Search Results for: architecture firm

September 18, 2015

SHoP Architects Are Bringing a Wooden Condo Building to Chelsea

In March, an Austrian architecture firm announced plans to build the world's tallest wooden skyscraper in Vienna. They noted that by using wood as opposed to concrete they'd save 3,086 tons of CO2 emissions. Then, a study showed that timber buildings actually cost less to build. These benefits really must have stuck with SHoP Architects, who are developing plans for a ten-story residential building in Chelsea, overlooking the High Line at 475 West 18th Street, that will be made entirely of wood, according to the Wall Street Journal. SHoP's project came via a competition hosted by the United States Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the Softwood Lumber Board and the Binational Softwood Lumber Council, that asked architecture firms to design buildings at least 80 feet tall that employed wood construction technologies. SHoP's design, dubbed 475 West, won the competition along with a 12-story building in Portland. The firms will split a $3 million prize to "embark on the exploratory phase of their projects, including the research and development necessary to utilize engineered wood products in high-rise construction."
More on the project here
August 27, 2015

Ultra Minimal Long Island Home Blurs the Lines Between Indoor and Outdoor

If you're going to live in the middle of nature in Amagansett, a hamlet on the south shore of Long Island, you want to be reminded of the beautiful outdoors as much as possible. That seems to be the inspiration behind this home built by the architecture firm Levenbetts, who designed this property for a couple and their teenage children. It's been dubbed the 36SML House and was designed as three connected wings—a wing for the couple, another wing for their kids, and yet another one for guests. A driveway cuts through the middle of the home, and there's a roof deck (with amphitheater seating!) on top. Each wing of the house also creates separate courtyard spaces to accommodate parking space, a vegetable garden, and a play area with a swimming pool. Thoroughly impressed by the exterior?
Now check out the interior
August 25, 2015

Construction Ramps Up on Far West Side Mega-Rental at the Foot of Bjarke’s Ski Slope

Site excavation continues on TF Cornerstone's (TFC) mammoth 42-story rental development at 606 West 57th Street between Eleventh Avenue and the West Side Highway. Midtown's 57th Street has become synonymous with superlative titles, with the tallest, the thinnest, most expensive, and, arguably, some of the most exciting high-rises the city has seen in decades. At the far west end of the two-mile thoroughfare, TFC has joined in on the megalomania with a 1,028-unit, 1.2 million-square-foot rental building that will become the second largest apartment building in the city after Moinian's SKY project a few blocks south.
More details ahead
July 22, 2015

Soak in Views of Morningside Park from this $1M Classic Six Co-op

Who doesn't love a classic six Manhattan apartment, especially with views of the park? This may not be Central Park, and this may not be a storied Upper East Side co-op building, but we're still loving this apartment up for sale at La Touraine, a 24-unit prewar co-op at 50 Morningside Drive in Morningside Heights. It's got stunning views of Morningside Park, not to mention a beautiful interior. The price isn't cheap, but it's certainly less than a classic six on the market with views of Central Park. The ask comes in at $1.05 million.
Check it out
June 23, 2015

Could the Empire State Building Have Been Built with Wood?

Back in March, an Austrian architecture firm announced plans to build the world's tallest wooden skyscraper in Vienna, noting that by using this material instead of concrete, they'd save 3,086 tons of CO2 emissions. The news launched a lot of musings from the architecture community on the benefits of wood construction versus steel or concrete. A new story, originally published on ArchDaily by Patrick Kunkel, takes a look at whether or not the Empire State Building could have been built with timber. Michael Green has teamed up with Finnish forestry company Metsä Wood and Equilibrium Consulting to redesign the Empire State Building with wood as the main material. The project is part of Metsä Wood’s “Plan B” program, which explores what it would be like for iconic buildings to be made of timber. Their work shows that not only can wood be used to produce enormous structures in a dense urban context, but also that timber towers can fit into an urban setting and even mimic recognizable buildings despite differences in material.
Read the rest here
June 3, 2015

POLL: Can Snøhetta Transform Manhattan’s Most-Hated Area?

