Architecture And Design

Once the home of several prominent figures—including Liza Minnelli—this elegant Second Empire-style townhouse at 115 East 38th Street in Murray Hill is seeking its new owner for $8.85 million. Steeped in history and landmarked in the Murray Hill Historic District, the gorgeous 1865 brownstone facade (which was painted in the mid-twentieth century) has remained remarkably intact, while the interior has received a modern renovation. Spanning across six floors and roughly 6,615 square-feet, the residence boasts five bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, an elevator, six working fireplaces, a garden, a roof terrace, and views of the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings.
More photos here

May 28, 2019

A renovated Federal-era West Village home with a solarium seeks $5.1M

Part of the Greenwich Village Historic District, the Federal-style rowhouse at 41 Barrow Street was originally built in 1828 as a "two and one-half storied wood building with [a] brick front in Flemish bond, steeply pitched roof and dormer window," according to the 1969 LPC designation. For all the historic charm it oozes from the outside, the interior has undergone a thorough renovation that kept many of the original details—wide-plank wood floors, two of the three original fireplace mantels, exposed wood beams—while gaining some modern upgrades. Of these, a solarium built on the parlor floor is the highlight, bringing plenty of light into the home and better flow to a somewhat tricky layout. The historic West Village property is now on the market for a cool $5,100,000.
Take the tour!

Rendering by Darc Studio.

May 28, 2019

For a girls’ school in Crown Heights, ODA upends the traditional school building

In designing a Crown Heights girls' school seeking an addition to their current campus, design and architecture firm ODA New York challenged the traditional American school building model, taking the future of urban density into account. The resulting design introduces a sixth facade, giving the structure a new set of faces to apply materials and create openings.
More views of the cool new-school design

Architecture And Design

A previous rendering; via EDC

May 24, 2019

City revives Downtown Brooklyn’s Willoughby Square Park project

Downtown Brooklyn is finally getting a park that was promised to the neighborhood more than 15 years ago. The city's Economic Development Corporation announced on Friday it will take over construction of the green space at Willoughby Square. In January, the city abandoned the plan to add a new park on top of a high-tech parking facility because of the developer's inability to secure financing. But, as first reported by Crain's, the EDC said the agency's capital division will take on the work itself, without a private developer or the underground automated parking lot originally proposed. The city estimates the park will open sometime in 2022.
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Architecture And Design

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s new bill is a ‘roadmap to breaking the car culture’

Via City Council Speaker Corey Johnson

May 21, 2019

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s new bill is a ‘roadmap to breaking the car culture’

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson's comprehensive "complete streets" bill arrives just three months after he proposed a five-year plan to make New Yorkers who take mass transit, walk and bike a priority over motor vehicle drivers. Johnson plans to introduce legislation next week that would require city officials to build 150 miles of dedicated bus lanes and 250 miles of protected bike lanes within a five year period, Streetsblog reports. Johnson said, “I want to completely revolutionize how we share our street space, and that’s what this bill does. This is a roadmap to breaking the car culture in a thoughtful, comprehensive way.”
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Williamsburg’s tallest tower tops out at Domino Sugar Factory development

Photo by Max Touhey

May 21, 2019

Williamsburg’s tallest tower tops out at Domino Sugar Factory development

Williamsburg officially has a new tallest tower. One South First, formerly 260 Kent Avenue, topped out this week at the Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment along the waterfront. Designed by COOKFOX Architects, the 435-foot-tall tower features two interlocking buildings with white precast concrete facades inspired by the molecular pattern and forms of sugar crystals, a reference to the former factory site.
Domino details here

May 21, 2019

Rockefeller Center developer reveals new Art Deco views of its first residential tower in Nomad

By Dana Schulz

In March, Rockefeller Group, the famous developers behind their eponymous Rockefeller Center, announced that they'd be building their first residential project in their 90-year history. Dubbed Rose Hill for the historic area that once occupied today's Nomad, the 600-foot tower at 30 East 29th Street is a uniquely modern interpretation of the Art Deco style. Now we have an even better look at this striking bronze facade, as well as the expansive amenity spaces and luxury condo interiors. The new views coincide with sales launching; prices will start at $1.195 million for a studio.
More details and renderings this way

