times Square is easily the most hated destination for those who actually live in New York City. And it's no wonder: Shoulder to shoulder traffic, blinding lights, costumed (and un-costumed) characters, honking cars, and not a tree in sight—Times Square is pretty much your worst nightmare come to life. But could this congested consumerist hellscape one day become a place "Real New Yorkers" want to visit? Last year, the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility and vision42 held a competition asking designers and architects to rethink 42nd Street—from the East River to the Hudson River—as a "pedestrian-friendly, auto-free, sustainable boulevard." 200 submissions were received, and the institute has just announced the four finalists.
See the four finalists here

Architecture And Design

January 12, 2015

Construction Update: One Manhattan Square, Extell’s Mega-Rental Complex in Two Bridges

Groundwork continues on Extell Development's 847-foot-tall mega-rental complex at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. Rumored to be called One Manhattan Square, the project at 250 South Street will bring a staggering 790 luxury rentals and 205 affordable units to a remote section of the Two Bridges/Chinatown neighborhood. The project rises on the former site of a cherished one-story Pathmark supermarket and its sprawling parking lot. While details of the design remain scarce, public documents reveal a two-towered development of 68 and 23 stories to rise atop a three-story podium that will contain 30,000 square feet of retail. Blogger Bowery Boogie uncovered the residential amenity package, which will include two swimming pools, a health club, basketball court, squash court, bowling alley, golf simulator, and 137 on-site parking spaces.
More details on One Manhattan Square

January 12, 2015

EVENT: Is the Vanderbilt Corridor the Future of East Midtown?

The proposed East Midtown Rezoning has been a hotly debated issue over the past few years. First introduced by Mayor Bloomberg, and backed by Mayor de Blasio, the rezoning would allow developers to build larger and taller than the current Grand Central Terminal district zoning allows in exchange for financial contributions to the area's infrastructure needs. The Department of City Planning feels the rezoning would ensure that the area maintains its spot as a global business center, but others think it would forever ruin the historic nature of the neighborhood. One of the most major components of the project is One Vanderbilt, a 68-story, 1,514-foot zigzag tower that will stand adjacent to Grand Central. Along with the building comes a reconfiguration of the Vanderbilt Corridor, the streetscape around the Terminal. A panel discussion at the Museum of the City of New York on January 20th will examine both the tower and the corridor and what they mean for Midtown East.
More about the event here

January 12, 2015

New Public Art Piece Will Have All of Times Square Yawning at Once

And not out of boredom. Sebastian Errazuriz has created a new public art piece for Times Square that is the antithesis of the high-energy, fast-paced neighborhood. It's a close-up, black-and-white, three-minute video of the artist looking around and yawning that plays on 50 digital billboards throughout Times Square, which triggers a domino effect of sleepy, open mouthed gaping, since we all know yawns are contagious. Errazuriz's idea was to instill "a pause in the city that never goes to sleep," which informs the title of the work. The yawn-athon takes place every night through January 17th at 11:47pm from 42nd to 47th Streets between Broadway and 7th Avenue.
More (yawn) details ahead

Events & Things To Do

January 12, 2015

NYC Design Firm Axis Mundi Creates a Work of Art to House Their Client’s Works of Art

By Stephanie Hoina

What do you get when you mix the classic bones of a landmarked Greek Revival townhouse built in the 1840s with the bold, award-winning, and decidedly 21st century esthetic of New York-based design firm Axis Mundi? A Greenwich Village residence that is an absolutely stunning work of art. When tasked with not only the gut renovation of a timeless building but also ensuring a suitable context for their client’s spectacular and thoroughly modern art collection, Axis Mundi made certain to respect the charms and scale of the original style while creating a fitting showcase for the likes of Warhol, Haring, and Basquiat.
See why every inch of this home is a work of art

