Search Results for: architecture firm

June 27, 2016

Interview: COOKFOX Partner Brandon Specketer on Biophilia’s Role in Building Design

You’ve certainly heard of LEED and Passive House in architecture, but what about biophilia? For COOKFOX, adding nature to a building and all the elements that surround it is a no-brainer. They strongly believe that humans have a deep, innate connection and love of nature, and in an urbanscape, they only way we can live fulfilled lives […]

June 17, 2016

Shigeru Ban’s Cast Iron House Tops Out, Raises the Bar for Tribeca Penthouses

Few intersections of New York come close to perfection, but the corner of Shigeru Ban's latest New York endeavor at Franklin and Broadway sure comes close. Long anchored by the exquisite 134-year-old James White Building at 361 Broadway, one would assume that a modern penthouse addition could only diminish the neo-Grecian beauty. Not so here. A rehabilitation, conversion, and enlargement spearheaded by Knightsbridge Properties seeks to produce an end sum that will at least be neutral and surely harmonious. Named Cast Iron House by Ban himself, the 13-unit condominium development is a marriage of old, new and timeless, and it reminds us of the incredible sophistication and beauty our city can possess when the bottom line fades. As a sequel to his Metal Shutter Houses in West Chelsea, Ban and design partner Dean Maltz carve eleven airy residences within the sumptuously detailed and impeccably restored 1882 Tribeca cast iron building and float a pair of glass and steel penthouses above.
Get a look inside these magnificent penthouses
June 10, 2016

Archilier Architects Design Empire State Building-Sized Tower for Former Subway Inn Site

Earlier this year, 6sqft showed you new renderings of Archilier Architects' "Hudson Rise" mixed-use skyscraper planned for Manhattan's west side. Now the design firm has published their vision for a soaring, super-thin supertall at the former site of beloved dive bar Subway Inn at 151 East 60th Street. Kuafu Properties owns the 28,619-square-foot, six-building assemblage at 143-161 East 60th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, which they acquired from the World Wide Group last year for $300 million, according to The Real Deal. Kuafu is one of the developers behind the Archilier-designed Hudson Rise development, thus these released renderings may indeed be working images of the planned project. The slender tower shown would encompass 411,700 gross square feet of area and rise 1,240 feet high, just 10 feet shy of the Empire State Building's height of 1,250 feet, despite containing just one-fifth of the floor space. The tower would technically be the tallest building on the Upper East Side (by far), but would be 158 feet shorter than nearby 432 Park Avenue in Midtown.
More details ahead
June 3, 2016

Designing This Shingle-Style Home in East Hampton Was a Family Affair for a Young Architect

The East Hampton Northwest Woods home is unlike most other projects by CWB Architects. Founding principal Brendan Coburn designed it as the firm was in its infancy, working in collaboration with his father, who was also an architect, and his mother, an interior designer. Its 2,200 square feet are complete with enough space for residents and occasional guests, each bedroom has its own bathroom, and the cupola allows for cross ventilation.
Learn more about this shingle-style home
June 2, 2016

First Full Look at Nolita’s 75 Kenmare Street, Will Have Lenny Kravitz-Designed Condos

After getting a peek of its entryway facade in March and announcing that rocker/actor Lenny Kravitz will mold its interior residences, we now have our first full look at DHA Capital's 35-unit condominium 75 Kenmare Street. Situated at the corner of Mulberry Street in Nolita, the upcoming seven-story development converts and expands upon a parking garage which DHA, in partnership with AMS Acquisitions and First Atlantic Capital, purchased for $50 million last year. Manhattan-based architect Andre Kikoski designed a sumptuous masonry skin composed of "richly textured and finely scaled" cast-formed concrete, and the apartments are expected to go from $1.7 million to more than $12 million.
Find out more
May 31, 2016

Celebrated Neurologist and Author Oliver Sacks’ West Village Apartment Lists for $3.25M