Earlier today, we learned that Vornado Realty Trust tapped Oslo-based starchitecture firm Snøhetta to create a master plan for the redesign of the Penn Station area. Even the developer referred to Manhattan’s most-hated and most-congested location as “the collision of humanity.” But Snøhetta worked their magic creating the Times Square pedestrian plaza, so we want to know if […]

May 10, 2015

$13M Tudor Revival Mansion on Lake George Has Historic Connection to Brooklyn

Lake George, New York is about a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Brooklyn, but this stunning upstate mansion has an interesting connection to the borough. Known as Wikiosco, which means "home on beautiful waters" in Algonquin, the Tudor Revival-style residence was built in 1895 for Royal C. Peabody, founder of Brooklyn Con Edison. It was designed by Brooklyn-based architecture firm Ludlow and Peabody; architect Charles S. Peabody was Royal's son. Our friends at Find Everything Historic noticed that Wikiosco is on the market, asking $12.9 million. And considering that a 25-foot-wide Brooklyn brownstone often goes for far more than that, we think this seven-bedroom, 20,000-square-foot mansion is the perfect getaway home for one lucky New Yorker. Not only is it one of the last intact 20th century mansions along Lake George's western shore (which is known as Millionaire's Row), but it boasts a 4,000 bottle wine cellar, 12-car garage, two covered boathouses, and a heated outdoor pool.
Find out more about this storied home
May 6, 2015

Landmarks Greenlights 190 Bowery Restoration Plan with Iconic Graffiti Intact

After several weeks of back and forth on whether or not the new owner of 190 Bowery, Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty, would keep its iconic graffiti, it's now official that the historic Germania Bank Building will remain in all its tagged glory. As Yimby reports, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the proposed restoration and conversion to an office building with ground-floor retail. The plan, conceptualized by preservation architecture firm Higgins Quasebarth & Partners with the help of MdeAS Architects, "calls for restoration of metal gates, wooden doors, stained glass, and other elements, but not removing the graffiti or cleaning the façade."
More on the approved plans here
May 4, 2015

Should We Rebuild the Original Penn Station?; Bart Simpson Sculpture Unveiled in Midtown

A Brooklyn-based architecture firm looks at rebuilding the original Penn Station to accommodate modern transportation. [Curbed] Nancy Cartwright, the voice behind Bart Simpson, sculpted a bust of her famous character, which was unveiled this weekend in Midtown. [Gothamist] Looking back at the Dorilton, an apartment house that evokes “memories of Paris.” [Ephemeral NY] New essay collection from […]

May 4, 2015

Shoes Are the Star at This SoHo Loft Redesign by Aa Studio

Anyone who appreciates good design as much as a good pair of shoes will love this project by Aa Studio. The New York-based architecture firm focuses on space, proportion and light in home design. So given the task of a bedroom redesign that would also accommodate a large designer shoe collection, it's no surprise that the result feels so spacious. The gorgeous, bright master bedroom, located inside of a Soho penthouse, comes with sleek, grown-up cubby spaces that show off the impressive footwear display.
See more interior photos here
April 22, 2015

Park Slope’s Iconic Pavilion Theater to Be Demolished for a Morris Adjmi-Designed Residential Project

Back in December we revealed that Park Slope's iconic Pavilion Theater may be going residential after scoping out renderings on the website of architecture firm Architecture Outfit, which showed two possible schemes. The first was a six-story residential building rising behind the theater’s sublime Moorish façade and from a neighboring lot just south of the theater, and the second was a plan that preserved the theater in its entirety, limiting construction to the neighboring lot. Now, The Real Deal reports that Hidrock Realty, who bought the theater in 2006 for $16 million, has officially filed plans to build a six-story, 24-unit building on the site at 188 Prospect Park West, replacing the theater. And the architect of record is none other than Morris Adjmi, well known for his ability to create structures that seamlessly blend with their historic surroundings while still displaying subtle, modern touches. But since the theater is part of the Park Slope Historic District, this plan will likely not be so cut-and-dried.
More details on the project ahead
April 10, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Caroline Weaver Is Making Pencils Cool Again with Her New LES Pencil Shop

In an era where typing trumps writing by hand, it might come as surprise to learn of a one-month-old store on the Lower East Side devoted to all things pencil. Then again, perhaps the digital age has primed all of us for a return to the simplest writing implement of them all, which is exactly what owner Caroline Weaver hopes will happen with her store, CW Pencil Enterprise. Caroline opened the store mere weeks ago in March, following the launch of an online boutique back in October 2014. While the move from screen to storefront may seem fast, Caroline's decision was in response to stellar online sales. Her store provides a tactile shopping experience, but more than that, she wants to share her passion for pencils with New Yorkers. Customers will be delighted by Caroline's knowledge of pencil history as well as her understanding and appreciation that pencils are at the beginning of many great achievements. We recently stopped by the store to ask Caroline some sharp questions, and just like the pencils she carries, her answers were on point.
Read our interview with Caroline here
February 27, 2015

