The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, One World Trade Center: all buildings that instantly come to mind when you think of the iconic New York City skyline. But more and more new skyscrapers are beginning to pop up in that classic view. And while it’s likely many an architects’ dream to contribute a design to the most famous skyline in the world, only a handful of world-renowned “starchitects” get to do it. Ahead, 6sqft has rounded up 11 starchitect-designed condo buildings that you can actually live in, from veterans like Robert A.M. Stern and Renzo Piano to some more up-and-comers like David Adjaye and Bjarke Ingels.
Annabelle Selldorf
Architecture, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Museums, Upper East Side
All renderings courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects
On Tuesday the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the most recent plan submitted by the museum for the expansion and renovation of the 1914 Gilded Age mansion it calls home in a 6 to 1 vote with one abstention, the New York Times reports. Three prior attempts by the museum in a quest to gain more space for exhibitions and programs were turned back amid vocal protests by neighborhood advocates and preservationists. The revised plan submitted by the project’s architects Beyer Blinder Belle and Annabelle Selldorf includes the decision to restore the museum’s original gated garden, which had been a point of controversy with those opposed to the project.
Architecture, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Museums, Upper East Side
All renderings courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects
The planned expansion of the Frick Collection is delayed again after the Landmarks Preservation Commission decided Tuesday to not vote on the project, following hours of public testimony. Dozens of neighborhood advocates, preservationists and museum goers attended the hearing to discuss the Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects-designed expansion, which would include 60,000 square feet of repurposed space and 27,000 square feet of new construction.
The plan would expand the existing Upper East Side building’s second level, add two set-back stories above the music room and an addition behind the Frick Art Reference Library. According to Curbed NY, critics of the expansion said the additions would be too large and block the design of the existing library. Despite a presentation from head architect Annabelle Selldorf, no decision was made about whether to grant the $160 million project its certificate of appropriateness.
Architecture, Museums, Starchitecture, Upper East Side
The Frick Collection has unveiled its $160 million Selldorf Architects-designed upgrade and expansion, which will open up the private living quarters of Henry Clay Frick’s original 1914 home to the public for the first time. As the New York Times explained, the renderings illustrate a plan to expand the existing building’s second level, add two set-back stories above the music room, and an addition behind the library that will match its seven-story height. These will house a 220-seat underground auditorium, an education center with classrooms, in addition to a renovated lobby and larger museum shop.
Cool Listings, East Village
The neighborhood is known for its tiny, cramped apartments, so living in an East Village townhouse already seems impossibly fortunate. But this four-story, 5,200-square-foot townhouse at 26 East 5th Street has the extra bragging rights to a top-to-toe renovation by starchitect Annabelle Selldorf. Built in 1900, this single-family home uses a 35-foot deep extension to add light and square footage, and the current residents have packed those square feet with a colorful Pop art collection and perfectly imperfect details. Minus the art, it’s asking $7.5 million.
Cool Listings, Interiors, Starchitecture, West Village
The thoroughly modern gut-renovation of this 1869 single family home at 281 West 4th Street is the creation of noted starchitect Anabelle Selldorf, and we’re assuming that its romantic-contemporary decor was inspired by the owners’ creative talents. Luxuries, comforts, and conveniences fill this somewhat narrow, 2,720-square-foot historic private home, from a finished and functional cellar to a planted and enchanted roof garden. For the why-own-when-you-can-rent-for-more monthly price of $29,000, you can step into this dream of a West Village townhouse, cue up a rooftop party and fire up the parlor-floor movie screen.
Starchitecture, Upper East Side
It’s been almost a year and a half since the Frick Collection scrapped plans for a controversial expansion from Davis Brody Bond that would have gotten rid of the property’s gated garden to make way for a six-story addition. The Times reports today, though, that the Board is moving ahead with a new version of the renovation, selecting starchitect Annabelle Selldorf from a pool of 20 firms who submitted proposals. She’s already worked on museum renovations at the Neue Galerie and the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts, and according to Frick director Ian Wardropper, “She’s somebody who has a clear vision of respect for historical buildings but at the same time has a clean, elegant, modernist aesthetic that is very much about welcoming visitors today.”
Chelsea, Cool Listings, Interiors
If you’ve got $14.5 million to invest, and you’d like living in Chelsea, you should grab this loft at 213 West 23rd Street right away. Because someone will. Lofts–even expensive architect-designed ones–make a stunning first impression but often disappoint when it comes to livability. This space, however–in the landmarked former home of the McBurney YMCA, whose gymnasium and running track make up the living areas–is a winner. Designed by Annabelle Selldorf, with interiors by Jeffrey Beers, this remarkable duplex spans a full 7,000 square feet, split between two levels with a soaring 29-foot-high living space at the center. Rooms–including four bedrooms–are organized in an intelligent and gracious plan for glamorous entertaining as well as maximum comfort and privacy.
Check out this amazing space (and find out more cool trivia about it)
condos, Construction Update, Greenwich Village, New Developments, Starchitecture
William Macklowe Company’s 22-story 21 East 12th Street (21E12) is poised to become the tallest ground-up condominium building in Greenwich Village upon completion in 2018. The development at the southwest corner of University Place and East 12th Street replaces the Bowlmor Lanes garage building, which, due to its height and incongruent massing, ruffled the feathers of watchful neighbors and community organizations. Nevertheless, the squat, five-story structure has been razed, and site excavation is well underway for New York’s maiden of modernism, Annabelle Selldorf‘s, square, cast-stone tower.
Cool Listings, New Developments, Soho, Starchitecture
Sales officially launched today at 42 Crosby Street, Atlas Capital Group’s 50,000-square-foot Soho condominium designed by Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects. Nine three-bedroom residences and a penthouse at the seven-story luxury residence will start at $8,250,000 (the penthouse is going for $25 million). According to the press release, the building’s design offers “a contemporary interpretation of the Soho neighborhood’s cast iron architecture,” and of course, there’s those $1 million parking spots.