Oliver Sacks, British neurologist, author and enchanted, inspired seeker of the human mind finally succumbed to cancer last August at the age of 83; the good doctor’s apartment (used as his office in recent years) in one of the city's venerable prewar apartment buildings developed by the legendary Bing and Bing at 2 Horatio Street is now for sale for $3.25 million. Apartment 3G (fittingly, somehow, as we can imagine the denizens of the soap-noir newspaper comic strip living in one of these prewar classics) is one among many in the developer's iconic Manhattan residences that boasts lovely prewar architecture, generously-sized rooms and enduring modern design.
Take a look
May 24, 2016

Great Game Changers: One Worldwide Plaza, A Classy Attraction for Sleazy 1980s Midtown

What does it take to jump-start an unglamorous neighborhood? A huge development? A mixed-use project? New transit facilities? When this full-block, mixed-use development project was conceived in the mid-1980s the area in and around Times Square was one of the city’s worst. It was riddled with crime and pornography and was run-down, especially along Eighth Avenue. The proposition to add a building that was the scale of the full-block One Worldwide Plaza development, therefore, was not only surprising, but shocking and downright unthinkable. The legendary Madison Square Garden designed by Thomas W. Lamb had occupied its site from 1925 to 1966, but its second incarnation here was rather ramshackle especially in comparison to its previous glorious building on Madison Avenue at 26th Street. When it moved south next to the “new” Penn Station 16 blocks to the south, this site became the city’s largest parking lot and it took about a decade and a half for it to find a new life. The site was finally developed and completed in 1989 by a syndicate headed by William Zeckendorf Jr. that included Arthur Cohen and Worldwide Realty partners Frank Stanton and Victor Elmaleh.
more on the rise of worldwide plaza and how it revived midtown manhattan
May 20, 2016

REVEALED: First Look at Downtown Brooklyn’s New Office Tower at 540 Fulton Street

Downtown Brooklyn and its Fulton Street Mall lost a bit of its soul late last year with the demolition of an ornate 1891 Romanesque-Reviaval gem at 540 Fulton Street. Prior to being cleared, the two-story structure held a jumble of small retailers that included a jewelry exchange, Metro King Sushi & Teriyaki and a Lucille Roberts. When the building was finished 125 years ago, it rose three floors with its first tenant being F.W Woolworth's "five-and-dime store," their first Downtown Brooklyn location. Now with the slate wiped clean, what's envisioned to rise from the 18,531-square-foot lot near the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension is a 19-story, 200,000-square-foot office block developed by the real estate investment and management firm Jenel Management. A new building application was filed with the Department of Building's last April, listing Marvel Architects as the applicant of record. The proposed building's podium will contain three levels of retail space from the cellar to the second level, and 17 floors of office space above.
find out more here
May 16, 2016

Not Tall Enough! On the World’s Stage, New York’s Supertalls Are Ungraceful Runts

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. Ahead, Carter brings us his ninth and final installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter takes at aim the quality of design of those towers rising around the city right now, and how they fail to inspire when compared to those found internationally. The explosive transformation of the New York City skyline now underway is occurring without any plan in a very haphazard fashion. Some of the new towers are not ugly but compared to many new ones elsewhere, especially those that are free-standing, they’re not going to win many top honors. Many are very thin, mid-block incursions. Others arrogantly abut and loom over landmarks with nary a thought to context. Some clearly are aimed at one-percenters and offer lavish amenities and layouts. But many others are squeezing potential residents like sardines into very small apartments in attempts to set new “density” records.
The towers that got it wrong, and right
May 11, 2016

Skyline Wars: Accounting for New York’s Stray Supertalls

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. Ahead, Carter brings us his eighth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at the "stray" supertalls rising in low slung neighborhoods. Most of the city’s recent supertall developments have occurred in traditional high-rise commercial districts such as the Financial District, the Plaza District, downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City. Some are also sprouting in new districts such as the Hudson Yards in far West Midtown. There are, however, some isolated "stray" supertalls that are rising up in relatively virgin tall territories, such as next to the Manhattan Bridge on the Lower East Side and Sutton Place.
read more from carter here
May 11, 2016

Furniture That References NYC Construction Sites; Do Calorie Counts Actually Make Us Eat Better?

