Architecture And Design

The area surrounding the High Line continues to serve as the city's hotbed of avant-garde architecture, and Thomas Juul-Hansen's 505w19 is the latest jewel to stud West Chelsea's verdant necklace. The two-building project, whose 10-story volumes straddle either side of the High Line, will join the ranks of Foster's 551W21, Selldorf's 520 West Chelsea, and Shigeru Ban's Metal Shutter House as a timeless, modern addition that contextually blends into the west side's no-nonsense streetscape. We recently got a peek at the construction of this 35-unit condo development, which is currently getting its skin--a dark-grey saw toothed façade with exposed concrete columns and slab edges.
Take a look at the progress here

January 7, 2015

Prospect Heights Row House Once Literally “Gone to the Dogs” Is Now Best in Show

By Stephanie Hoina

Like most townhouses of its time, this Prospect Heights abode suffered from what Delson or Sherman Architects referred to as "common row-house ailments." Dark in the middle and spatially flat, coupled with the fact that it had housed a kennel in one of its former lives, this home had literally gone to the dogs in more ways than one. But wait until you see how the firm transformed the Brooklyn house.
From dark and flat to bright and layered

January 6, 2015

Dean/Wolf Architects’ Amazing Brooklyn Townhouse Has an Operable Tetris-Like Facade

By Diane Pham

Fusing indoor and outdoor space is a rare occurrence in places like New York City, where outside real estate rarely constitutes anything more than a 2 foot x 5 foot fire escape. So when the residents of this Brooklyn Heights townhouse moved into their new pad, they knew that their spacious backyard would have to be the star of their home. As such, the Brooklynites called upon Dean / Wolf Architects to take on the task of breathing new life into their townhouse, and by the looks of things, they couldn't have chosen better. Instead of simply employing floor-to-ceiling windows to make the connection, the savvy architects designed an operable, puzzle-like rear facade that allows the home's inhabitants to seamlessly join the indoors and the out with just a few turns of the wrist.
More on the aptly named 'Operable Boundary Townhouse/Garden' here

January 6, 2015

Gorgeous Sagaponack Stone House Gets a Brise-Soleil Addition by Martin Architects

This Daniels Lane residence consists of two contrasting parts—an existing stone beach house and a textured modern addition to its side. Settled atop a grassy site in the Southampton village of Sagaponack, this beautiful dwelling was re-designed by local studio Martin Architects, who not only created a striking second volume with a layer of wood screens, but cleverly lifted and rotated the old stone beach house to provide new views and more light.
Learn more about this modern contrasting home

January 5, 2015

General Assembly Design’s Merging of Two Vinegar Hill Apartments Produces Sweet Results

By Stephanie Hoina

Aristotle’s wise words,"The whole is better than the sum of its parts," are certainly true in the case of this beautifully designed Vinegar Hill home. With owners who were used to a large, sprawling Victorian in equally sprawling Los Angeles, combining two apartments in a bland developer-style building in Brooklyn proved to offer the perfect replacement, given the right amount of ingenuity.
See more of this 'sweet' home

Architecture And Design

January 5, 2015

The Twins: Otherworldly Upstate Vacation Homes Designed for Two Brothers

Architect William O'Brien Jr. was approached by twin brothers to create two vacation homes that neighbor each other. Designed to be built on the same plot of land upstate, the homes, like the twins, are fraternal but not identical. Both of the structures are based on the polygon, and the black, futuristic dwellings are separated yet joined by a seasonal food garden.
Learn more about these futuristic twin homes

January 5, 2015

The Rumbles Are 3D-Printed Pendant Lights by Studio MeraldiRubini

We're no strangers to the 3D printing movement (we even know someone who's printing an entire estate), but we still get excited when we find a product that not only incorporates the technology, but is also a beautiful, striking design. The Rumbles made just that impression on us. Using 3D printers, industrial design firm Studio MeraldiRubini created this collection of three pendant lights characterized by soft and sinuous shapes that artistically filter light.
More details on the Rumbles ahead

January 4, 2015

The Olnick Spanu House Is a Minimal, Modern Glazed Home on the Hudson River

The Olnick Spanu House is a modernist beauty on the banks of the Hudson River in Garrison, New York. Its simple design consists of a glazed box built on an extended platform and topped by a light cantilevered roof supported by an array of cylindrical pillars. The project is by Spanish architect and lecturer Alberto Campo Baeza, who sought to create a modest but modern home peacefully immersed in nature.
Learn more about this modern glazed home