January 12, 2015

Checking In on 56 Leonard: The Rising Star in the Downtown Skyline

Esteemed architect and historian Robert A.M. Stern once said that "New York is a constellation of magic moments. No city as complex as New York rebuilds itself so often, and often so well." Two stars are being born in that nebula of irregular streets we call Downtown. The taller of the two, 30 Park Place, is designed by the famed starchitect himself, and has recently surpassed its neighbor, the Woolworth Building, to soon take its place as the tallest residential perch in the district. The other star, 56 Leonard, may still shine brighter, however. While absent any height superlatives, 56 Leonard may very well end up being the most interesting skyscraper Downtown has produced in decades. Nicknamed the "Jenga-building" and the "tower of penthouses," 56 Leonard's design comes from the Swiss architectural firm of Herzog & de Meuron while working with the residential know-it-alls at Goldstein Hill & West. Currently, the concrete frame is approximately 700 feet tall with little more than 100 feet to rise before topping off. The floors progressively stagger at varying configurations creating cantilevered interior spaces as well as outdoor balconies for each of the residences.
More details ahead

January 9, 2015

Muddy Construction Commences on Jardim, Isay Weinfeld’s Condominium on the High Line

The construction boom in Chelsea along the High Line continues unabated with the start of another condo development penned by a highly acclaimed foreign architect. This latest condominium, dubbed “Jardim” (Portuguese for garden), comes from the office of visionary Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld. Developed by Harlan Berger's Centaur Properties, Jardim's site is situated at 525 West 25th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues–just a single starchitect's lot away from the High Line. Construction at the currently muddy site has commenced, and we got a first-hand look at the progress.
More on the project here

January 9, 2015

NoMad’s Commune Hotel Reaches Street Level, Will Feature a Public Roof Deck at 300 Feet

After lying fallow for years, the site of the city's first Commune Hotel at 11 East 31st Street is abuzz with construction activity and has risen to street level. Developed by Simon Development Group, Cube Capital, and Eagle Point Hotel, the 250-room, 32-story hotel situated between Fifth and Madison Avenues will be among a dozen new residential and hotel developments slated to transform the once-sleepy NoMad neighborhood. With Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman Architects serving as the design architects and Mancini-Duffy Architecture as the architects of record, the slender 335-foot tower will feature a 125-seat restaurant, lounge, and a rooftop bar providing sweeping skyline vistas and front-row views of the Empire State Building.
More on the hotel and construction progress ahead

January 9, 2015

Community Board Likes Pier55 Floating Park Overall, but Wants More Transparency

It's been relatively quiet over the past six weeks or so as far as news about the proposed offshore park and performance space in the Hudson River known as Pier55. But this week, Community Board 2's Parks and Waterfront Committee reviewed the project, and though they liked Thomas Heatherwick's design overall, they cited their main concern as transparency. The board's issue stems from the fact that billionaire media mogul Barry Diller, who committed $130 million to the 2.7-acre park, and the Hudson River Park Trust had been working secretively for two years on the plans. According to Curbed, committee member Arthur Schwartz said, "Probably the main public critique of this project has been the way that so much of the design was developed in infinite detail before it even became a matter of public knowledge."
More on the outcome of the public meeting

January 9, 2015

Shoot Hoops in This Novogratz Townhouse for $70K a Month

It’s probably fitting that this striking townhouse has a basketball court because it appears that the owners, husband-and-wife design team Bob and Cortney Novogratz, are going to have to jump through hoops just to get it off their hands. The celebrity duo has been trying to unload this West Village townhouse since 2009, but for some reason they just can’t seem to get out from under it. It’s a bit surprising when you consider the specs: 7,180 square feet of interior space, 1,900 square feet of exterior space, high ceilings and views from every level in downtown Manhattan. And we haven’t even gotten to the good part. Well, now they’re bringing the home back to the market, this time as a rental, asking $70,000 per month.
Take a look inside, here