This furniture collection references New York City construction details such as rebar, grid formations, and pinion elevators. [designboom] PlaceILive has new and improved features to help you find out which NYC neighborhoods best match your lifestyle. [6sqft inbox] Six years into Bloomberg’s controversial calorie count system, research shows that these labels have no affect on what New […]

May 5, 2016

Norman Foster Still in the Running to Design 2 World Trade Center

Nearly one year ago it was revealed that starchitect Bjarke Ingels would be taking over the design of 2 World Trade Center from Norman Foster as developer Silverstein Properties was in talks with Fox and News Corp. to make the tower their new headquarters. However, plans fell through in January when the media companies opted to remain at their Midtown headquarters at 1211 and 1185 Sixth Avenue. Now without a tenant and two different designs in hand, Chairman Larry Silverstein is said to be weighing both options. “[The top of] Two was a distinguishing feature of Norman Foster’s design,” Silverstein told The Post. “Opposed to what Bjarke Ingels proposed. We can go in either direction. Which way, we are not sure yet.” But he did add that they were leaning towards Ingels' design in discussions being had with prospective anchor tenants, which include BlackRock and JPMorganChase.
Find out more here
May 3, 2016

Extell Files to Demolish Two More Fifth Avenue Buildings For Its Mega-Midtown Assemblage

Back in January, 6sqft reported that the busybodies at Extell Development filed permits to demolish a string of six tumble-turned walk-up buildings between 3 and 13 West 46th Street in Midtown. Now, as expected, the Gary Barnett-led firm has filed permits to demolish the Warren & Wetmore-designed corner building at 562 Fifth Avenue and a somewhat incongruous Tudor-style building at 564 Fifth Avenue. While none of the condemned buildings are extraordinary in design, 562 Fifth Avenue is perhaps a more tasteful affair than much of the schlock going up these days. Designed by the same architects as Grand Central Terminal, the slivery 13-story commercial building was once known as the I. Miller Building and features intricately ornamented spandrel areas, a pedimented roofline, and an unoriginal albeit charming Fifth Avenue storefront.
More on Extell's plans and the history of the soon-to-be-razed buildings
April 30, 2016

The Upper West Side Readies For Two Synagogue-Replacing Condo Skyscrapers

The Upper West Side has proven to be one of the most difficult areas to build, with a growing amount of land area contained in historic districts and much of the remainder constrained by tight zoning regulations. Over the years, its protective residents have been involved in the city's most memorable development battles: fighting tooth and nail to reduce the scale of the Riverside South master plan; lessen shadows caused by the redevelopment of the New York Coliseum site (Time Warner Center); and more recently spearheading the downzoning of a 51-block swath of Broadway due to grievances caused by Extell's Ariel East and West towers. For the most part, the defensive strategy has allowed the neighborhood to retain much of its pre-war charms and human-scaled side streets. However, along its southern edge, where the buildings around Lincoln Center scale upwards to Midtown, zoning allowances are more generous. Two as-of-right towers are sure to ruffle some preservationists' feathers and are poised to be the neighborhood's biggest yet.
Get the scoop on the towers here
April 26, 2016

Trump’s Flubs: The Donald’s Failed Attempts to Erect the World’s Tallest Building in NYC

Presidential candidate Donald Trump's aggressive tone and occasional outlandish statements have dominated the conversation in the Republican primaries, and today is sure to be no different. Though his supporters feel that he's a shoo-in, his real estate track record hasn't always resulted in success. Take for example his fraught attempt to own the Empire State Building, which ended in lawsuits and public shaming, or his $80 million loss on the Plaza Hotel, which resulted from his near bankruptcy in the '90s. In addition to these public debacles, the developer-turned-showman-turned-politician has envisioned at least three of the world's tallest buildings in New York over the years, which makes sense for a man who glories in superlatives and for whom every project is a flamboyant gesture. In honor of the Donald's never-ending presence, 6sqft decided to take a look at these never-realized, sky-high proposals, which include the New York Stock Exchange Tower, Television City Tower, and 10 Columbus Circle.
Get the story behind all these failed attempts
April 22, 2016