Revealed: AB Architekten’s 29 Clay Street to Bring Manhattan Modernism to Greenpoint

A proposed 12-story residential building near the mouth of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint may bring some avante-garde design to a neighborhood better known for its low-slung factories, unpretentious row-houses, hearty Polish community, and an immense wastewater treatment plant. Coming from the office of AB Architekten, led by Alexander Blakely, a 70,000-square-foot proposal at 19-29 Clay Street is envisioned to rise directly across from the long-promised Box Street Park, and it may be the first of a multitude of high-rises set to radically transform the neighborhood's waterfront.
More information on the proposed project
February 25, 2015

Renderings Revealed for West Village’s New Triangular Park That Will Feature AIDS Memorial

In 2011, Rudin Management inked a controversial deal to convert part of St. Vincent's Hospital into luxury condos, now known as The Greenwich Lane. Part of the deal was that the developer would build a public park on an adjacent piece of triangular land that would include the city's first major AIDS memorial, a feature that garnered tons of press thanks to a much-talked-about design competition. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that Rudin has broken ground on the new 16,000-square-foot West Village green space, located on Seventh Avenue between Greenwich Avenue and West 12th Street. And along with this news comes renderings from M. Paul Friedberg & Partners, the architecture firm that designed the Greenwich Lane and is also designing the park, which show winding walkways, curving benches, plenty of trees, play areas, a lawn, and water jets.
More details ahead
February 11, 2015

Snøhetta Transforms a Gowanus Warehouse into a Mural Studio for Cuban Artist José Parlá

You've probably seen the murals of Cuban-American artist José Parlá in the lobbies of One World Trade Center and the Barclays Center. With such high-profile clients, it's no wonder he worked with starchitecture firm Snøhetta, who completed the 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilion, to create his personal artist's studio. Collaborating together, Parlá and Snøhetta transformed a Gowanus warehouse into a double-height workspace that retains industrial characteristics of the building like beamed ceilings, exposed piping and electrical fixtures, and concrete floors. To tailor the studio to their client's needs, the firm re-opened old skylights to let natural light in to the middle of the work space, and they painted all the walls neutral grey tones so Parlá's bright paintings really stand out.
More on the project
December 24, 2014

A 1960s Upstate Log Cabin Transformed into a One-Room Family Home

Takaaki Kawabata (Taka), a senior associate at architecture firm Janson Goldstein, and his wife, designer Christina Kawabata, wanted to move their family from Williamsburg, where their rent had quadrupled, to a rural home still within commuting distance to the city. After first seeing a 1960s log cabin in Garrison, New York, Taka wasn't impressed. But, having grown up in a one-room farmhouse in Japan, when he looked over the plans he knew this was his family's new home. The couple bought the cabin for $335,000, embarked on a year-long $50,000 remodel, and transformed the outdated structure into an 1,100-square-foot family home with a completely open-plan layout and an excess-free living model.
Take a look at the result here
December 19, 2014

REVEALED: 290-Foot Cantilevering Condo Coming to Hudson Square/West Soho

A development site at Greenwich and Charlton Streets promises to be among the first to bear fruit from Hudson Square's 2013 rezoning. Images uncovered on the website of Fernando Romero EnterprisE (FR-EE) detail a 26-floor, 116-unit condominium along the quiet commercial edge of the neighborhood. The L-shaped lot is owned by the developer Cape Advisors, whose forward-thinking projects include 100 Eleventh Avenue and One Kenmare Square.
More details ahead
December 18, 2014

Davis Brody Bond, Architects of 9/11 Museum, Will Design New NYU Building in the Village

Architecture firm Davis Brody Bond is continuing their tradition of designing projects met with much controversy. First came the 9/11 Museum, then the Frick Museum expansion, and now the new NYU building in the Village. Davis Brody Bond will join KieranTimberlake in designing the university's new building on the Coles Sports Center site on Mercer Street between Houston and Bleecker Streets. The building is part of the highly contentious $6 billion, 1.9 million-square-foot NYU 2031 expansion plan. The development agreement allows NYU to develop only one parcel of land at a time, with Coles being the first.
READ MORE
December 16, 2014

