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Considering today would have been Frank Lloyd Wright's 150th birthday, you'd think we all know everything there is to know about the prolific architect. But the wildly creative, often stubborn, and always meticulous Wright was also quite mysterious, leaving behind a legacy full of oddities and little-known stories. In honor of the big day, 6sqft has rounded up the top 10 things you likely never knew about him, including the mere three hours it took him to design one of his most famous buildings, the world-famous toy that his son designed, his secondary career, and a couple present-day ways his work lives on.
Everything you never knew about FLW

June 7, 2017

The MetLife Building’s letters are getting a makeover

While the Brutalist architecture of the MetLife Building, formerly the Pan Am Building, makes this 59-story skyscraper stand out among Midtown's many tall towers, its large sign touting its namesake makes it easy for all to identify. Beginning this week, the insurance company will replace the massive letters with a brand new typeface, as Crain’s reported. The installation of the new, more modern logo will be the first time the building’s sign has changed since 1993 when 15- and 18-foot-long letters spelling out MetLife replaced Pan Am’s sign. Additionally, the firm's new corporate logo--made more colorful in an attempt to shift their marketing strategy along with a new tagline "Navigating life together"--is being installed on the tower's east side.
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Architecture And Design

May 31, 2017

Moscow-based Meganom reveals designs for 1,001-foot skinny supertall in Nomad

Joining the ranks of supertall, super-skinny skyscrapers like 432 Park, 111 West 57th Street, and 125 Greenwich Street comes 262 Fifth Avenue in Nomad (h/t Dezeen). The first U.S. project by Moscow-based firm Meganom, the residential tower will soar to 1,001 feet, which will make it the tallest structure between the Empire State Building and One WTC, stealing the title by a longshot from the 777-foot 45 East 22nd Street. The architects say the project "will include several 'firsts' in terms of its design and environmental sustainability features," and that it will boast "a striking arched observation deck" at its top.
More renderings and details ahead

Ahead of L train shutdown, developers flock to properties along G, J, M and Z lines

G Train at Court Square via Wikipedia

May 26, 2017

Ahead of L train shutdown, developers flock to properties along G, J, M and Z lines

In response to the looming 15th-month L train shutdown, which will affect its nearly 225,000 daily riders beginning April 2019, real estate developers have started looking at Williamsburg’s hip and slightly cheaper neighbors, Greenpoint and South Williamsburg. Both areas sit nearby the G, J, M and Z trains, and in the past have offered a variety of housing options at cheaper prices. According to the New York Times, as developers begin their plunge into Greenpoint, sites along these train lines have become pricier and more difficult to lock down.
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May 24, 2017

First look at CetraRuddy’s proposed hotel-apartment tower for Hudson Yards

Back in September, the developer Joseph Chetrit filed plans to build a 48-floor mixed-use tower with 421 hotel rooms and 135 residential units in the Hudson Yards neighborhood. Now, the wait is over as renderings of Chetrit Group’s proposed tower at 541-545 West 37th Street have officially been revealed. As CityRealty learned, CetraRuddy Architecture is designing the high-tech skyscraper, which is expected to rise 622 feet and overlook the future Hudson Boulevard Park. The building will span 621,000 square feet and include exhibition, retail, hotel and residential spaces.
More details and renderings

May 16, 2017

Landmarks approves plans to disassemble RKO Keith’s Flushing Theater’s historic interiors

In a rare case, the RKO Keith's Flushing Theater is an interior landmark, but the building it's inside is not landmarked. Built in 1928 to the designs of noted theater architect Thomas Lamb, the elaborately ornamented Churrigueresque-style movie palace has sat decrepit for the past three decades, until Chinese firm Xinyuan Real Estate (they're also behind Williamsburg's Oosten condo and the forthcoming Hell's Kitchen condo that will be anchored by a Target) bought the vacant theater for $66 million last year with plans to develop it into a 269-unit luxury condo. Moving ahead with this vision, they've tapped Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and preservation specialists Ayon Studio to erect a 16-story glass tower at the site, which includes plans to "enclose the interior landmark, and to disassemble, restore off-site, and reinstall salvaged ornamental plasterwork and woodwork and replicas" in a new residential lobby. Despite some opposition from the Historic Districts Council (HDC) regarding public accessibility, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted in favor of the plan, congratulating the architects and expressing great admiration for their design.
More details ahead