Live in a Swanky Former East Village Synagogue for $30K a Month

Just in time for Passover, this historic East Village synagogue turned residence has reappeared on the rental market. Known as the 8th Street Shul, there was a long battle to keep the building preserved as a synagogue after it was damaged by a fire in 1982. Ultimately, the building, at 317 East 8th Street, was turned over to real estate interests and converted into a single-family luxury home. It's been on the rental market before, asking $25,000 a month, and now it's back at a higher price.
Some of the synagogue details remain
April 21, 2016

Checking in on Adam America’s Trio of Developments on a Single Boerum Hill Block

At the southern edge of Boerum Hill, where the quaint brownstone enclave meets Park Slope and Gowanus, a trio of sleek residential buildings is taking shape by developer Adam America Real Estate. Along a single block, bound by Third and Fourth Avenues and Baltic and Warren Streets, the Brooklyn-centric firm is busy constructing a 31-unit condo building at Six Ten Warren, a 70-unit rental at 595 Baltic Street, and a 21-unit rental 577 Baltic Street. 6sqft visited the block to see how construction is progressing and put together all the renderings and details for the projects.
Check it all out right here
April 20, 2016

Skyline Wars: Brooklyn Enters the Supertall Race

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. Here, Carter brings us his fifth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at Brooklyn's once demure skyline, soon to be Manhattan's rival. Downtown Brooklyn has had a modest but pleasant skyline highlighted by the 350-foot-high Court & Remsen Building and the 343-foot-high great ornate terraces of 75 Livingston Street, both erected in 1926, and the 462-foot-high flat top of the 1927 Montague Court Building. The borough’s tallest building, however, was the great 514-foot-high dome of the 1929 Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower, now known as One Hanson Place, a bit removed to the east from Downtown Brooklyn. It remained as the borough’s tallest for a very long time, from 1929 until 2009. A flurry of new towers in recent years has significantly enlarged Brooklyn’s skyline. Since 2008, nine new towers higher than 359 feet have sprouted there, in large part as a result of a rezoning by the city in 2007. A few other towers have also given its riverfront an impressive frontage. Whereas in the past the vast majority of towers were clustered about Borough Hall downtown, now there are several clusters with some around the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the former Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower and some around the Williamsburg riverfront.
more on Brooklyn's skyline here
April 18, 2016

Skyline Wars: In Lower Manhattan, A New Downtown Is Emerging

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter brings us his fourth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at the evolution of the Lower Manhattan skyline. Lower Manhattan at the start of the Great Depression was the world’s most famous and influential skyline when 70 Pine, 20 Exchange Place, 1 and 40 Wall Street, and the Woolworth and Singer buildings inspired the world with their romantic silhouettes in a relatively balanced reach for the sky centered around the tip of Lower Manhattan. Midtown was not asleep at the switch and countered with the great Empire State, the spectacular Chrysler and 30 Rockefeller Plaza but they were scattered and could not topple the aggregate visual power and lure of Lower Manhattan and its proverbial “view from the 40th floor” as the hallowed precinct of corporate America until the end of World War II. The convenience and elegance of Midtown, however, became increasingly irresistible to many.
More on the the history of Lower Manhattan and what's in store
April 6, 2016

Lyft Is Struggling in NYC; Shake Shack Coming to Penn Station

This year’s Pritzker Prize winner, Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, posted four of the firm’s low-cost “incremental” housing projects on the firm’s website for free download in order to help with the affordable housing crisis. [Dezeen] Vornado has given a 10-year lease to Shake Shack to open in its Penn Station retail corridor. [TRD] Frank Gehry reflects […]

April 1, 2016

Two Pre-War Apartments Join to Make One Sustainable Home With Sliding Walls

The renovation of this pre-war home featured the transformation of two separate apartments into one all-inclusive unit. It was completed by architects Michael Chen and Kari Anderson of Normal Projects (Michael now has his own firm called Michael K. Chen Architecture, which specializes in micro housing), who designed the residence for an environmentally conscience couple and their young children. Not only did the couple want the materials used in their home to be ecologically sound, but they also wanted the design to encourage a sustainable lifestyle far into the future. In response, the design team defined a unique strategy that included a flexible floor plan made from custom sliding panels and a series of cuts and insertions. Even in the demolition of the previous property, sustainable practices were taken into account, and all the discarded materials were either reclaimed or recycled.
See more this way
March 28, 2016

