WXY Architecture + Urban Design

August 8, 2022

Hudson Valley’s Storm King Art Center unveils $45M redesign

The Storm King Art Center in the Hudson Valley will undergo a $45 million revamp this fall to enhance the visitor experience and better serve its growing community, the 500-acre outdoor museum announced last week. As first reported by The Art Newspaper, the project includes a new welcome area, improved parking and accessibility, and a new facility to support grand-scale works. Construction will begin later this year and the redesign is expected to be completed in 2024.
Get the details
July 15, 2022

NYPL’s historic Jefferson Market branch in Greenwich Village reopens after $10M overhaul

The New York Public Library on Thursday reopened its Jefferson Market branch in Greenwich Village following a three-year renovation of the historic building. The $10 million project included installing much-needed accessibility features, renovating public and staff spaces, reconstructing ADA-compliant bathrooms, and improving electronic services for the communities tech needs.
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December 28, 2020

A special outdoor dining pavilion in Harlem supports Black-owned businesses

The stately brick homes lining West 138th and 139th Streets between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass Boulevards are known as Strivers' Row. The historic Harlem enclave was once home to prominent, wealthy African-American performers, artists, and professionals. More than 100 years later, the neighborhood is once again leading the community with a new outdoor dining and recreation corridor that supports Black-owned businesses. Called the Renaissance Pavilion at Strivers’ Row, the winterized outdoor setup will help local businesses and restaurants serve customers safely through April of next year.
More details here
December 19, 2019

See BIG and WXY’s vision for a pedestrian-friendly Downtown Brooklyn

A plan to improve the streets and public space of Downtown Brooklyn was unveiled on Thursday, as officials look to accommodate the area's booming population. Created in collaboration with the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Bjarke Ingels Group, and WXY architecture + urban design, the "Public Realm Action Plan" calls for fewer cars, more bike lanes, a bus-only lane, and more parks and plazas. As first reported by CityLab, the proposal takes ideas from already-implemented street redesigns, like the new 14th Street busway. 
See the plan
April 12, 2019

South Bronx development with new music hall opens affordable housing lottery, units from $328/month

A lottery has officially opened for 288 newly-constructed units at the Bronx Commons development at 443 East 162 Street in the Melrose neighborhood in the South Bronx. In addition to the affordable apartments, the mixed-use development offers retail, a landscaped public plaza–and the 14,000 square foot, 250-seat Bronx Music Hall, a concert hall with rehearsal spaces and an outdoor performance and recreational space among other amenities.
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November 26, 2018

New Long Island camping cabins bring modern, affordable design to state parks

Photos by Albert Vecerka/Esto for WXY Aimed at bringing new visitors to the state's parks, the NY Parks 2020 initiative funded a $9 million project that created the first vacation cabins and cottages to offer accommodations in Long Island's Wildwood and Heckscher State Parks. The architecture firm WXY, headed by Claire Weisz, was chosen to design the new cabins. The first of these, 10 cabins ranging in size from 670 to 784 square feet, became available to rent on Memorial Day weekend. They represent an unusual attempt to introduce modern creative design where we traditionally find rudimentary and rustic construction while providing high quality, affordable accommodations for park visitors.
Take a look inside
September 27, 2018

New renderings for Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 5 million square feet of vertical manufacturing space

After announcing a $2.5 billion expansion of the Brooklyn site in January, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) released on Thursday new renderings of the plan, which would add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space. Developed by WXY architecture + urban design, the plan centers around three sites, all including new vertical manufacturing space along with public, open space and connectivity improvements. About 75 percent of the 10,000 jobs added (bringing the total to the site 30,000) will be manufacturing jobs, with the rest being service-oriented and creative work. The renderings released of the Yard this week by the BNYDC gives us a better look at how the 300-acre development will flow with the surrounding neighborhoods.
See the renderings
November 14, 2017

Anable Basin proposal envisions a massive mixed-use district along the Long Island City waterfront

The plastics company, Plaxall, announced on Tuesday a massive rezoning proposal to allow for a mixed-use district in Anable Basin, the area surrounding a 149-year-old inlet located in Long Island City. Since founding the company more than 70 years ago, the Plaxall family has purchased and rehabilitated properties in the neighborhood and currently manages over one million square feet of space. Achieved through rezoning, the proposal calls for 335,000 square feet for industrial uses, 4,955 housing units with 25 percent of them affordable, a 700+ seat public school and a new, elevated promenade. If the rezoning is approved, construction is anticipated to begin in 2020 with a completion date in 2034, but no official timeline has been set.
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February 15, 2017

WXY reveals renderings of the city’s just-announced $136M fashion and film complex in Sunset Park