Times Square Is Getting a Heart-Beating Urban Drum for Valentine’s Day

As New Yorkers, we don't really think of Times Square as a romantic location, but for Valentine's Day 2015 we might just stand corrected. Brooklyn-based architecture firm Stereotank was announced as the winner of the annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design contest, a public art competition held for the past seven years by the Times Square Alliance and the Architectural League of New York. Stereotank's HEARTBEAT installation is an interactive, heart-beating, glowing urban drum.
More on HEARTBEAT ahead
December 8, 2014

Park Slope’s Iconic Pavilion Theater May Go Residential

Images on the website of architecture firm Architecture Outfit reveal that Park Slope's historic Pavilion Theater at 188 Prospect Park South may go residential. The theater is currently owned by a consortium led by Ben Kafash who purchased the theater from Morristown, NJ-based Cinedigm in 2011. One scheme shows a six-story residential building rising behind the theater's sublime Moorish façade and from a neighboring lot just south of the theater. It conceptualizes a mix of apartments along the circle dubbed Bartel-Pritchard Square and contextually scaled townhouses along narrow 14th Street. The second scheme preserves the theater in its entirety and limits new construction to the neighboring lot at 190 Prospect Park West where a nondescript one-story building currently stands.
More information here
December 1, 2014

Chelsea Townhouse Gets an Upgrade with a 550-Square-Foot Glass and Steel Garden Extension

The renovation of this beautiful West Side property was made possible by the design team from Chelsea's very own respected architecture firm, Archi-Tectonics. This project included the addition of  a garden extension, two floors, and a rooftop terrace. The client, who is a fashion designer, wanted the home to reflect a "textured" or layered approach in its design, and the cool, narrative style does just that. The contemporary renovation was completed in 2011, when the original 3,400-square-foot brownstone–also a New York City landmark–was extended by 550 feet with the addition of the new garden space to create a residence that was light and airy.
Take a look at the rest of the house
November 27, 2014

What About NYC Are You Most Thankful For? We Ask 10 New Yorkers

That's the question that we've been asking 6sqft's friends and Twitter followers leading up to Thanksgiving. It's easy to get pulled into the NYC complaining vortex (The 6 train is delayed again?! You're raising my rent how much?!), but the reality is that we live in the greatest city in the entire world, and there's plenty here to be thankful for, whether it's something as small as seeing a cute dog on the street or as large as visiting famous museums.
Read the responses we got here
November 17, 2014

One Vanderbilt: New Images of Midtown East’s Zigzag Supertower

Recently at the Municipal Art Society's 2014 Summit for NYC, James von Klemperer, FAIA , a principal at Kohn Pederson Fox & Associates, briefed the audience with new details on the architecture firm's upcoming supertall project known as One Vanderbilt. In case you haven't been paying attention, the 68-story, 1,514-foot zigzag building is expected to become the tallest office tower in Midtown and third tallest in the city behind One World Trade Center (1,776 feet to spire tip) and Extell's Nordstrom Tower (1,775 feet to spire tip).
Check out all the new images of the supertall tower here
November 7, 2014

New Yorker Spotlight: Mark Stumer of Mojo Stumer Takes Us Inside His Architectural World

From an early age, architect Mark Stumer was practicing skills needed for his future craft. He engaged with the world of design through drawing, admiring buildings in Manhattan, and even studying lobbies and courtyards. It's fair to say that Mark wanted to be an architect before he even knew what one was, or what the job entailed. Genetics likely played a role as his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all in construction. For almost 35 years, Mark and his partner Thomas Mojo have served as principals of Mojo Stumer & Associates, an architectural firm known for their modern designs and incorporation of architecture and interior design. The firm has received numerous accolades, and recently added another AIA Award to their collection. We recently spoke with Mark about his life-long architectural passion.
Read our interview with Mark here
November 7, 2014

Cleverly Designed Noho Loft Is Inspired by the Japanese Bento Box

Making space for all of your things is a constant challenge when living in New York City, and efficient storage is a valuable commodity (any seasoned New Yorker would agree). That's why this cleverly designed Noho loft, inspired by the neatly-packed Japanese bento box, has caught our attention. Koko, the architecture firm responsible for the delicious design, was approached by friends (and now clients) to revamp their 1,400 square foot loft into a space capable providing for the needs of a growing family.
See how everything fits into place