Policy

May 10, 2017

Starchitect César Pelli lists 5,000-square-foot San Remo apartment with gorgeous views for $26M

Internationally renowned architect César Pelli, founder of the firm Pelli Clarke Pelli, just listed his San Remo apartment at 145 Central Park West for $26 million (h/t LLNYC). Pelli and his wife, landscape architect and urban design scholar Diana Balmori, who died last year, purchased the five-bedroom co-op for $17.5 million in 2015 from John Leguizamo's mother-in-law, Rona Maurer. Pelli is known for skyscrapers like Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers and, closer to home, Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan, and he's now hoping to make quite the profit on this incredible spread.
View more of this Central Park West classic

May 3, 2017

Bowerbird architects create a custom nest in a Boerum Hill loft with details in steel and reclaimed wood

"Everything evolves," begins the mission statement by architecture and design firm Bowerbird, explaining how their namesake (the bowerbird) evolved to design and decorate its home with an eye for detail. The firm explores the idea that good design and creativity similarly "does not spring forth in a single moment of inspired genius;" they work to produce an uncommon solution for each undertaking. Evolved design is definitely in effect in this Boerum Hill loft, resulting in a home with a fresh look that leaves crowded, overdone design and cold, unfinished lofts in the dust. Rooms are polished, elegant and comfortable without being fussy. And natural and reclaimed details aren’t contrived, but rather fit in well with the former factory’s big-shouldered loft bones.
See more of this timeless loft design

May 3, 2017

Sting’s futuristic-meets-classic 15 Central Park West penthouse hits the market for $56M

By Annie Doge

British rocker Sting and his wife Trudie Styler have listed their chic duplex at the Robert A.M. Stern-designed 15 Central Park West for $56 million (h/t WSJ). The couple purchased the 16th- and 17th-floor penthouse for about $27 million in 2008, and then enlisted architecture and interior design firm SheltonMindel to combine the units and transform them into a "unique home" that includes two custom sculptural spiral staircases and a double-sided spiral gas fireplace that was inspired by the Fibonacci Spiral. Last summer, the couple was in negotiations to buy another Stern condo at 220 Central Park South, one of NYC's most expensive apartment buildings, and now that they "need more space to accommodate their growing family" the time may be ripe to do so.
See it all

April 18, 2017

INTERVIEW: Co-founder of the Brooklyn Home Company, Bill Caleo

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

The Brooklyn Home Company (THBCo) is a family-run cooperative of artists and builders that develop unique residential spaces in booming Brooklyn. Best described as white and wood but never cookie cutter, their work is always light and airy, and blend modern style with historic elements. It's this signature style that's made THBCo a favorite amongst both renovators and Pinterest enthusiasts alike. But what inspires their designs and how do they decide where to develop projects? Ahead, 6sqft speaks to THBCo's co-founder and Head of Operations, Bill Caleo, about the business. Find out how this family-run establishment firmly roots itself in working with local makers, how they've grown their business model to include sustainability, and why they always add a custom piece of art to all their homes.
our interview with bill here

April 11, 2017

INTERVIEW: Paula Scher on designing the brands of New York’s most beloved institutions

By Emily Nonko

Paula Scher is one of the most recognizable names in the design world, considered legendary in the industry for creating the identities of major New York institutions. Scher moved to New York in the 1970s to begin her design career and got her start in the music industry. As art director for CBS, she designed around 150 albums a year and produced numerous ads and posters. Her record covers include everything from the Rolling Stones' Still Life to Leonard Bernstein's Stravinky, four of which were recognized with Grammy nominations. As a record designer, Scher was credited with reviving historical typefaces and design styles—and typefaces still play heavily in her work today. Scher left Atlantic Records to begin her own design firm in 1982, and in 1991 she joined her current firm, Pentagram, as the company's first female principal. Although Pentagram is an international design company, its New York office is behind the identities of some of the city's most beloved establishments. It was at Pentagram Scher established her reputation as a New York designer who created unique, lasting identities.
more with Paula Scher here