May 20, 2019

Audible opens new offices at a restored historic cathedral in Newark

Audible, the audiobook company owned by Amazon, opened new offices on Friday in a restored historic cathedral in Newark. The company, which has been located in New Jersey's largest city since 2007, restored an 80,000-square-foot 1913 church and modernized it with open workspace, a four-lane bowling alley, and cafes. Dubbed the Innovation Cathedral, the new offices on Washington Street will hold 400 employees.
See the space

May 17, 2019

All of I.M. Pei’s New York City projects

By 6sqft

Following Thursday’s news of the death of 102-year-old Pritzker Prize-winning Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, the spotlight has been focused on his many contributions throughout the world. His firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, has had a hand in dozens of projects throughout New York City, though Pei himself was the principal designer for only a rare few. Below is a roundup of I.M. Pei’s NYC buildings, from a pedestrian plaza “superblock” in residential Brooklyn to the iconic Four Seasons Hotel, to the JFK Aiport Sundrome that was sadly demolished in 2011, and a never-realized futuristic 1956 Hyperboloid design that was to be a replacement for Grand Central Terminal
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Architecture And Design

New looks and pricing details for Extell’s Central Park Tower

In March, Extell Development's supertall on Billionaires' Row became the tallest residential tower in the world, surpassing the 1,396-foot-tall 432 Park Avenue. Now, ahead of Central Park Tower's official topping out scheduled this summer, the developers have released new renderings of its exclusive amenity space, including the indoor pool and full-service lobby. And a handful of the building's 179 residences will be listed for the first time next week, ranging from a two-bedroom for $6.9 million to a five-bedroom for $63 million.
More this way

Architecture And Design

May 17, 2019

Cuomo reveals new Penn Station entrance, work set to begin next month

On Thursday Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled the final design for the new main entrance to Penn Station. The new 33rd Street and 7th Avenue entrance will provide much-needed direct access to the Long Island Rail Road main concourse and the subway, eliminate congestion by doubling capacity for riders entering and leaving the LIRR level and enhance safety and security. Construction begins next month and will wrap up in December of 2020. The new design is the first we've seen of the $600 million Penn Station revamp since last September when Gov. Cuomo revealed a new LIRR entrance and public plaza.
More of the new designs this way

David Adjaye’s first NYC skyscraper in FiDi tops out at 800 feet

Photo by Chris Coe for Optimist Consulting

May 16, 2019

David Adjaye’s first NYC skyscraper in FiDi tops out at 800 feet

Construction at 130 William Street, starchitect David Adjaye’s first skyscraper in New York City, topped out at 800 feet this week. The 66-story tower is making its mark on the Financial District with its hand-cast façade featuring large-scale arched windows and bronze detailing. When complete, it will house 242 residences ranging from $1,300,000 for a one-bedroom to $20,000,000 for a four-bedroom, full-floor penthouse. According to developer Lightstone, there was enormous interest in the units as soon as sales launched less than a year ago, and the tower has since become one of the city’s best-selling condos.
More info and views

See how five architecture firms designed affordable housing for small vacant lots in NYC

“More with Less,” a winning entry by Palette Architecture

May 15, 2019

See how five architecture firms designed affordable housing for small vacant lots in NYC

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY) announced on Tuesday the selection of five New York City-based firms as finalists in the Big Ideas for Small Lots NYC design competition for small-scale, urban infill housing. As 6sqft previously reported, the program was organized by HPD and AIANY as a way to address the challenges associated with the design and construction of affordable housing on 23 lots of underutilized city-owned land. First announced by the city last year, the program falls under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York 2.0 plan. The winning proposals were selected by a panel of nine jurors and evaluated on their design, replicability, and construction feasibility. The finalists will advance to the final stage of the program.
See more of the finalists' designs

At Green New Deal rally, De Blasio tells Trump his NYC buildings could face $2M+ in annual fines

Photo via Flickr cc

May 14, 2019

At Green New Deal rally, De Blasio tells Trump his NYC buildings could face $2M+ in annual fines

