All articles by Diane Pham

Diane is the founder and Editorial Director of 6sqft. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Real Estate Finance & Development and a minor in Architecture, she enjoyed stints at SCI-Arc, the A+D Museum Los Angeles, Perkins Eastman Architects and Resolution 4: Architecture. She also previously served as Senior Editor of Inhabitat.com and spent several years as an analyst at CB Richard Ellis Investments in Milan, Italy.
New York Buildings Photoshopped Into the Paris Cityscape Create a Dramatically Different Skyline
November 18, 2015

New York Buildings Photoshopped Into the Paris Cityscape Create a Dramatically Different Skyline

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What makes Paris so enchanting is its wonderful architecture, and while many of New York's oldest buildings take inspiration from the City of Light, placing them in a Parisian context isn't quite as seamless an act as one would think. In Paris, where low-slung architecture is favored over the supertall (buildings are rarely more than five or six stories tall, and until 2010 the height limit on all new buildings was 121 feet), a new project called "Haussmanhattan" (Haussman + Manhattan) reimagines what the landscape would have looked like if the European city had joined the great skyscraper race of the early 20th century.
Check out all the eye-popping mashups here
MoMA Files Plans for American Folk Art Museum Expansion; Fifth Avenue Has the Highest Retail Rents in the World
November 18, 2015

MoMA Files Plans for American Folk Art Museum Expansion; Fifth Avenue Has the Highest Retail Rents in the World

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The Diller Scofidio + Renfro expansion design for the American Folk Art Museum appears to finally be moving forward. [Curbed] This new tool helps you find a bank that invests locally. [Next City] Fifth Avenue is the world’s most expensive place for retail. [Crain’s] New construction photos of Zaha Hadid’s High Line-hugging condo building. [Tectonic] […]

The World’s Largest Display of Miniatures Is Coming to Times Square in 2017
November 17, 2015

The World’s Largest Display of Miniatures Is Coming to Times Square in 2017

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Micro is all the rage in NYC right now, and currently in the works is another teensy project with designs on taking up a less-than-diminutive space in the heart of Times Square. Called Gulliver's Gate, this miniature spectacular will showcase more than 300 buildings, 1,000-plus model trains, cars and planes, and a vast collection of 3D-printed global replicas that include Times Square, Grand Central, and lower Manhattan, to become the biggest Lilliputian installation in the world at 49,000 square feet. According to Crain's, Gulliver's Gate has just signed a 15-year lease for the first and second floors of the former New York Times Building at 216 West 44th Street. The attraction, "the largest, most intricate, most technologically advanced display anywhere" according co-creator Eiran Gazit, will cost $30 million to build.
Find out more here
REVEALED: Inside Bjarke Ingels’ Spectacular 57th Street Tetrahedron
November 16, 2015

REVEALED: Inside Bjarke Ingels’ Spectacular 57th Street Tetrahedron

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Those moving into Bjarke Ingels epic pyramid VIA 57 West next year will have a lot to look forward to. New renderings of the hotly-anticipated construction sited along West 57th Street have just been released (h/t Curbed) alongside a new teaser website inviting visitors "to a special preview" of the building. The new images, which come courtesy of The Durst Organization, reveal bright modern interiors with expansive river views, floor-to-ceiling doors and windows, varying room shapes, individual balconies, and lots of luxe fixtures, finishes and amenities.
Take a tour here
Starting Prices for Herzog & de Meuron’s Village Condos; Mansions for Under $1M
November 16, 2015

Starting Prices for Herzog & de Meuron’s Village Condos; Mansions for Under $1M

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The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has announced its 2015 building of the year. [CTBUH] Will the meatpackers of the Meatpacking District survive in the rapidly changing neighborhood. [Crain’s] Crown Heights gets a new art gallery. [Untapped] The developer of Herzog & de Meuron’s curved residence rising at 156 Leroy on the Hudson has revealed […]

10012 and 10013 Are NYC’s Most Prized Zip Codes
November 13, 2015

10012 and 10013 Are NYC’s Most Prized Zip Codes

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212 Fifth Avenue may be the considered the ultimate New York address, but zip codes 10012 and 10013 are the city's most coveted. Forbes has just released their annual list of the 500 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in the nation, and amongst the top zips were the two that make up parts of the West Village, Soho, Tribeca and the Lower East Side. However, 10012 and 10013 were the only New York City digits to break the top 10. California actually counted the most spots on the list this year, including #1. Is NYC passé?
check out the top 20 zip codes here
Two Cutting Edge Condo Designs Planned for Midtown
November 11, 2015

