Architecture And Design

Vote for 6sqft’s 2023 Building of the Year!

December 20, 2023

Vote for 6sqft’s 2023 Building of the Year!

By Devin Gannon

For New York City real estate, 2023 was a year of reinvention and renewal. Projects on pause for years resumed construction, iconic 100-year-old buildings were revived, developments were rebranded and relaunched, and the city’s next tallest towers began to rise. This year also offered a glimpse into the future: the completion of the city's largest office-to-condo conversion and its first all-electric skyscraper. 6sqft has narrowed our picks down to 12 of the most notable residential projects of the year. Which do you think deserves to be crowned the 2023 Building of the Year? Polls for our ninth annual competition will remain open through noon on Wednesday, December 27. A winner will be announced on Thursday, December 28. Happy voting!
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Paul Rudolph’s Modulightor Building is now an NYC landmark

The Modulightor Building. Photo credit: Joe Polowczuk

December 19, 2023

Paul Rudolph’s Modulightor Building is now an NYC landmark

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to landmark the Modulightor Building, an iconic building in Midtown East designed by renowned modernist architect Paul Rudolph. Located at 246 East 58th Street, the building was built between 1989 and 1993 to house the Modulightor lighting company founded by Rudolph with German physicist Ernst Wagner. According to the commission, the building stands out for its special character and its historical and aesthetic significance in New York City.
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Free six-acre light installation ‘Field of Light’ opens in Midtown East

Field of Light © 2023 Bruce Munro. All rights reserved. All photography by Serena Munro

December 15, 2023

Free six-acre light installation ‘Field of Light’ opens in Midtown East

By Aaron Ginsburg

A massive installation made of thousands of twinkling lights opened this week in Midtown East. Designed by Bruce Munro, Field of Light at Freedom Plaza includes 18,750 low-light, fiber-optic stemmed spheres that change colors and create a mesmerizing landscape across more than six acres next to the United Nations headquarters. The installation is free to visit thanks to the Soloviev Group, the developer who is proposing building a casino on the vacant site. The 12-month Field of Light is open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
how to visit

Office-to-residential conversions could significantly lower NYC’s carbon emissions: report

Image courtesy of Carl Solder on Unsplash

December 12, 2023

Office-to-residential conversions could significantly lower NYC’s carbon emissions: report

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City could drastically decrease its carbon footprint if the eligibility for office-to-residential conversions is expanded, according to a new report. In the study "Office to Residential Conversions: The Carbon Story," sustainable development consultant Arup found updating zoning rules to allow for more office buildings to become apartments could cut carbon emissions by 54 percent by 2050.
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Photos show off One High Line as new addition to Chelsea’s hub of high-end architecture

All photos courtesy of Evan Joseph.

December 8, 2023

Photos show off One High Line as new addition to Chelsea’s hub of high-end architecture

By Devin Gannon

Work has wrapped up on One High Line, the two-tower residential development designed by Bjarke Ingels, marking a major milestone for a project that has hit a few bumps along the way. Located next to the iconic elevated park for which it shares a name, the distinctive condominium at 500 West 18th Street consists of a 36-story tower and a 26-story tower that twist in tandem away from each other, maximizing city and Hudson River views. One High Line joins several notable high-end architecture projects in West Chelsea, like Lantern House, 520 West 28th Street, and The Cortland.
see it here

Leasing launches at Pearl House in the Seaport, NYC’s largest office-to-rental conversion

All renderings courtesy of Williams New York

December 7, 2023

Leasing launches at Pearl House in the Seaport, NYC’s largest office-to-rental conversion

By Aaron Ginsburg

Leasing has launched at New York City's largest office-to-rental conversion to date. Developed by Vanbarton Group and designed by Gensler, Pearl House at 160 Water Street in the Seaport District includes 588 luxury apartments and three levels of resort-style amenities at what was a 1970s-era office building. Pricing starts at $3,500 for studios, $4,700 for one-bedrooms, and $6,400 for two-bedrooms, according to Bloomberg.
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See plan to replace former Harlem prison next to Central Park with 105 affordable homes

