Architecture And Design

On Tuesday, an agreement was reached between West Side elected officials and the Port Authority that said the agency would expand the planning process for a new $10 billion bus terminal with more local input. And just today they've revealed the five proposals that were submitted to a design competition to replace the currently loathed site. Crain's brings us videos of the ideas, which come from big-name firms Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Arcadis, AECOM in partnership with Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Perkins Eastman, and Archilier Architecture Consortium. Though this seems counter to the agreement, John Degnan, the Port Authority's New Jersey-appointed chairman, said he doubts "any one of them will be the final design," since they either further complicate existing planning issues or cost billions over budget.
Take a look at them all here

September 22, 2016

Paul Foeckler creates rustic indoor lighting using reclaimed California firewood

By Rebecca Paul

For fireplace-starved apartment dwellers, here's an alternative way to bring in some woodsy warmth as we approach the cooler months. Designer Paul Foeckler's Split Grain lighting collection is made from firewood he forages himself in California and then slices uses a splitting technique that reveals the grain patterns of the cross sections. These intricacies are then highlighted when the light emanates from the sculptural piece.
See more of these beautiful lights

September 21, 2016

Sales launch at Renzo Piano’s first residential project in NYC

Last we heard from starchitect Renzo Piano's 565 Broome SoHo, his first residential project in the city, it was March and with construction underway, a slew of new renderings came online of the Soho condominium. Now Curbed reports that sales have finally launched at the pair of glassy, 30-story structures, with currently available units ranging from a $990,000 studio to a $6,135,000 two-bedroom (the penthouses and duplexes will top $20 million). Perhaps the most noteworthy tidbit from the press release is that some residences will feature "enormous private terraces with 25-foot private, saltwater pools," which seems to be a growing trend in the luxury market.
More details and new views

September 21, 2016

Debt-beleaguered site of Norman Foster’s 3 Sutton Place condo tower is cleared for sale

A US Bankruptcy Court judge has approved a plan to sell the 3 Sutton Place site at at 426-432 East 58th Street, one of the city's most luxurious old enclaves, reports the New York Post. Brokers have been selected to conduct the marketing of the 262,000-square-foot project that includes plans for a 900-foot-tall condominium tower drawn up by British architect Sir Norman Foster of Foster + Partners.
Find out more

The next frontier: A roundup of new developments reshaping NJ’s Journal Square

A Google Earth rendering of future Journal Square. Created by CityRealty

September 20, 2016

The next frontier: A roundup of new developments reshaping NJ’s Journal Square

The migration of the New York development rush over to Jersey City was no surprise. Located along the waterfront, Jersey City boasts impressive views of the skyline and easy access into Manhattan from the PATH train. But as new development arrived at a rapid pace, it has resulted in rising prices and a lack of […]

Architecture And Design

September 20, 2016

Sales begin at Annabelle Selldorf’s 42 Crosby Street, Soho condo with $1M parking spots

Sales officially launched today at 42 Crosby Street, Atlas Capital Group's 50,000-square-foot Soho condominium designed by Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects. Nine three-bedroom residences and a penthouse at the seven-story luxury residence will start at $8,250,000 (the penthouse is going for $25 million). According to the press release, the building's design offers "a contemporary interpretation of the Soho neighborhood’s cast iron architecture," and of course, there's those $1 million parking spots.
Find out more and see renderings

Lowline team releases official proposal for $83M underground park

Lowline Lab via 6sqft

September 20, 2016

Lowline team releases official proposal for $83M underground park

Just a couple months ago, the NYC Economic Development Corporation granted preliminary approvals to the Lowline, the world's first underground park. This came after the city put out a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) late last year for the 60,000-square-foot abandoned trolley terminal below Delancey Street. The Lowline proposal was the only one received, and initially the 154-page document was only to be publicly available through a Freedom of Information Law request, but the group worked with the EDC to release it to the community. The Lo-Down got a look at the document, which reveals everything from the projected cost of the project ($83 million) and operating hours (6am to 9pm, five days a week) to specific design elements like a "ramble" and 1,600-square-foot cafe/bar.
Lots more details this way