January 2, 2015

The Brooklyn Home Company Blends the Old with the New to Transform a Park Slope Home

By Aisha Carter

As an artist, there’s nothing more liberating than being given total control to show what you can really do. So we’re guessing the design team at The Brooklyn Home Company was more than happy to be approached by a Park Slope family to renovate and redesign this historic four-story Lincoln Place townhouse. The team was given complete creative license while incorporating the family’s substantial art and furniture collection into the design. The final product is a completely fresh and new look for the owners, even though it features many familiar elements of a classic Brooklyn brownstone.
More photos inside

A House in the Woods by William Reue Uses Locally-Sourced Materials and Bold Geometry

Just one look at A House in the Woods by William Reue and you know this is not your average piece of architecture. Located in the Hudson Valley on a densely forested 8.5-acre lot at the base of the Shawangunk Mountains, the 4,800-square-foot, LEED-certified home was realized through the owner's request for "an artful home that responded to her values of order, beauty, and environmental stewardship." Reue arrived at this goal by using bold, locally-sourced materials to create a seamless transition between the built structure and its surrounding landscape.
Much more on A House in the Woods ahead

December 31, 2014

REVEALED: 141 Willoughby, 30-Story Mixed-Use Tower to Replace Site Once Slated for Eminent Domain Takeover

A Downtown Brooklyn school once planned to be seized through eminent domain will sprout a 30-story mixed-use tower by Savanna Partners. Renderings posted on Savanna's website reveal a glass tower at 141 Willoughby Street with a retail base, student housing, and commercial or residential space above. The project will replace the three-story building that's home to the Institute of Design and Construction, a 77-year-old technical college.
More details on the project

December 31, 2014

West Village Townhouse by 1100 Architect Maximizes Natural Light in a Historic Structure

The West Village may be one of the toughest neighborhoods in which to undergo a complete renovation of one's home since a large portion of the area is landmarked and consists of historic rowhouses. For this overhaul, though, 1100 Architect masterfully blended the old with the new, all while maximizing natural light throughout the townhouse. The home combines original brick walls with and wood elements with exposed steel and glass, resulting in a structure that both blends with its neighbors and stands out as an eye-catching work of architecture.
Check out the house here

December 30, 2014

REVEALED: Mixed-Use Development One Flatbush Avenue to Rise from Prominent Brooklyn Corner

Here's our first look at 1 Flatbush Avenue, a 19-story, 160,000-square-foot mixed-use building planned for the very visible corner of Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Images on the website of Ryder Construction show a dignified building that blends with its streetscape. Slate Property Group is listed as the owner of the site and Goldstein Hill & West Architects (GHWA) as the architects.
More details ahead

December 29, 2014

Eclectic Bond Street Apartment Stuns with Brilliant Colors and Texture

By Aisha Carter

Nothing says Happy New Year quite like a zebra head mounted on a sleek black wall. And that’s just a taste of the whimsy you’ll find in this recently completed collaboration between James Dixon Architect and interior designer Carolina George. The eclectic apartment on Bond Street in Noho expertly combines a chic, modern look with subtle quirks dispersed throughout.
Take a look inside here

December 29, 2014

Upstate Adirondack-Style Cabin by James Thomas Is a Cheerful Winter Retreat

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is nearing an end, we're daydreaming about winding down in a cozy winter cabin, complete with snowy views and warm, crackling fires. And this upstate Adirondack-style cabin by James Thomas is exactly what we've been envisioning. Though the family retreat can't produce snow on the spot, it can offer a tranquil getaway with two fireplaces, comfortable furniture, and an organic mix of natural wood and stone.
Take a look around

REVEALED: New East Williamsburg Rental 66 Ainslie Street Aims for Ubiquitous Factory Look

Rendering of 66 Ainslie Street via Slate Property Group

December 29, 2014

REVEALED: New East Williamsburg Rental 66 Ainslie Street Aims for Ubiquitous Factory Look

Here's the first look at 66 Ainslie Street, a seven-story, 50-unit rental building set to rise from the East Williamsburg corner of Ainslie and Keap Streets. According to The Real Deal, the project is being developed by Slate Property Group, led by Martin Nussbaum and David Schwartz, and the site's previous sole owners, Tavolario and Meszaros Realty Corporation. Slate purchased the site for $15 million in an off-market deal in September. Construction permits filed this past November by Aufgang Architects indicate that the building will contain 42,500 square feet of residential and retail space, 23 parking spaces in an underground garage, and a roof deck and fitness center. The site is also around the corner from the Metropolitan-Lorimer G and L train stop. The filing of a "major alteration" application indicates that at least some part of the existing one-story factory building will remain.
More details ahead

