Architecture And Design

October 21, 2015

A Behind the Scenes Look at How SHoP’s Stunning Facade at 111 West 57th Street Will Come to Life

Last month, JDS Development wowed us with an image showing a visual curtain wall mockup of their super-tower underway at 111 West 57th Street. Now the Michael Stern-led development team in partnership with Property Markets Group has released a new video and a handful of images to keep our mouths watering for what is poised to become New York's most daring skyscraper in generations. Designed by the local talents at ShoP Architects, the tower has already nervously impressed us with its extraordinary height of 1,438 feet and its jaw-dropping slenderness (a ratio of 1:24). Now that its engineers, the WSP Group, and the Times have thoroughly convinced us that the building will not fall over, we can focus our attention on the tower's elegantly detailed facade, composed of a feathery mix of terra-cotta, bronze, and glass. A recent video posted by JDS provides us with more glimpses of the cladding, a time-lapse video of how the facade will transform throughout the day, as well as some behind-the-scenes insight of the extraordinary undertaking involved to sheath this future landmark.
Watch the video and get more details

October 21, 2015

Jennifer Morris Infuses Bold Design Accents Into This Vibrant Fort Greene Brownstone Interior

By Rebecca Paul

Most Brooklyn brownstones have been around for decades, if not centuries, making renovations on these types of properties standard procedure when purchased by a new owner. However for this family, their lack of experience almost led them to disaster. Excited about making their house a home, they charged full speed ahead with updates on their four-story, 18-foot-wide brownstone in Fort Greene, and were well into demolition before realizing they had no layout or design. They initially called interior designer Jennifer Morris to help them select finishes, but when the she questioned the couple about their plans, it was obvious they needed much more. Regardless of the misstep, Morris, who has extensive experience in the hospitality business, was able to expeditiously execute on this stunning interior. Plus according to Morris, unlike many new home owners, these clients were excited and fearless when it came to making bold design decisions, creating the perfect recipe for a beautiful and refreshing interior.
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October 21, 2015

SHoP Architects’ Vishaan Chakrabarti Starting Own Firm Dedicated to Advancement of Cities

By Dana Schulz

Less than a month ago, 6sqft noticed that prominent architect Vishaan Chakrabarti, a principal at starchitecture firm SHoP, had sold his Flatiron loft for $5 million. We speculated as to why he was selling the massive pad, and though we're still not sure, we do know he won't be departing NYC any time soon. A press release put out today announces that Chakrabarti is leaving SHoP (he's already been removed from the website's staff page) to start his own firm, called the Partnership for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), which will focus on the advancement of cities. According to the statement, the new NY-based firm will work "to advance groundbreaking architecture and urbanism projects to build the physical, economic, social and cultural networks of cities with an emphasis on beauty, function and user experience."
More on the new firm

Architecture And Design

October 20, 2015

SHoP’s Essex Crossing Mega-Market Will Be One of Largest in the Nation

By Dana Schulz

The $1.1 billion Essex Crossing project will be a 1.65 million-square-foot, mixed-use mega-development anchored by 1,000 residential units and a mix of cultural, community, and retail facilities. Of course, a project of this magnitude is not without controversy, and perhaps the biggest debate was over the loss of the 75-year-old Essex Street Market. But new details have emerged on how the market will actually be expanded and transformed into one of the five biggest markets in the country, according to Curbed. Known as the Market Line, the bi-level space designed by SHoP Architects will cover 150,000 square feet and connect three sites along Broome Street. It will be a foodie/retail promenade with a floating garden, beer hall, galleries, tech incubators, and, according to renderings, an outpost of Smorgasburg.
More details ahead

October 20, 2015

Designer Elena Sidorova’s fLOP Armchair Opens Like a Book Into a Twin Bed

By Rebecca Paul

We all know the feeling of wanting to flop down at the end of a long day. In addition to describing a very specific desire to rest, fLOP is also an armchair which folds out to a sleeping place for one person. This multifunctional piece of furniture was created by Russian designer Elena Sidorova, and is perfect for New Yorkers with frequent overnight guests.
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October 20, 2015

Families Test Out Garrison Architects’ Post-Disaster Housing Prototype in Downtown Brooklyn

By Annie Doge

Last June, Garrison Architects unveiled their ingenious modular post-disaster housing solution. Now, as we approach the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, news comes that the city has finally begun testing out the units on a lot located at 165 Cadman Plaza East in Downtown Brooklyn. According to the Times, about 46 city employees and their families have spent the night in the shelters, and the reviews are most definitely favorable. “Almost everyone tells us these are nicer than their own apartments,” James McConnell, an official at the Office of Emergency Management, told the paper.
More here

October 20, 2015

Clever Room Divider by Jordan Parnass Triples as Queen-Sized Bed and Storage Unit