New Views and Renderings of Eliot Spitzer’s ODA-Designed Williamsburg Mega-Development

Construction and excavation is now underway on Spitzer Enterprises' trifecta of towers along the South Williamsburg waterfront. Set to rise from a three-acre parcel at 416-430 Kent Avenue, between Broadway and South 9th Street, the development is graced with nearly 400 feet of prized East River frontage. Approved permits filed with the Department of Buildings detail that the plan will comprise 857 rental apartments within three 22-story towers. A publicly accessible park and esplanade will run along the shoreline and connect to the the existing esplanade of the Schaefer Landing development to the south. The relatively young firm of ODA Architects is handling the design, which features many of their volume-popping elements to which we've grown accustomed. Firm founder Eran Chen told the Times that their design is a "molded iceberg, sculpted to create the maximum number of views and outdoor spaces." And as can be seen from the construction photos below, units will have stellar views of the Downtown and Midtown skylines and the East River bridges. The 253-foot-tall buildings will feature rooftop pools and terraces, on-site parking, bicycle storage, fitness centers, and lounge and recreation rooms. Twenty percent of units will be reserved for low-income households.
Get a look at all the renderings
March 25, 2016

LM Guest House Takes Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Designs to a Greener Level

Manhattan-based architects Arjun Desai and Katherine Chia, the husband and wife behind Desai/Chia, were commissioned to design a Hudson Valley retreat that would combine the look and feel of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's ultra-minimalist Farnsworth House with high sustainable standards. Situated on a rock outcropping overlooking a typical stretch of Dutchess County farmland, LM Guest House is a pre-fab contemplative retreat for weekend visits. Its glazed skin affords expansive views, and among its planet-friendly features are geothermal heating and cooling, natural ventilation, solar panels, and a system for rainwater collection.
Learn more about this ultra-minimal green home
March 23, 2016

Curvaceous ‘Morph Tower’ Begins Its Rise at 15 Hudson Yards, Abutting the Culture Shed

The foundation mat has been poured, and Hudson Yards' first residential building, Tower D at 15 Hudson Yards, is beginning its climb into the burgeoning far west side skyline. Situated alongside the High Line, at the northeast corner of West 30th Street and Eleventh Avenue, 15 Hudson Yards will house nearly 400 apartments and soar more than 900 feet high upon completion. Discounting the enormous spire on the New York Times Building, the tower will be for a short while the tallest building in Manhattan west of Eighth Avenue. It will also abut the Culture Shed, likely to be the city's next great cultural venue. The skyscraper will be the first of two residential towers that Related Companies and the Oxford Properties have planned for eastern rail yards. The second will be the 1,000-foot-tall 35 Hudson Yards, and they will join the 900-foot Coach Tower at 10 Hudson Yards and the 1,296-foot 30 Hudson Yards.
More details and renderings ahead
March 4, 2016

VIDEO: Get a Digital Tour of the Chelsea Market’s New Addition

Annual office rents in the West Chelsea/Meatpacking District area have been topping $90 per square foot with many creative and technology tenants searching for boutique-sized spaces. So it seems like the perfect time for Jamestown Properties to move forward with their piggybacking plan for Chelsea Market. Branding and visualization firm Neoscape put together a cheery film to market the upcoming building's new 240,000 square feet of office space. To be known as BLDG 18, the structure is being designed by Studios Architecture and will rise nine stories atop the westernmost building of the Chelsea Market complex and the High Line. The film shows a private 16th Street entrance for tenants, 40,000-square-foot floor plates, 40-foot-wide column bays, multiple levels of landscaped terraces providing a total of 21,000 square feet of outdoor space, panoramic views, easy access to the High Line, and of course, the block-long Chelsea Market food concourse at ground level.
Watch the video here