Distinctive Homes

January 8, 2015

Rents in Brooklyn Still Up Even with a Boom in New Listings

MNS has just released the December rental reports covering Manhattan and Brooklyn. Far from surprisingly, rents were up in both boroughs, each seeing a solid increase year over year. But one finding that definitely stood out was Brooklyn's 9 percent uptick in new listings between November and December 2014. Whether rents will reflect the new inventory the coming months has yet to be seen; November on December figures slow only the slightest decrease with average rents falling from $2,677 to $2,666 (a 0.39 percent drop). Bigger picture figures show that since December 2013, rent prices have increased 3.08 percent rising from $2,587 to $2,667 in December 2014. Brooklyn neighborhoods that did especially well last year included Boerum Hill, which saw an average rent increase of 15.7 percent from $2,668 in December 2013 to $3,088 in December 2014; and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, which saw a 9.5 percent increase since December 2013—a continuing trend for the nabe. So, is Brooklyn still having its moment?
More details on Brooklyn and the Manhattan dispatch this way

Real Estate Trends

January 8, 2015

Leave the City Behind in This Charming $15K a Month Brownstone

Yes, this is actually a Manhattan residence, not a Brooklyn pad in disguise. The renovated single-family brownstone is located just a block from Central Park and is brimming with charm. The cozy and familiar home has an owner of practically 50 years who has updated the interior with modern comforts like radiant heated floors, but it's details like decorative fireplaces and stained glass accents that make this place truly special.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

January 8, 2015

There’s No Place to Hide in This Former Printing Press Turned Soho Loft Home

By Stephanie Hoina

We love how New York’s historical mashup of factories, businesses, places of worship, carriage houses, etc., means that modern living spaces often have unique and interesting former lives. This Soho loft originally housed a printing press, and JENDRETZKI Architects was given the enviable task of transforming its hard edges and wide-open floor plan into a contemporary and functional home—although those who desire lots of privacy may not be so keen on some of the views afforded within the interior.
From printing press to posh loft

Architecture And Design

January 8, 2015

Fox News Host Kimberly Guilfoyle Buys $3.4M Central Park West Apartment Full of Taxidermied Animals

Generally speaking, the ultra-conservative crowd isn't spending their free time volunteering with PETA. So it's quite fitting that Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle just picked up the infamous taxidermy-filled apartment in the Beresford. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your thoughts on decorative dead animals, the long-time owner, journalist Gregory Speck, is sending his massive collection of stuffed friends to the Virginia Museum of Natural History, according to the Post. And Guilfoyle has already hired architect Campion Platt to renovate the two-bedroom, "classic six" home. Lucky for us, though, it's not too late to see the bizarre (or some may say terrifying) Central Park West home.
Take a look inside

January 8, 2015

Tour All Five NYC Boroughs in Five Minutes with This Amazing Drone Video

We thought Google’s new 3-D maps of NYC were cool, but this incredible aerial video of the city’s five boroughs blows Google Earth out of the water. Sky Tech One Aerial Photography created a spectacular montage of footage with the help of a drone, and what’s captured is truly something else. Spanning Lower Manhattan to Yankee Stadium […]

Uncategorized

January 8, 2015

Construction Update: High Line-Embracing Condo 505 West 19th Street Gets Its Skin

The area surrounding the High Line continues to serve as the city's hotbed of avant-garde architecture, and Thomas Juul-Hansen's 505w19 is the latest jewel to stud West Chelsea's verdant necklace. The two-building project, whose 10-story volumes straddle either side of the High Line, will join the ranks of Foster's 551W21, Selldorf's 520 West Chelsea, and Shigeru Ban's Metal Shutter House as a timeless, modern addition that contextually blends into the west side's no-nonsense streetscape. We recently got a peek at the construction of this 35-unit condo development, which is currently getting its skin--a dark-grey saw toothed façade with exposed concrete columns and slab edges.
Take a look at the progress here

158-Year-Old Legally-Embattled Building on Leonard Street Finally Sells for $11.2 Million

Image via Tribeca Trib

January 7, 2015

158-Year-Old Legally-Embattled Building on Leonard Street Finally Sells for $11.2 Million