Fort Greene brownstone from ‘Girls’ looks even better in real life, asks $5.6M

Remember that season on Girls where Lena Dunham's character falls for a handsome doctor with a gorgeous, pristine renovated brownstone? The townhouse that hosted those episodes is, in fact, the same 5,600-square-foot landmarked home that just hit the market for $5.6 million. Located at 52 Oxford Street in leafy, historic Fort Greene, it's currently owned by actor, screenwriter, and sometimes interior designer, Billy Morrissette, and according to the listing, also did star turns on Elementary, SNL and Difficult People. But the five-story 19th-century beauty with thoughtfully chosen and luxurious finishes, a sprawling deck, a deep landscaped yard and an industrial-chic glass-walled sun room has plenty of star power even when the cameras aren't rolling.
Tour all five star-quality stories of townhouse glory

September 19, 2016

63-acre Connecticut island could be the country’s most expensive residential property at $175M

Could this insane Connecticut property break the record for the most expensive residential property ever sold in the country? Now on the market for $175 million, Great Island spans 63 acres and holds a mansion, beach cottages, a polo field, caretaker's house with a greenhouse, yacht basin with docks, and a cow barn to boot. Such an impressive estate is owned by the family of the 19th-century industrialist William Ziegler. He acquired it in 1902 to use as a summer destination--one that rivals any other "summer house" we've seen. And according to The Real Deal, if this sells for its full asking price it would beat the record for priciest house ever sold in the U.S., which belongs to the 2014 sale of a $147 million home in the Hamptons.
Now, time to tour the grounds

September 19, 2016

Stay in NYC’s first shipping container home in Williamsburg for $96/night

There's plenty of cool shipping container architecture that's popped up around the city in recent years, from a retrofitted carriage house to the home of a radio station. But the title of first (legal) home built entirely of recycled containers goes to this architectural gem in Williamsburg, made of six stacked containers totaling 1,600 square feet. The lovely, 320-square-foot ground-floor apartment is now up for rent through Airbnb for a surprisingly affordable $96/night.
See the whole place

The ‘empty mansions’ of Huguette Clark: Luxury and mystery of an era past

Photo courtesy of Emptymansionsbook.com.

September 19, 2016

The ‘empty mansions’ of Huguette Clark: Luxury and mystery of an era past

Reclusive copper heiress Huguette M. Clark died in 2011 at the age of 104; in the years preceding and after her demise, obsessive followers of her story puzzled over her decision to remain in a small hospital room for the last 20 years of her life after having rarely left her apartment in the decades before. In this day of heiresses who run fashion companies and give house tours, Huguette Clark’s wealth and her retreat from the public eye—despite being by all accounts entirely lucid—have made her the target of endless fascination. But almost as fascinating are the storybook-grand properties that still stand as remnants of a gilded age long past and what remains of one of its biggest fortunes, barely touched and preserved as if in aspic until their recent acquisition by a new generation of magnates and heirs.
See more of Huguette Clark's abandoned Gilded Age opulence

September 19, 2016

Historic upstate charmer once owned by Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier asks $5.5M

After filming "Gone with the Wind," Vivien Leigh lived with husband Laurence Olivier in this charming Greek Revival home in Palisades, New York, and the Post reports that it's now on the market for $4.45 million. Built in the 1820s, it's known as the Captain John House and is located in the upscale hamlet of Snedens Landing, which the couple must really have loved since they also lived in another home here that called Orson Welles and John Steinbeck residents, too.
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September 16, 2016

Skyline blights: New York’s ugliest building finally gets its glassy update

By Diane Pham

The former Verizon Building at 375 Pearl Street has long been considered one of New York City's ugliest buildings. The oppressive structure was erected in 1975 and climbs 540 feet into the sky. While the height is almost negligible compared to some of the supertalls rising today, the tower's prime skyline positioning amongst some of the world's most celebrated architectural creations has done nothing to help shroud its banal facade. In fact, when the telephone switching center opened its doors for the first time more than 40 years ago, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger described it as the Verizon's "most disturbing" addition to the city (though in defense of the architects Rose, Beaton & Rose, it was built to withstand severe weather and attacks and protect the critical telecommunications infrastructure within). But all of that is changing now, as the building's fortress-like facade is in the midst of receiving a long due makeover.
More photos of the progress that's been made here

September 16, 2016

Historic and possibly haunted mansion near Navy Yard is priced to scare at $4.5 million

Though we can see how the otherwise potential-filled historic–and allegedly haunted–Lefferts-Laidlaw mansion at 136 Clinton Avenue in the Clinton Hill/Navy Yard/Wallabout neighborhood may terrify prospective buyers with an ask of $4.499 million, an 1878 New York Times account describes the persistent and mysterious ring-and-run situation that apparently plagued the home’s then-resident, Edward F. Smith. Neither crafty attempts to discover who was responsible for “doorbells rung, doors rattled" on a nightly basis and a brick hurled through a window, nor police intervention could produce a culprit. The house became a fixture on the map of spiritualists who held seances on the sidewalk. Locals suggested the pesky poltergeist might be either a lawyer who had committed suicide on the premises, or, as Mr. Smith suggested (possibly with some sarcasm attached as it was, after all, Brooklyn), Satan.
Does this house look spooky to you?

