Architecture And Design

Renovated by Studio DB, this single-family Manhattan dwelling is a modern design modeled after the needs of a young family where a massive section of the house is dedicated to entertainment and recreation—perfect for keeping three young boys out of trouble. The building dates back to 1888, and its rich history creates a contrasting backdrop for the home's contemporary and functional design. The structure was once a grocery distribution center and has been transformed into an opulent living space designed around a continuous stair atrium that visually and physically connects the home's six above- ground levels. The layout also maximizes daylight within, and the effect is amplified by two large skylights and the upper level's glass flooring.
Check it all out

April 24, 2016

CCS Architecture’s Watermill Residence Is a Modernist Starter Home in the Hamptons

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

If you think the Hamptons is only for Hollywood stars who can afford the glitz and glamour of life, you might want to look at the summertime playground's hidden gems like CCS Architecture's Watermill Residence. The modest retreat was designed for a developer who wanted to sell property to new buyers at a moderate price level. A perfect starter home, it offers a down-to-earth vibe thanks to the architects' simplicity and casual modernist taste.
Learn more about this casual retreat

Architecture And Design

April 22, 2016

Artist Hopes to Raise $25K to Build a Pedestrian Bridge from Red Hook to Governors Island

From her back window on Columbia Street in Brooklyn, artist Nancy Nowacek could see Governors Island and Buttermilk Channel (the strait connecting Brooklyn to the island), and it seemed incredibly close. In fact, it's the equivalent of only about four city blocks away. So since 2012, Nowacek has been working on her vision of building Citizen Bridge over New York Harbor, a floating modular pedestrian bridge over the 1,400-foot span from Red Hook to Governor's Island. In what is currently planned as a one-day-only event, she sees Citizen Bridge as a completely new way to experience New York City harbor, rather than seeing it from the shore, from a bridge above, or from a boat. As noted by Mental Floss, Nowacek has turned to Kickstarter to raise money for a pilot phase. The project's goal of $25,000 would fund a proof-of-concept, which is the final phase before launching for real. So far, they've prototyped seven bridge designs in full-scale sections.
Find out more about this plan to walk on water

Architecture And Design

April 22, 2016

Live in a Swanky Former East Village Synagogue for $30K a Month

By Emily Nonko

Just in time for Passover, this historic East Village synagogue turned residence has reappeared on the rental market. Known as the 8th Street Shul, there was a long battle to keep the building preserved as a synagogue after it was damaged by a fire in 1982. Ultimately, the building, at 317 East 8th Street, was turned over to real estate interests and converted into a single-family luxury home. It's been on the rental market before, asking $25,000 a month, and now it's back at a higher price.
Some of the synagogue details remain

April 22, 2016

Karim Rashid’s Bump Is an All-In-One Charging Device That Can’t Get Tangled

By Ondel Hylton and Julian Friedman

Being away from a power cord or charger has become a source of great anxiety, and colorful product designer/architect Karim Rashid has a new device to solve some of the problems associated with our cord-ridden lives. He and partners Richard Smiedt and Phil King recently created a new company called Push and Shove. Their first product is called Bump, a wall charger and power bank that includes a one-meter cable housed perfectly in a compact frame, eliminating the tangled mess of power cords. It's bulbous shape is reflective of Rashid's longline of "blobjects," a term he coined to describe his effort to soften our physical landscape.
More on Bump

April 22, 2016

First Look at StudiosC’s Boutique Condominium Underway at 187 Bridge Street

Within Downtown Brooklyn's detached island of urbanity between the Manhattan Bridge on-ramp and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, local architecture firm StudiosC has designed a modestly scaled, ground-up condominium at the corner of Bridge and Nassau Streets. Re-approved plans filed by the architect of record Karl Fischer detail an eight-story building with 12,000 square feet of gross floor area.
More details ahead