December 26, 2014

TRA Founders Transform Soho Loft into Bright, Sophisticated Space

By Aisha Carter

Kids change everything. And that’s exactly what happened when architect Caterina Roiatti and designer/artist Bob Traboscia of TRA Studio welcomed their son into the world. Shortly afterwards, their apartment of 20 years—a 2,000-square-foot semi-raw “shoebox” loft in Soho—would be transformed from an open live/work space with few windows and doors and no storage to a more grown-up, light-filled home suited for a sophisticated New York family.
More photos inside

December 26, 2014

As the Met Prepares to Move into the Whitney’s Old Building, A Madison Avenue Block Is Transformed

All eyes have been on the construction of Renzo Piano's new downtown home for the Whitney Museum, set to open in May. But let's not forget about what's happening to the Whitney's old Marcel Breuer-designed building on Madison Avenue and 75th Street. The Brutalist building opened in 1966 and has since dominated its Upper East Side surroundings. It's set to be taken over as a satellite location for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to showcase their contemporary and modern art collections when it reopens in March 2016. And though the Met will not alter the façade of the landmarked museum building, its surroundings will certainly look different than in the Whitney's days. The biggest changes are happening right next door, where the row of six 19th-century Italianate and Greek Revival brownstones on Madison Avenue and two townhouses on East 74th Street are being reimagined as condos and retail space by developer and healthcare entrepreneur Daniel Straus, who bought the properties from the Whitney in 2010 for $95 million and subsequently was granted approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for their new design by Beyer Blinder Belle. According to the Times, who profiled the development, the flurry of construction could be considered "the Met effect."
More on the development here

December 26, 2014

Nikolo Kerimov’s Upon-Tea Beautifully Unveils the Visual Side of Brewing

Upon-tea is not just a teapot but also an object for admiring the process of brewing of tea. Made from a sleek combination of glass, renewable cork and white ceramic, it offers a unique visual experience in a common daily act. Designed by Nikolo Kerimov, this minimal design enhances one of life's most simple pleasures.
Learn more about this transparent Finnish teapot

December 24, 2014

A 1960s Upstate Log Cabin Transformed into a One-Room Family Home

Takaaki Kawabata (Taka), a senior associate at architecture firm Janson Goldstein, and his wife, designer Christina Kawabata, wanted to move their family from Williamsburg, where their rent had quadrupled, to a rural home still within commuting distance to the city. After first seeing a 1960s log cabin in Garrison, New York, Taka wasn't impressed. But, having grown up in a one-room farmhouse in Japan, when he looked over the plans he knew this was his family's new home. The couple bought the cabin for $335,000, embarked on a year-long $50,000 remodel, and transformed the outdated structure into an 1,100-square-foot family home with a completely open-plan layout and an excess-free living model.
Take a look at the result here

Architecture And Design

Say Goodbye to Williamsburg’s Iconic Diner, New Six-Story Apartment Building Coming

Image by Avagara via Panoramio

December 24, 2014

Say Goodbye to Williamsburg’s Iconic Diner, New Six-Story Apartment Building Coming

By Diane Pham

Amongst Williamsburg's ever-growing, rapidly-rising new developments remains a neighborhood icon that has managed to stick around in the face of change. However, it looks like time has finally caught up to this tiny 1950s treasure, as Brownstoner reports that permits were filed today to replace the classic metal structure with a six-story, 10-unit apartment building. The replacement may not surprise too many given the transformation of the area, as well as the restaurants taking up space—from a diner in '52 to a beloved burger joint from '97 to 2010 to today providing a somewhat less fitting location for upscale La Esquina's satellite Mexican restaurant/cafe—but without a doubt it's still one that we're sad to see happen.
More details here

December 23, 2014

WE Design’s Brownstone Renovation Melds the Old with Mid-Century Modern Touches

By Diane Pham

We've featured the work of WE Design before, but here's another one of their Brooklyn beauties that's captured our attention. In a gut renovation of a historic brownstone, the architects brought a 19th century home right into the 21st by juxtaposing the old and the new and making way for spaces that are all about modern living.
Have a look inside this stunning home

December 23, 2014

170 Amsterdam Avenue: NYC’s First Concrete Diagrid Nears Completion