September 15, 2016

‘Where Architects Live’ takes you into the private homes of Zaha Hadid, Shigeru Ban and Daniel Libeskind

By Diane Pham

You've admired their buildings, now go inside their homes. On October 1st, the Architecture and Design Film Festival will host the U.S. premiere of "Where Architects Live," a fascinating documentary that offers an intimate look into private interiors—and the daily lives—of eight of the world's most important architects, including Shigeru Ban, Mario Bellini, David Chipperfield, Zaha Hadid, Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, Marcio Kogan, Daniel Libeskind and Bijoy Jain.
Watch the trailer here

September 14, 2016

REVEALED: Thomas Heatherwick’s $150M climbable Hudson Yards sculpture ‘The Vessel’

It was nearly three years ago that Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross boasted that Hudson Yards' public art piece would be "New York’s Eiffel Tower," and after an unveiling today of the massive sculpture that will anchor the central public space, it seems he might not have been too far off.
More details and renderings this way

September 14, 2016

Look inside Karim Rashid’s futuristic HAP Five condo rising in East Harlem

The Karim Rashid-designed eight-story, 75-foot residential building at 329 Pleasant Avenue in East Harlem has started to take shape after addressing a gauntlet of public outcry, reports CityRealty.com. Renderings of the condominium building from HAP Investment Developers were met with resistance from the community for their original turquoise and magenta color scheme–a typical Rashid design element–which, it was feared, would clash with the the neighborhood's century-old buildings. As 6sqft previously repoted, HAP toned down the color scheme, and it now features white balconies bordered with a gradually-fading shade of pink .
See more progress and interior renderings this way

September 14, 2016

Park Slope’s priciest townhouse gets a price cut to $12.75M

When the drop-dead gorgeous townhouse at 838 Carroll Street in Park Slope first hit the market, it made headlines with its $15 million price tag. That was earlier this year and apparently nobody bit, because a new ask of $12.75 million is now on the table. Even with the price cut, it's still the most expensive home for sale in the neighborhood.
Get ready to drool

September 13, 2016

Bates Masi + Architects focused on acoustics for this Hamptons house design

At this Hamptons home, the owners gained a true luxury once it was ready to live in: silence. Project architects Bates Masi paid particular attention to the architectural acoustics in order to limit the noise from the nearby town of Amagansett. Their focus defined nearly every detail of the interior, as well as the materials used. The result is a truly stunning beach house with sustainable, built-to-last materials that contribute to a unique acoustic character as you move through each living space.
See the interior this way

Architecture And Design

September 13, 2016

AECOM wants to turn Red Hook into a 45,000-unit mega-development with new subway connection

What do you get when you cross the new-waterfront nature of Battery Park City with the previous underutilization of Hudson Yards, and throw in a little Brooklyn? This massive proposal from big-time construction and engineering firm AECOM that would turn a huge section of the Red Hook waterfront into a residential mega-development with more than 12 towers, 45,000 units of housing (25 percent of which would be affordable), an extension of the 1 train, acres of parkland, and "waterfront-flood protections that would revitalize and protect the low-lying neighborhood from storms and future sea-level rise," as Crain's first reported. AECOM is presenting the idea today at the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation. They've already admitted that it "lacks key details" like hard costs, but they do estimate that one of their scenarios could generate $130 million in revenue for the city. The sites in question are the 80-acre Red Hook Container Terminal owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a similarly sized parcel along Columbia Street overlooking the Gowanus Bay that's owned by the city, and unused land at the Red Hook Houses. Under their plan, the sale or lease of land to developers, would fund the aforementioned infrastructure projects.
More details and renderings ahead

Architecture And Design

September 12, 2016

PHOTOS: After two-year renovation, NYPL’s historic Rose Main Reading Room will reopen October 5th