Two Cutting Edge Condo Designs Planned for Midtown

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Developer Macklowe Properties has started construction on 200 East 59th Street, a new 35-story residential condominium development designed by CetraRuddy. [6sqft inbox] Go inside the Hudson Yards construction site. [Tech Insider] Brooklyn Bridge Park is asking for $90 million to repair its wooden piers. The organization is requesting that money generated by two controversial Pier 6 towers […]

Developers Chop 432 Park’s Full-Floor Apartments Into Smaller, Cheaper Units
November 10, 2015

Developers Chop 432 Park’s Full-Floor Apartments Into Smaller, Cheaper Units

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Is the city's tallest residential tower seeing a slowdown in sales? Crain's reports that 432 Park developers CIM and Harry Macklowe have begun splitting full-floor apartments at the 1,396-foot-tall tower into two with the hopes of attracting smaller ticket buyers who can't swing $80 million for a posh pad—but wouldn't be opposed to shelling out $40 million. The paper adds that the move "may signal a slowdown in sales for $50 million-plus apartments," particularly as the market gets inundated with ultra-luxe developments. "There is some concern that there aren't enough buyers who can afford apartments priced in the tens of millions of dollars—an increasingly common figure for the latest crop of ultra-luxury condos."
find out more here
Architect Lee Mindel Lists Penthouse; Chinese Finger Trap-Like Hotel Proposed for Hudson Yards
November 10, 2015

Architect Lee Mindel Lists Penthouse; Chinese Finger Trap-Like Hotel Proposed for Hudson Yards

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Remember this $10.7M sculptural penthouse featured on 6sqft? Turns out the owner is architect Lee Mindel. [WSJ] Here are all the marketing stops Extell is pulling to attract foreign buyers to One Manhattan Square. [BB] Blackhouse Development has tapped L.A. architecture firm M-Rad to design a wild 740-foot tall hotel at the Hudson Yards. “Imagine a hotel that can move […]

Seven Floors of One57 Hit the Market for $250 Million
November 9, 2015

Seven Floors of One57 Hit the Market for $250 Million

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It may not be the penultimate $100 million penthouse, but an investor with enough dough can still make headlines buying into the city's most expensive condo tower. According to the Journal, Extell is selling a block of 38 rentals in its blockbuster One57 for $250 million. The paper writes that unloading the units will bring the developer $3,800 a square foot, or an average of more than $6.5 million per apartment—more than double the $1,800 average of Manhattan condos sold during the third quarter.
FInd out more
Yet Another Burial Vault Uncovered Near Washington Square Park, Comes Filled With Coffins
November 6, 2015

Yet Another Burial Vault Uncovered Near Washington Square Park, Comes Filled With Coffins

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Employees of the Department of Design and Construction are definitely being kept on their toes this week. After uncovering a hidden vault containing the skeletal remains of at least a dozen people believed to be approximately 200 years old, workers have uncovered a second burial vault, this one filled with wood coffins. Workers tasked with upgrading 19th-century water mains under the park stumbled upon the latest burial ground Wednesday night, a day after their first finding at the corner of Waverly Place and Washington Square Park East.
find out more here
Buy Actor Steve Martin’s Cast-Off Furniture, Items Going for $249–$70,000
November 6, 2015

Buy Actor Steve Martin’s Cast-Off Furniture, Items Going for $249–$70,000

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It looks like comedian/actor/author/musician Steve Martin is cleaning house. Martin has joined forces with online furniture consignment shop One Kings Lane to curate a collection of his personal furniture and other pieces of decor for their Tastemakers Tag Sale. Martin's picks are wide-ranging with weird, kooky and classic stuff making his list, including a "camelback couch," bronze snakes, hand-painted chairs, and even a pencil portrait of the actor himself. But as you may have guessed, the items aren't quite priced like those at Goodwill. The cheapest piece in the bunch is a blue bucket and planter going for $249, while the priciest, an original set of artwork from Robert Crumb, rings in at a whopping $69,995. There's also a set of drapes going for $1,300.
See what Martin is selling here
Tracking Williamsburg’s Mafia; Grand Central Commuter Rail Project Will Cost $1M a Foot
November 5, 2015

Tracking Williamsburg’s Mafia; Grand Central Commuter Rail Project Will Cost $1M a Foot

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Williamsburg’s now forgotten mafia ties. [Vice] Artist Abby Leigh, widow of Tony Award-winning composer Mitch “Man of La Mancha” Leigh, just purchased an $8M apartment at 455 Central Park West. [NYP] Related’s ultra-luxe Carnegie Park is now 75 percent sold. [6sqft inbox] The East Side Access, a commuter rail project that will offer connect the […]