All renderings courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office

December 6, 2023

See plan to replace former Harlem prison next to Central Park with 105 affordable homes

By Aaron Ginsburg

A plan to replace a former Harlem prison with affordable housing is moving forward. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday unveiled Seneca, the winning proposal for a project that will transform the Lincoln Correctional Facility at West 110th Street, which shuttered in 2019, into 105 affordable homes for purchase. The governor selected a team led by Infinite Horizons, L+M Development Partners, Urbane, and Lemor Development Group to develop the roughly $90 million project, which will go through a public review process before final approval.
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First expansion of Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater to open this winter

Photo by Shahar Azran

November 27, 2023

First expansion of Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater to open this winter

By Aaron Ginsburg

Harlem's world-famous Apollo Theater will open the doors to new performance space in February. The highly anticipated expansion, the first in the institution's 90-year history, will deliver a new 25,000-square-foot facility with two theaters, office space, a central lobby, and gallery space on the third and fourth floors of the Victoria Theater on West 125th Street. The Apollo Stages at The Victoria will open on February 1.
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JPMorgan’s all-electric supertall at 270 Park Avenue tops out in Midtown East

Photos courtesy of Max Touhey for JPMorgan Chase unless otherwise noted.

November 21, 2023

JPMorgan’s all-electric supertall at 270 Park Avenue tops out in Midtown East

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's largest all-electric skyscraper has topped out in Midtown East. JPMorgan Chase on Monday announced the placement of the final steel beam at 270 Park Avenue, a nearly 1,400-foot-tall building that will serve as the company's global headquarters. Designed by Foster + Partners, the 60-story tower will house 14,000 employees across 2.5 million square feet of flexible space. The net-zero building features a striking "fan-column" structure that rises roughly 80 feet above street level and outdoor space on Park and Madison Avenues.
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Architecture And Design

Penn Station opens new accessible entrance with glass canopy at 7th Ave and 32nd Street

All images courtesy of Fernando Sandoval/MW

November 20, 2023

Penn Station opens new accessible entrance with glass canopy at 7th Ave and 32nd Street

By Aaron Ginsburg

Travelers will now have a much easier time entering Penn Station. The transit hub's busiest entrance at 7th Avenue and 32nd Street reopened on Sunday following a renovation led by Amtrak and Vornado Realty Trust. The passageway is now fully ADA-accessible, with a 50 percent wider entrance, a new elevator, two new escalators, and a new glass canopy designed by Norman Foster's Foster + Partners that replaces the original concrete overhang.
take a look

Popular Articles

SOM completes $100M restoration of Midtown’s Lever House

All photos courtesy of Lucas Blair Simpson © SOM

November 17, 2023

SOM completes $100M restoration of Midtown’s Lever House

By Aaron Ginsburg

The $100 million restoration of Park Avenue's famous Lever House tower by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the iconic building's original architects, has been completed. The project revitalized the tower for the 21st century while preserving the distinct architectural aesthetic the building has expressed since it was first completed in 1952. Lever House features a reimagined lobby, ground-level public plaza, modernized building systems, and a new indoor and outdoor hospitality suite called the Lever Club.
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Architecture And Design

First look at Olympia Dumbo amenities, including NYC’s highest private tennis court

All photos courtesy of Pavel Bendov for Olympia DUMBO

November 14, 2023

First look at Olympia Dumbo amenities, including NYC’s highest private tennis court

By Aaron Ginsburg

The impressive amenities at Dumbo's latest luxury tower are now complete and new photos provide a first look at the stunning spaces. Olympia Dumbo, the neighborhood's tallest and most expensive residential building, offers 38,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities spread across three floors, including New York City's highest private outdoor tennis court, indoor and outdoor pools, and a playroom, shipwreck-themed playground, and waterpark for kids.
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New images and details unveiled for 420-foot-tall Upper East Side condo