April 22, 2016

Rendering, Details Revealed for Glassy Condos Replacing Streit’s Matzo Factory

If you're getting ready for this evening's seder, you've likely picked up a box of matzo, and chances are pretty good that your unleavened bread comes from Streit's. For 90 years the company produced matzo at the rate of almost 900 pounds an hour at 150 Rivington Street, but in early 2015 news hit that the country's last family-owned matzo factory would be relocating to Rockland County. Developer Cogswell Realty bought the site for $31 million, embarking on plans for a condominium, and today, ironically timed with the first day of Passover, the first rendering of the project has been revealed. The image was published in a New York Times article about Lower East Side institutions being replaced by condos. Design-build firm Gluck+ are the architects, and they've created a fairly standard, seven-story, glass box with some planted terraces along the top-floor setbacks. Though the design lacks any reference to the iconic business, the developers have said they plan to include Streit's memorabilia in the lobby.
This way for pricing details

April 21, 2016

100architects Propose a Vertical Park Made of Stacked Glass Pods for Times Square

Shanghai-based architecture firm 100architects noticed how New Yorkers are always trying to get out of Times Square as fast as possible, which made them wonder if there was a way to engage people in the urban setting without them having to deal with the chaos at street level. That's where their proposal for Vertical Times comes in (h/t Architizer). The 180-foot-tall tower is a stack of six cylindrical glass pods along a central column that "multiplies the intended space for public recreation in a vertical way." Within these spaces would be a carousel, ball pit, hammock plaza, sky garden, restaurant, and bar.
Get the rest of the details

Architecture And Design

First Domino Sugar Refinery Tower at 325 Kent Avenue Now Rising Above Williamsburg

By Ondel Hylton

After breaking ground last spring, the first tower of Two Trees' three million-square-foot Domino Sugar Refinery Master Plan has finally lifted out of the ground. Addressed 325 Kent Avenue (Site E), the 400,000-square-foot building rises one block inland from the East River waterfront and the remaining five parcels of the master plan. The future 16-story, 189-foot-tall project covers three-quarters of its block bound by Kent and Wythe Avenues and South 3rd and 4th Streets. All in all, the two-winged tower will hold a whopping 522 rental units, making it the second largest residential building in Williamsburg after the also-in-construction 2 North 6th Street.
Find out more about the development

April 21, 2016

Nola Money Jar Is Stylish Home Decor that Helps You Save Both Cash and Coin

Everybody knows that New York City is an expensive place to live, and collecting coins will help to put every cent to good use. However, in order to save some real dough, paper bills need to be a part of the mix, and these decorative money jars, also known as Nola, from Italian product designer Giulio Iacchetti account for both coins and bank notes.
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April 20, 2016

SHoP’s East River Towers Named American Copper Buildings; Go Inside Their Skybridge

We've been referring to SHoP Architects' pair of East River rental buildings at 626 First Avenue as the "dancing towers," but now that they've shimmied up to their full 470- and 540-foot heights, they've been officially named with a more mature moniker, the American Copper Buildings. First reported by Curbed, the title is "a nod to the 5,000 metal panels that make up the facade," which weigh in at a whopping 2,100 tons. In addition, developer JDS has released a teaser site and a fresh set of renderings that finally show the interior of the three-story, amenity-filled skybridge.
Get a look inside

April 20, 2016

Skyline Wars: Brooklyn Enters the Supertall Race

By Carter B. Horsley

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. Here, Carter brings us his fifth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at Brooklyn's once demure skyline, soon to be Manhattan's rival. Downtown Brooklyn has had a modest but pleasant skyline highlighted by the 350-foot-high Court & Remsen Building and the 343-foot-high great ornate terraces of 75 Livingston Street, both erected in 1926, and the 462-foot-high flat top of the 1927 Montague Court Building. The borough’s tallest building, however, was the great 514-foot-high dome of the 1929 Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower, now known as One Hanson Place, a bit removed to the east from Downtown Brooklyn. It remained as the borough’s tallest for a very long time, from 1929 until 2009. A flurry of new towers in recent years has significantly enlarged Brooklyn’s skyline. Since 2008, nine new towers higher than 359 feet have sprouted there, in large part as a result of a rezoning by the city in 2007. A few other towers have also given its riverfront an impressive frontage. Whereas in the past the vast majority of towers were clustered about Borough Hall downtown, now there are several clusters with some around the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the former Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower and some around the Williamsburg riverfront.
more on Brooklyn's skyline here

April 20, 2016

$9.5M LES Carriage House With a Waterfall Was Once the Home of a German Sausage Dynasty