Port Authority Mulls Fee for Curbside Access to JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Airports
November 5, 2015

Port Authority Mulls Fee for Curbside Access to JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Airports

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If you're someone who takes advantage of curbside pick up/drop off at NYC's airports as a way to avoid parking fees, that prudent sidestep could soon be coming to an end. CBS reports that the Port Authority is considering access fees as a way to reduce congestion outside airport terminals. Traffic is said to have become a real problem as services like Lyft and Uber have begun using the front of the terminals as prime spots to pick up business. “The operations of For-Hire-Vehicles and taxis at our airports are evolving rapidly and we are in the early stages of review,” the Port Authority noted in a statement. They also added that NYC's airports are one of the very few in the U.S. that do not charge curbside access fees, and where tolls are implemented, car services usually just pass the buck onto riders—meaning services and taxi drivers shouldn't worry about lost fare, but you will be shelling out even more cash to make up the difference when you get in their cars.
more here
Rent a Literal Dumpster Apartment in Williamsburg for $1,200 a Month–or $200 a Night
November 4, 2015

Rent a Literal Dumpster Apartment in Williamsburg for $1,200 a Month–or $200 a Night

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Calling all "hipster types!" The home of your Instagram dreams is awaiting you in a lot in Williamsburg. Spotted by redditors early this morning on Craigslist, the apartment is being described as an "art deco hipster retro mini apt from a converted dumpster is green friendly and sustainable. .and trendy...1200 month. Or 200 per night." Because why commit to a whole month?
find out more here
My 900sqft: Tour the Romantic Prospect Heights Home of Two Brooklyn Entrepreneurs
November 3, 2015

My 900sqft: Tour the Romantic Prospect Heights Home of Two Brooklyn Entrepreneurs

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Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Prospect Heights. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! Brit Liggett and Mike Cadoux may lead busy lives heading up their own companies—Brit is the founder and president of Show the Good, a startup that focuses on digital storytelling for nonprofits and social ventures, while Mike is the co-owner (alongside his brother) of Peak Organic Brewing Company—but this adorable Brooklyn twosome know a thing about winding down and stepping away from work when the day ends. Nestled in the heart of Prospect Heights, their home is as disconnected from the digital world as one can be in this day and age, filled with shelves and shelves of books, LPs, instruments, and vintage maps. They even have a room—"The Room for the Pursuit of Arts and Leisure"—where electricity is completely banned. Self-described as "old world," Brit and Mike have perfectly curated their apartment with a collection of incredible antiques, each with a story. In fact, only four pieces of furniture in the whole place are new! But they are no hoarders. As Brit tells us, "I'm a collector of things, without doubt, but I try to only have things that are useful or have a function." Brit and Mike recently invited us into their home, and while we immediately fell for their generous, beautifully decorated spaces, it was really all the charming and quirky details reflecting their six-year romance that had us swooning and tapping #relationshipgoals into our phones when we left.
Go inside Brit and Mike's beautiful Brooklyn home here
The World’s Most Expensive Dollhouse Will Be On Show at Columbus Circle This Month
November 3, 2015

The World’s Most Expensive Dollhouse Will Be On Show at Columbus Circle This Month

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If you think Manhattan condos are pricey, feast your eyes on the world's most expensive dollhouse! Valued at $8.5 million, The Astolat Dollhouse Castle is a 29-room micro-mansion that's been is filled to the brim with 10,000 painstakingly crafted miniatures that include "elaborate furniture, oil paintings, mirrors, fireplaces, gold miniature jewelry, rare-mini books more than 100 years old, fine rugs, fabrics, and pieces made of and silver and gold." Sound too absurd to be true? Well, you can check out this pricey and petite pad up close and personal starting this month. The Shops of Columbus Circle at Time Warner Center (TWC) will be showing the dollhouse for the first time ever since it was built in the 1980s.
Find out more here
Rafael Viñoly’s 432 Park Reportedly Showing Cracks in Its 1,400-Foot Facade
November 2, 2015

Rafael Viñoly’s 432 Park Reportedly Showing Cracks in Its 1,400-Foot Facade

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Is the Western Hemisphere's tallest residential tower already experiencing some construction defects? According to a recent blog post by real estate author Michael Gross (h/t Curbed), 432 Park Avenue is showing signs of wear. Gross writes that "Two unconnected sources confirm that the architectural concrete that covers the poured concrete tower has already developed cracks, and that scaffolds hanging from the pillar in recent weeks were there because Nicholson Galloway, a top masonry restoration company, was hired to coat the structure with some 'nasty stuff,' as one of those sources puts it, called Silane that will seal those fissures."
find out more
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