Past Prisons: Inside the new lives of 7 former NYC jails

A 1938 photo showing the Women’s House of Detention south of the Jefferson Market Courthouse, via NYPL

April 10, 2017

Past Prisons: Inside the new lives of 7 former NYC jails

By Penelope Bareau

The past week has been full of news about Rikers Island and Mayor de Blasio's announcement that the notorious prison will be closed and replaced with smaller facilities throughout the boroughs. Ideas for re-use of its 413 acres have included commercial, residential and mixed-use properties; academic centers; sports and recreation facilities; a convention center; or an expansion of nearby LaGuardia airport. And while anything final is estimated to be a decade away, this isn't the first prison in NYC to be adaptively reused. From a health spa to a production studio to a housing development, 6sqft explores the new lives of seven past prisons.
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History

Gamma Real Estate closes on $86M purchase of 3 Sutton Place, taps Thomas Juul-Hansen for new design

The original rendering of 3 Sutton Place by Foster + Partners

April 10, 2017

Gamma Real Estate closes on $86M purchase of 3 Sutton Place, taps Thomas Juul-Hansen for new design

Following a contentious legal battle, Gamma Real Estate has won the foreclosure auction and closed on the $86 million acquisition of 3 Sutton Place, a development site where the firm plans on building a 700-foot-tall condominium tower. As Commercial Observer learned, this includes three neighboring lots at 428-432 East 58th Street between First Avenue and Sutton Place. Earlier this year, 6sqft explained that a bankruptcy judge authorized the sale of the property after Joseph Beninati’s Bauhouse Group failed to pay back creditors. While Stephen B Jacobs remains the executive architect, Gamma has hired Thomas Juul-Hansen, a Danish-born architect, who will design the skyscraper.
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Real Estate Trends

April 7, 2017

Kwong Von Glinow’s new prototype for affordable housing can be stacked to fit any lot size

By Ondel Hylton and Dana Schulz

The first place winners of the New York Affordable Housing Challenge, an architectural competition run by Bee Breeders, have been announced. Kwong Von Glinow Design Office received first prize for their entry “The Table Top,” a modular system that aggregates and stacks to provide density and diversity in a city as varied as New York. Designed as a prototype for affordable housing in New York City, the flexible system could accommodate the city's wide range of lot sizes and is adaptable to a variety of unit combinations for diverse types of residents. With an affordable housing crisis abetting an increasingly socially divided city with the majority of its residents spending over half of their annual income on rent, the project speaks to Mayor de Blasio’s emphasis on the dire need to create more affordable housing at both new and redeveloped existing sites.
Find out more about this flexible, scalable design for living

March 31, 2017

Zaha Hadid’s unknown, unbuilt and celebrated projects in New York City

A year ago today, Zaha Hadid's sudden passing at age 65 rocked the architecture world. Best known for her signature swooping and curving forms and for being the first female to win the Pritzker Prize, she surprisingly has only one project in NYC, the under-construction 520 West 28th Street. Likely due to an unwillingness to tame her energetic visions to suit a developer's bottom line, the majority of her work envisioned for the city remains unbuilt. To mark the one-year anniversary of her passing and to pay tribute to her "larger than life" creations and personality, 6sqft has rounded up Zaha Hadid's projects and proposals for NYC.
All the projects, this way

Architecture And Design

March 29, 2017

Supertall skyscraper dangles from an asteroid to become the world’s tallest building