If you think the Lower East Side has turned into a big sausage party, check out this listing–you'll see it's nothing new. The unassuming brick building at 170 Eldridge Street has written in peeling paint across the top of one of the loading bays "Office of / S. Oppenheimer" and "S. Oppenheimer." Dating from somewhere between 1875 and 1879, this is considered by some to be the city's oldest painted signage. The sausage casing distributor was started in Chicago by Sigmund Oppenheimer, who emigrated from Mannheim, Germany in 1868 and flourished for nearly a century, with offices worldwide and a New York presence that began in the 1870s at this address and later expanded to 96 Pearl Street and elsewhere in the city. Since 1996, the property has been a rare and fascinating mixed-use townhouse for restaurateur Georges Forgeois, whose enduring establishments (Jules Bistro, Cafe Noir, Bar Tabac) are standout destinations in their respective neighborhoods. Forgeois' brother, Dany, purchased the property in 1996 for $200,000 and later transferred ownership to Georges, according to records, in 2012. The home was listed in November for $12 million and just got a broker change and a price chop to $9.5M.
Find out more and take a look inside

April 20, 2016

Nendo’s Minimalist Line of Pet Lifestyle Products Is Designed to Match Your Decor

By Ondel Hylton and Dana Schulz

Nendo, a well-known Japanese design studio, has taken a minimalist approach to the current trend of pet furniture and lifestyle goods that we can't get enough of. Their line of pet products, appropriately titled Cubic Pet Goods includes a dog house, soft toy, ceramic bowls and of course a ball. Each piece in the collection was carefully selected to coincide with dog's need and human's desire for aesthetic quality.
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April 19, 2016

LPC Approves Brooklyn’s First 1,000+ Foot Tower; New Renderings and Details

Brooklyn is finally getting a new skyscraper development worthy of its 2.6 million populace. Today, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved SHoP Architects' vision for 9 DeKalb Avenue, a rehabilitation of the landmarked Dime Saving Bank that will marry it with a dramatic, supertall skyscraper behind, the first 1,000+ foot building to arrive in the borough. The Beaux-Arts banking hall, which is both an interior and exterior landmark, hosted a J.P. Morgan Chase branch up until last year. Now, its new owners, Michael Stern's JDS Development and the Chetrit Group, plan to transform the hall into a public and retail space that will complement their new tower. To bring back more of the building's grandeur, its exterior and interior spaces will be restored, and to accommodate the tower behind, the team is calling for the demolition of two nondescript one- and five-story rear annexes, which will then allow for a grand entrance to the skyscraper and a public through-space. The LPC was enamored with the project, calling it "flawless" and "enlightened urbanism at its best," as well as touting that it "improved the vision of this historic landmark." One commissioner even went so far as to say "It's similar to the Parthenon sitting on the Acropolis." The LPC had only a few minor modifications, the most notable being that the teller cages be retained until the team can show a plan detailing how the retail tenant (there will only be one) will use the space.
Get a look at all the presentation materials

April 19, 2016

Live the Park Slope Brownstone Life in This Regal Rental for $17.5K/Month, Sauna Included

In the coveted environs of north Park Slope, steps from Prospect Park on a pretty tree-lined and landmarked block, this Brooklyn townhouse beauty at 594 Second Street has all the historic details homeowners here work so diligently to preserve, yet with every modern comfort in place. Understated luxuries–like tall french doors that open out to a landscaped garden, two decks, three wood-burning fireplaces, a sauna, an upstairs family room and a laundry room make this historic house a home–albeit an expensive one. Starting in July, you can rent this regal residence for an equally regal $17,500 a month (furnished or unfurnished).
Tour the townhouse

April 19, 2016

Spring House Tour Round Up: 10 Chances to Get Inside the Most Spectacular Residences!