During a rally at Trump Tower yesterday, Mayor Bill de Blasio put the Trump Organization on blast as he promoted the city’s Green New Deal. Under the new climate change legislation, which requires large buildings in New York City to dramatically cut their greenhouse gas emissions, eight Trump-owned properties, referred to as "dirty, inefficient buildings," would cause the Organization to owe roughly $2.1 million in fines annually beginning in 2030. The 27,000 metric tons of greenhouse gasses that these buildings pump out each year is equal to 5,800 cars. After being passed by the New York City Council on April 18, the law is slated to go into effect on May 17.
More info

May 14, 2019

See inside the Statue of Liberty’s new museum ahead of this week’s opening

The Statue of Liberty is a universally recognized structure and symbol. But do most people know the story of its creation? Opening this Thursday, the new Statue of Liberty Museum aims to educate visitors about the history and legacy of the statue through immersive gallery spaces and artifacts. During a press preview last week, 6sqft toured the 26,000-square-foot museum and its landscaped roof, located on Liberty Island across from Lady Liberty herself.
Get a peek

Columbia Medical’s Washington Heights campus will get a new public plaza

Rendering Credit: FXCollaborative and Quennell Rothschild & Partners.

May 13, 2019

Columbia Medical’s Washington Heights campus will get a new public plaza

On May 28, work is scheduled to begin on Haven Plaza, a pedestrian plaza that will transform Haven Avenue between 169th Street and Fort Washington Avenue into an actual haven for faculty, staff, patients, students and the public at large. Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), in partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation, is creating 60,000 square feet of open green space complete with planters, benches, café tables, and chairs.
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Architecture And Design

Watch New York City grow from 1609 to today with this animated video assembled from historic maps

Via The New York City Evolution Animation from Myles Zhang

May 13, 2019

Watch New York City grow from 1609 to today with this animated video assembled from historic maps

When it comes to the development of New York City over many, many years, we tend not to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Here Grows New York, an animated map created by urban development buff Myles Zhang, gives us a seriously forest-eye view of how the city changes from the time the first native American tribes populated the five boroughs in 1609 to the noisy tangle of highways of 2019. Complete with cool facts and a soundtrack, the map visually animates the development of this city’s infrastructure and street grid using geo-referenced road network data, historic maps, and geological surveys, highlighting the kind of organic growth spurts that drive development over time, providing an "abstract representation of urbanism."
Watch the city grow before your eyes

Photo courtesy of NYCxDESIGN

May 6, 2019

NYCxDESIGN 2019: A guide to New York City’s annual celebration of design

You can expect to see the stars of NYCxDESIGN–sinuous sofas, luminous lighting, fab furniture, terrific textiles, and amazing accessories–for the next several years in magazines, blogs and showrooms, but you'll be seeing them here first. It’s not strictly for design geeks only, but if modern objects are your thing, get out your calendar and get ready for design heaven. ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) anchors an international celebration on a par with the Milan Furniture Fair and Stockholm Design Week, with hundreds of thousands of attendees and designers from across the globe converging on the city's five boroughs from May 10–22; much of the mid-May action happens in Manhattan, but Brooklyn weighs in with a full calendar of collective events in hotspots like the Navy Yard and Industry City that serve as design hubs 365 days a year. Read on for a handful of highlights.
What's next in design, this way

The city’s first marina in 50 years is coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park

Rendering courtesy of ONE°15

May 6, 2019

The city’s first marina in 50 years is coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park

New Yorkers will soon have more opportunities to reconnect with the waterfront as the city’s first new marina in 50 years is set to start operating at full capacity this spring in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Managed by Singapore-based conglomerate SUTL, the ONE°15 marina will accommodate over 100 boats ranging from 30 to 200 feet in length. In the works since 2015, the eight-acre facility between Piers 4 and 5 cost $28 million and involved the collaboration of multiple city, state, and federal agencies to complete the complex infrastructure work required.
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Architecture And Design