Last week, 6sqft took an in-depth look at how Sunset Park has become the new frontier for the city's garment industry, thanks to "several industrial conversions [that] offer cheaper rents, better equipped real estate, and a creative, collaborative community." Part of the city's push to revitalize the fashion trade in the burgeoning Brooklyn nabe is a collaboration with its "Made in New York" marketing campaign, which has previously been geared towards promoting film and television productions and technology companies. They'll also be investing $136 million to create the "Made in NYC Campus," a renovation of two waterfront Bush Terminal structures that will provide affordable space for film, fashion, and virtual reality tech companies, as well as a new pedestrian-friendly plazas and streets. The city's Economic Development Corporation has tapped WXY architecture + urban design to design the complex, and the firm has revealed a batch of renderings that showcase the project.
All the renderings and more details ahead
February 2, 2017

Mixed-use affordable housing complex in the Bronx will feature Hunts Point Brewery and LightBox film studio

A few months ago, 6sqft shared the first rendering of the Peninsula, a $300 million mixed-use complex slated to replace the Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. We learned that the five-acre site will hold 740 affordable apartments, open and recreational areas, light industrial space, community facilities like health care providers and artist workspace, and retail/commercial space. In addition to new conceptual renderings from WXY Architecture + Urban Design, the development team has now revealed details on who the borough-based commercial tenants will be, and they include Hunts Point Brewing Company, Il Forno Bakery, and LightBox-NY film studio.
More details and renderings
January 13, 2017

Bronx Commons will bring 305 affordable apartments and a new music venue to the South Bronx

Not only did the Times recently name the South Bronx one of this year's hottest travel destinations, but the up-and-coming 'hood has become a hotbed for new development. Many of these include affordable housing, which is the case at Bronx Commons, a mixed-use development in the Melrose Commons neighborhood that broke ground this morning. The $160 million project includes 305 all-affordable apartments, retail, and a landscaped public plaza, all of which will be anchored by the Bronx Music Hall, a new 300-seat venue that will serve as an "arts-centered community hub focused on the deeply rooted history of cutting edge Bronx music," according to a press release from developers WHEDco and BFC Partners.
Find out more about the project
October 27, 2016

Former juvenile jail in Hunts Point will be replaced with $300M mixed-use affordable housing complex

The Spofford Juvenile Detention Center (later renamed Bridges Juvenile Center) was built in 1957 in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, quickly gaining a reputation for its poor conditions--the Daily News once described it as "vermin-infested" and said it "held about 100 youth in dark cells with no air conditioning." It was closed in 2011, at which time urban revitalization consultant Majora Carter began her quest to have the site transformed into a mixed-use housing complex. The city eventually stepped in, and today officials announced plans for the Peninsula, an affordable housing development that will rise on the five-acre site and offer 740 apartments, 52,000 square feet of open and recreational space, 49,000 square feet of light industrial space, 48,000 square feet for community facilities like health care providers, 21,000 square feet of retail, and 15,000 square feet of artist space, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Find out more right this way
August 31, 2015

Dattner Architects’ Prismatic, Concrete Salt Shed Reveals Itself

Summer is coming to a close, and in a few months we'll be navigating the city's treacherous streets perfecting our penguin waddles and fine-tuning our black ice magna-vision. This winter season, downtown Manhattan residents may find a sliver of comfort knowing that the rock salt used to mitigate slippery streets will be stored in one of the most grandiose salt sheds on Earth. Recently unshrouded, the Department of Sanitation's 67-foot-tall Spring Street Salt Shed flaunts a prismatic concrete facade evoking the intriguing faceted forms of salt crystals. The award-winning design, crafted by the public works masters at Dattner Architects and WXY Architecture + Urban Design, comes with a sizable price tag of $10 million. The structure was crowned the "Taj Mahal of Salt" back in 2010, noting that it cost more than nine recently constructed city salt sheds combined. Nevertheless, even in its unpolished state, we have to admit this riverfront iceberg is pretty captivating. And despite its utilitarian use, its form is well-worthy of its prime Hudson Square locale.
More renderings and info right this way
August 20, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 8/20-8/26

Manhattan gets a brand new landmark today: a fantastical undersea adventure in the form of a swirling, sparkly carousel! Katya Grokhovsky lets viewers experience the fruits of her one-month residency at Soho20, while the Guggenheim welcomes guests for a full 24 hours for Agathe Snow’s latest project. Remember why you loved New York to begin with (because of its unabashed weirdness) and go see Blazes and his light-up suit, or try on the clothing made at an exhibition called “Small Town Sex Shop.” Finish off the week by getting outside your comfort zone, and head over to Staten Island for a unique and design-fueled potluck party.
All the best events to check out here
October 14, 2014

Study Says QueensWay Will Cost $120 Million and Help Local Economy

A new feasibility study, which is set to be released today by the Trust for Public Land, maps out the plan for the QueensWay--the High Line-esque linear park and cultural greenway proposed for a 3.5-mile stretch of abandoned railway in central Queens. The study points to the likely $120 million price tag and the park's benefit to the local economy. Through new renderings it also shows access points, exercise stations, food concessions, outdoor nature classrooms, bike paths, and an "adventure park," among other amenities.
More on the study here