It's finally time to start planning outdoor activities, and what better way to enjoy spring in NYC than strolling around picturesque neighborhoods while getting a special look inside some of their most spectacular dwellings. House tour season is kicking off on May 1st with the Greenwich Village Society's annual event, followed by nine other tours from standard historic house 'hoods like Fort Greene and Park Slope to more under-the-radar gems like the secret gardens of Hoboken and the Victorian beauties of Flatbush. Whatever your budget and preferred architectural style, there's a tour for you ahead.
All the house tour info ahead

April 19, 2016

Transport Beer on Your Bike With This Hip Leather Growler Satchel

For many New Yorkers bicycles are their main mode of transportation, and with the summer months ahead we welcome any addition to the bike-arsenal that'll help us stay cool, and in this case also look cool. This hip leather satchel from Pedal Happy Designs makes it super easy to transport your favorite growler anywhere in the city -- bikes and beers here we come!
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April 18, 2016

Skyline Wars: In Lower Manhattan, A New Downtown Is Emerging

By Carter B. Horsley

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter brings us his fourth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at the evolution of the Lower Manhattan skyline. Lower Manhattan at the start of the Great Depression was the world’s most famous and influential skyline when 70 Pine, 20 Exchange Place, 1 and 40 Wall Street, and the Woolworth and Singer buildings inspired the world with their romantic silhouettes in a relatively balanced reach for the sky centered around the tip of Lower Manhattan. Midtown was not asleep at the switch and countered with the great Empire State, the spectacular Chrysler and 30 Rockefeller Plaza but they were scattered and could not topple the aggregate visual power and lure of Lower Manhattan and its proverbial “view from the 40th floor” as the hallowed precinct of corporate America until the end of World War II. The convenience and elegance of Midtown, however, became increasingly irresistible to many.
More on the the history of Lower Manhattan and what's in store

April 18, 2016

Construction Begins on Gene Kaufman-Designed Apartments Rising Over Bryant Park

By Ondel Hylton

At a narrow Midtown lot at 1050 Sixth Avenue, construction is moving forward on a slender 24-story residential tower penned by New York's most beloved architect, Gene Kaufman. Rising behind the landmarked Bryant Park Studios Building (aka The Beaux-Arts Building), Kaufman's oft substance-less style will likely stand in sharp contrast to the charming 1901 structure. Skyline Developers, the New York division of Jersey-based Garden Homes Development, are the developers. The Orin Wilf-led firm owns the adjacent art-deco office tower at 1040 Sixth Avenue, and their new venture here will replace two turn-of-the-century walk-up buildings.
More details ahead

April 18, 2016

Mega-Mansion Watch: National Academy Lists Three UES Properties for $120M

Three lots in Carnegie Hill on the Upper East Side comprising the National Academy Museum & School just hit the market for $120 million. The prize properties, situated directly on Central Park, could be "one of the most remarkable conversion opportunities currently available in all of New York City." The property, listed by Cushman & Wakefield, includes two interconnected townhouses at 1083 Fifth Avenue and 3 East 89th Street, and a 65-foot-wide school building on East 89th Street, adding up to over 42,000 square feet of of above-grade space plus 12,000 square feet below-grade for "a wide variety of potential visions" including an epic single-family home, boutique condominiums, or continued use as an educational/community facility.
Find out more

April 18, 2016

Robert A.M. Stern’s 220 Central Park South Gets Stoned; New Renderings and Construction Shots

By Ondel Hylton

At the forefront of Midtown's high-rise sierra, a new peak is emerging. Simply addressed 220 Central Park South, the two-winged development is being designed by celebrated historian and poet of the city's skyline Robert A.M. Stern and developed by commercial and retail heavyweights Vornado Realty Trust. The tower portion of the complex has already ascended some 300 feet above street level and is noticeable from many parts of Central Park. Ultimately, it will stand 66 stories, 950 feet high, making it among the tallest residential buildings in the city. The exclusive, Central Park South-fronting wing, dubbed "The Villas" is up to the third of 17 stories and will be topped by a palatial quadplex penthouse. Earlier this month, the tower's warm limestone cladding was being applied to the lower mechanical floors, which will have 18- to 24-foot-high ceilings, boosting the building's height by more than 100 feet and allowing nearly all its residences to possess Central Park views. To coincide with the construction work, Vornado recently published a collection of new renderings in a property portfolio, showing us for the first time several new looks at the project, including three full-scale views from Central Park and close-up looks at the base, porte-cochere, and an upper-level interior.
Check out the renderings and construction shots right here

April 17, 2016

Manhattan Loft Uses Cartesian Geometry to Explore Light and Space