All renderings courtesy of Elad Group

November 13, 2023

New images and details unveiled for 420-foot-tall Upper East Side condo

By Aaron Ginsburg

New images and details for a high-rise condominium on the Upper East Side were released last week. Developed by Elad Group, the 32-story building at 201 East 74th Street, going by The 74, will be home to 42 two- to five-bedroom apartments. Not only making a statement in the neighborhood for its height, the tower also stands out for its design, which includes squeezing in next to, and cantilevering over, a 110-year-old walk-up apartment building.
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All-electric 30-story tower with 324 apartments and academic space breaks ground in Downtown Brooklyn

Rendering courtesy of RXR

November 2, 2023

All-electric 30-story tower with 324 apartments and academic space breaks ground in Downtown Brooklyn

By Aaron Ginsburg

Construction has begun on an all-electric residential building in Downtown Brooklyn that includes 324 apartments and academic space for Long Island University. RXR on Monday broke ground on the 30-story tower at 89 Dekalb Avenue, which is set to be one of the developer's most sustainable projects as the building is fully electric, features a smart glass facade system, and has electric vehicle charging stations.
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6-acre light installation at proposed Midtown East casino site to open in December

All renderings courtesy of the Soloviev Foundation

November 2, 2023

6-acre light installation at proposed Midtown East casino site to open in December

By Aaron Ginsburg

A sprawling light installation coming to the site of a proposed casino in Midtown East is opening next month. Designed by Bruce Munro, Field of Light at Freedom Plaza includes 17,000 low-light, fiber-optic stemmed spheres that change hues and create a dreamlike landscape across six acres near the United Nations headquarters. Free tickets are now available to book to visit the installation, which officially debuts December 15. The display is financed by the Soloviev Group, which owns the vacant land and is looking to build a mixed-use development called Freedom Plaza, anchored by a casino.
learn more about the installation

Village home and studio of Roy Lichtenstein opens after renovation, honored with historic plaque

Photo courtesy of Village Preservation on Flickr

October 27, 2023

Village home and studio of Roy Lichtenstein opens after renovation, honored with historic plaque

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Whitney Museum of American Art and Village Preservation on Thursday unveiled a historic plaque at the Greenwich Village home and studio of the renowned artist Roy Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein lived and worked at the 11,000-square-foot building at 741-745 Washington Street from 1988 until his passing in 1997. The building, constructed in 1912 as a metalworking shop, has officially reopened after receiving a full renovation by Los Angeles-based architects Johnston Marklee. The building now serves as the first permanent home for the museum's Independent Study Program (ISP), which supports future artists and scholars.
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Prospect Park reopens Fallkill Waterfall trail after nearly 30 years

All photos courtesy of Caroline Ourso

October 26, 2023

Prospect Park reopens Fallkill Waterfall trail after nearly 30 years

By Aaron Ginsburg

New Yorkers can now access a waterfall in Prospect Park without having to hop a fence for the first time in decades. The Prospect Park Alliance on Thursday opened Fallkill Trail, a new woodland pathway leading to the scenic Fallkill Waterfall that has been behind fencing since 1995. The new trail was created by staff and volunteers from Prospect Park Alliance who worked to remove invasive plants, plant native species, haul logs, grade paths, and form the trail.
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Bjarke Ingels’ terrace-wrapped office tower The Spiral opens in Hudson Yards

Photos courtesy of Laurian Ghinitoiu for BIG unless otherwise noted

October 25, 2023

Bjarke Ingels’ terrace-wrapped office tower The Spiral opens in Hudson Yards

By Devin Gannon

It's BIG's biggest yet. Bjarke Ingels Group on Tuesday announced the completion of The Spiral, a 66-story office tower in Hudson Yards. The skyscraper at 66 Hudson Boulevard measures 2.8 million square feet and rises just over 1,031 feet tall, making it the architecture firm's first completed supertall. In addition to its soaring height, The Spiral stands out for its series of cascading terraces that wrap around the building, "like a 1,000-foot-tall vine at the scale of the city's skyline," as the architect described.
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RXR opens 27-story South Bronx rental with 200 apartments