New York City-based design firm Clouds Architecture Office has proposed a conceptual skyscraper that would hang down from the sky suspended by air cables attached to an asteroid, making it the world's tallest building. As dezeen learned, the supertall, dubbed Analemma Tower, would not be built on Earth but instead have a “space-based” foundation. Each day, the tower, which would be constructed over Dubai, would travel between the northern and southern hemispheres, with the slowest part of the tower’s trajectory occurring over New York City.
See the supertall renderings here

Architecture And Design

March 23, 2017

Former Citicorp Center might lose Sasaki fountain as part of plaza redesign

Earlier this month, 6sqft revealed renderings of 601 Lexington Avenue's (the Midtown East skyscraper formerly known as the Citicorp Center) new "Market Building," comprised of an interior atrium to hold dining/retail space and a new outdoor plaza and terraces. Though the LPC landmarked the building this past December, the Architect's Newspaper has learned of a loophole in the designation regarding the privately owned public space, which could mean that amid the renovation, the sunken plaza and cascading fountain designed by Hideo Sasaki's firm--one of the iconic landscape architect's few remaining works--may be demolished.
The full story ahead

Architecture And Design

March 15, 2017

Marvelously mod prefab guest house was built in just two days time

By Rebecca Paul

While many vacation homes are the result of an elaborate design process and lengthy construction, this house located in rural New York was designed and then built using prefabricated elements in just a couple of days. The U.S. firm Desai Chia Architecture is responsible for the single-story rectilinear space, also known as LM Guest House. The 2,000-square-foot prefab oasis is located in Dutchess County (about two hours north of Manhattan) and situated on a rocky outcrop of land that overlooks a trout pond and farm.
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March 13, 2017

A pavilion created from 300,000 recycled cans is coming to Governors Island this summer

"Cast & Place" is the winner of FIGMENT’s 2017 City of Dreams competition, an annual design contest that challenges architecture and design firms to build a pavilion out of recycled materials to be assembled on Governors Island and displayed during the summer. This year, it will be made out of more than 300,000 aluminum cans (the number of cans used in NYC in an hour), melted down and cast into cracked clay. According to the group’s Kickstarter page, the material will be soil excavated from the East River, recycled cans, and reclaimed wood, which will form lightweight, strong panels to provide structure and shade.
See their design here

March 9, 2017

The hidden ferry history of NYC; Bjarke Ingels launches in-house engineering department

Ten fun ferry-related historical facts about the New York City waterfront. [Untapped] Tomorrow is the last day to apply for Stuyvesant Town’s affordable housing lottery. [6sqft inbox] Mets right fielder Jay Bruce is renting a luxury pad in Midtown’s Aalto 57. [NYP] Bjarke Ingels‘ firm BIG launched an in-house engineering department, catering to their technically ambitious projects. [Dezeen] […]

Uncategorized

March 3, 2017

Mysterious ‘Japan Land’ renderings reveal a lantern-inspired building near Penn Station

By Diane Pham

Currently, at the corner of 8th Avenue and 31st Street, diagonal from Penn Station, you'll find a parking lot, pizza joint, and a small coffee shop. However, Nobutaka Ashihara Architects (NAA) envisions something much more spectacular for this underused locale. According to CityRealty, NAA recently rolled out a brand new website, and prominently featured on their home page is a curious scheme for a lantern-like glass tower of about 12 stories called "Japan Land."
more views here

New Developments

February 27, 2017

Greenpoint creative hub gets a funky clay factory from design collective Assemble

London-based collective Assemble works across art, architecture, and design "to address the typical disconnection between the public and the process by which places are made." They've employed this philosophy at their first U.S. project--a temporary clay-extruding factory in the courtyard of Greenpoint's A/D/O creative hub, known as "A Factory As It Might Be." As Dezeen explains, the firm first built only a steel roof on top of the brick walls, but after acquiring an industrial clay extruder and electric kiln and finding that of all the vessels and homewares being created the tiles were the most successful, they decided to use the ceramic tiles to create a colorful, geometric facade.
Find out more about the project here

Architecture And Design

February 21, 2017

Historic Clinton Hill carriage house gets light from a ‘sky volume’ and a courtyard carved into its core