May 2, 2019

New photos of ODA’s Bushwick rental highlight its sloping, sunset-hued facade

While architecture firm ODA's sunset-hued rental in Bushwick topped out almost two years ago, recently released photos of the block-long building reveal a new level of uniqueness. Dubbed the Rheingold, part of the development of the former brewery site, 10 Montieth Street boasts one of the most distinct facades in the city, with a sloping rooftop, cascading terraces, and window frames in a pattern of yellow, orange, and red (h/t Dezeen). The seven-story building contains 500 studio, one-, and two-bedroom residences, which first hit the rental market last August.
See it here

This nitrogen ice cream parlor in the Bronx is a pastel-painted dream

All photos courtesy of Costas Picadas

May 1, 2019

This nitrogen ice cream parlor in the Bronx is a pastel-painted dream

Last December, Ice Scream opened at the Mall at Bay Plaza, giving the Bronx its first liquid nitrogen ice cream parlor. In addition to serving up futuristic frozen treats, the shop provides a fun and relaxing rest stop in between shopping. Founded by New Yorker Julien Albertini and Alina Pimkina, from Moscow, interior design firm Asthetíque specializes in luxury hospitality and residential design. Although developing a brand for a family business tailored to children was a totally new concept for Julien and Alina, the duo took on the design for Ice Scream and came up with a concept that "benefits society and makes peoples’ lives and businesses more beautiful and functional," according to the designers. Inspired by the 1980s Memphis design movement, Asthetíque has created a space for guests to have “plenty of Instagrammable moments.” From the ceiling's coordinated light show to the fun mantras written in neon script throughout the 24-seat store (ie: "Ice Scream is better than therapy" and "Count your sprinkles, not your problems"), Ice Scream's design not only provides a spot for families to make memories, but as a declaration that the "Bronx can contribute to the world of design." For its innovative and playful ice cream parlor design, Asthetíque was a winner in the 46th annual IIDA Interior Design Competition this year. Ahead, see inside the eye-catching ice cream parlor and hear from Julien and Alina on the brand development process.
Get the scoop on Ice Scream

Uncovering Central Park: Looking back at the original designs for ‘New York’s greatest treasure’

All of the images in this post are included in “The Central Park: Original Designs for New York’s Greatest Treasure,” and are courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives.

April 30, 2019

Uncovering Central Park: Looking back at the original designs for ‘New York’s greatest treasure’

By Lucie Levine

There are few things as beautiful as a sunset in Central Park, standing beside the reservoir at 90th Street, looking west, and watching the sun sink behind the San Remo then glitter through the trees on the park's horizon, and finally melt into the water, its colors unspooling there like ink. That view, one of so many available in the park, can be credited to the meticulous planning by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, whose extraordinary vision made Central Park one of the finest urban oases on earth. "The Central Park: Original Designs for New York's Greatest Treasure," a new book by Cynthia S. Brenwall, out now from the NYC Department of Records, offers a closer look at that lanning process than ever before. Using more than 250 color photos, maps, plans, elevations, and designs -- many published here for the very first time -- the book chronicles the park's creation, from conception to completion, and reveals the striking "completeness" of Olmsted and Vaux's vision. "There was literally no detail too small to be considered," Brenwall says. You'll see the earliest sketches of familiar structures, and check out plans for unbuilt amenities (including a Paleozoic Museum!) 6sqft caught up with Brenwall to find out how the book came together, hear what it was like to cull through those incredible documents and snag a few secrets of Central Park.
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April 30, 2019

See more renderings of historic Times Square Theater’s $100M overhaul

In October 2017, Stillman Development International signed a 73-year lease on the Times Square Theater, with plans to overhaul the historic venue, which has been closed for the last 30 years, with a $100 million renovation. Headed by Beyer Blinder Belle, the project includes lifting the limestone facade of the theater five feet, restoring original design elements, and adding 52,000 square feet of retail. With the plaster removal process officially underway, more renderings have been released that show off the large terraces, an outdoor rooftop restaurant, and two-story glass box that will cantilever over 42nd Street.
More here

Architecture And Design

April 26, 2019

Charming pre-Civil War Boerum Hill house asks $3.2M