All renderings courtesy of RXR unless noted otherwise

October 24, 2023

RXR opens 27-story South Bronx rental with 200 apartments

By Aaron Ginsburg

Another residential development has opened in Mott Haven. RXR last week opened Maven, a new 27-story rental tower located on the South Bronx waterfront. Located at 2413 Third Avenue, the 145,643-square-foot building is the developer's first project in the Bronx. Designed by CetraRuddy, the tower contains a total of 200 rental units, 60 of which are affordable for middle-income households.
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Restoration of Richard Haas’ trompe-l’oeil mural in Soho begins

112 Prince Street mural in 1974 (left) and during the current restoration project (right). Photos: CITYarts

October 19, 2023

Restoration of Richard Haas’ trompe-l’oeil mural in Soho begins

By Devin Gannon

After years of deterioration, Richard Haas' iconic mural on the outside of a building in Soho will be restored. Painted in 1975, the five-story-high mural depicts a faux cast-iron facade painted to look like a continuation of the late 19th-century building at 112 Prince Street. Natural elements, time, and graffiti have made the mural unrecognizable, with the artwork almost completely faded. Work to bring the mural back to life began this week, with the project expected to be completed in November.
details here

City considers landmark status for NYPL branch in the Bronx

Photo courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission

October 18, 2023

City considers landmark status for NYPL branch in the Bronx

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering designating a Bronx public library as a New York City landmark. The commission on Tuesday voted to calendar the New York Public Library's Tremont Branch at 1866 Washington Avenue. Constructed in 1905, the library was funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and designed by the renowned firm Carrère and Hastings, the architects behind the library's iconic main branch at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue. Made of red brick and limestone, the library is highly regarded for its historical significance as a critical community space over the last 100+ years, in addition to its architectural importance, according to the LPC.
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Architecture And Design

Work begins on Studio Gang-designed Shirley Chisholm Rec Center in Brooklyn

Rendering of the Shirley Chisholm Recreational Center in East Flatbush. Credit: New York City Department of Design and Construction

October 17, 2023

Work begins on Studio Gang-designed Shirley Chisholm Rec Center in Brooklyn

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new recreation center that will serve as a hub for learning, fitness, and recreation is coming to East Flatbush. City officials on Monday broke ground on the $141 million Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center, a new facility named after the late congresswoman and Brooklyn native who was the first Black woman ever elected to Congress. Located in Nostrand Playground, the roughly 62,000-square-foot center will feature a public plaza, indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, walking track, commercial teaching kitchen, and a media lab.
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Architecture And Design

First section of landfill-turned-park project opens at Staten Island’s Freshkills Park

Photo Credit: Benny Polatseck | Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

October 16, 2023

First section of landfill-turned-park project opens at Staten Island’s Freshkills Park

By Aaron Ginsburg

On the site of what once was the world's biggest landfill, New York City's second-largest park is growing. On Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams announced the opening of the first public section of the new Freshkills Park on Staten Island. The 21-acre North Park area features new walking and cycling paths, an overlook deck, a bird-viewing tower, and connections to the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge.
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Paul Rudolph’s modernist Modulightor Building may become NYC landmark

Photo © Joe Polowczuk, Archives of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

October 3, 2023

Paul Rudolph’s modernist Modulightor Building may become NYC landmark

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to calendar an iconic building in Midtown East designed by renowned modernist architect Paul Rudolph. Located at 246 East 58th Street, the Modulightor Building was built between 1989 and 1993 to house the lighting company of the same name Rudolph founded with German physicist Ernst Wagner. Rudolph designed the duplex apartment on floors three and four, which is the only Rudolph-designed space regularly open to the public.
read more about the modulightor building

Architecture And Design

Work begins on 188-unit, mixed-income Chelsea building designed by COOKFOX

Rendering courtesy of MAG Partners

October 3, 2023

Work begins on 188-unit, mixed-income Chelsea building designed by COOKFOX

By Aaron Ginsburg

Work has begun on a 188-unit residential project in Chelsea. MAG Partners and affordable housing cooperative Penn South on Tuesday broke ground on a seven-story residential building at 335 Eighth Avenue. Developed under the Affordable NY Program, the building will set aside 30 percent of units for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. The development, situated on the corner of West 26th Street and 8th Avenue, will contain ground-floor commercial space, including a 23,000-square-foot Lidl grocery store.
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