By Rebecca Paul

Living efficiently in a studio apartment definitely requires careful planning, and one of the largest challenges is separating the bedroom from the living area. This custom-fabricated millwork insertion designed by Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture for a Battery Park studio, solves that problem, and a few others as well. In addition to providing the studio with a bedroom divider, the piece also holds additional storage and display shelving.
see more here

October 20, 2015

Quirky East Williamsburg Artist’s Loft Offers a Bygone Authenticity for $3M

By Michelle Cohen

This converted East Williamsburg warehouse at 139 Powers Street is of the sort you don't come by too often anymore. It's one of those really cool-looking spaces you'd walk by maybe ten or twenty years ago and think, "hey, I'd like to live in this neighborhood" and wonder who lived there and what it looked like inside. As the listing says, it offers "authenticity that is difficult to find." The immediate neighborhood is that rare "unspoiled" old-school slice of what was once the 'burg's Italian enclave, and still has the vibe of being a mix of old, new, neighborhood-y and Vice-era cool. The two-story property, currently used as a single-family home, spans 3,600 interior square feet in a 25 x 100-foot building and is listed at $2.95 million; the loft currently belongs to local artist Joanne Ungar, and it definitely reflects the owner's creative tendencies–and green thumb.
Take a look around

October 19, 2015

Eeeek! This Frightful $550K Village Fixer-Upper Is a Diamond in the (Very) Rough

By Michelle Cohen

To kick off Halloween season, 6sqft has found a listing that will strike terror in the heart of anyone looking to move right in; this underdressed underachiever of a "one-bedroom" co-op at 138 West 10th Street looks just a fright. The listing throws in the towel and offers, "West Village pre war one bedroom wreck in beautifully preserved building on one of the most sought after tree lined blocks.” Which, if you think about it, is only one word away from lots of folks' dream apartment. Once you get past the completely spooky condition of the small but well-located space, it's worth noting that it actually has quite a bit going for it given its $550,000 ask, which, though more than the price of a Brooklyn cemetery plot, is far less than you'd pay for the average Village one-bedroom apartment. But it’s clearly up to you, brave buyer–plus an architect, a contractor and a lot of patience–to clear away the cobwebs and make the dream happen.
Follow the screams

October 19, 2015

‘DIY Loft Kit’ Adds Another 160 Square Feet to Your Tiny Apartment

By Diane Pham

If you're blessed with reasonably high ceilings, but plagued with minimal floor space, this microloft kit might be the solution you need for maximizing your living area. The modular "DIY Loft Kit" will bring a legit lofted space (complete with staircase!) to any tiny apartment, adding an extra 160 square feet to sprawl out in. But be forewarned, it doesn't come cheap. At $3,115 (yup), we can't imagine anyone who's living in a studio or loft with six other roommates to be shelling out that many Gs. But on the other hand, this is NYC, and at just over $19 a square foot, maybe it is a deal?
You be the judge

The Cocktail Computer Combines Old School Technology With Great Drink Recipes

By Rebecca Paul

Having a stocked bar in your home is one of the many privileges of adulthood, but that doesn't necessarily mean we know how to make drinks. Thanks to designer Lily Szajnberg, we can take the guess work out of mixing boozy concoctions at home with her Cocktail Computer. Szajnberg, who's an expert at in-home mixology, has combined her experience finding and executing her favorite cocktails to create this funky kitchen accessory that allows users to search curated drink recipes based on the ingredients they have available.
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October 19, 2015

Garrison Treehouse Features Twisty Slide, Writing Desk and Hudson Valley Panoramas

By Rebecca Paul

Even as adults many of us willingly admit that having a treehouse would be awesome, and the Garrison Treehouse, designed by the NYC-based studio Sharon Davis Design, is better than we imagined. This 200-square-foot playful retreat is quaintly situated amongst the meadow, forest, orchards and hills of the Hudson River Valley in Garrison, New York (where Davis herself has an eco-retreat), and includes fire poles, a twisty slide, a balcony and even a writing desk.
Live out your childhood fantasies

Architecture And Design

October 16, 2015

New Renderings of Handel Architects’ Torqued 43-Story Rental Underway Near Grand Central

By Ondel Hylton

Groundwork on BLDG Management's 43-story rental tower at 222 East 44th Street is quickly moving forward now that the large block-through parking garage that occupied the site has been removed. The 441,000-square-foot development situated midblock between Second and Third Avenues will house 429 residential units, 87 of which will be deemed affordable. East 44th Street is among the most densely built streetscapes in the city, and will be more so once three other high-rises projects on the stretch are complete. But as 6sqft reported in August, the 556-foot-tall, Handel Architects-designed development employs a unique massing where its elevations are torqued away from the street wall, granting additional light and air to residents.
This way for more details and renderings

October 16, 2015

Freyja Sewell’s Felt Cocoon Helps People Reconnect With Their Senses

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

In a world that focuses so much on the convenience of online interactions, it's important to bring attention to our bodies and physical sensations. Tackling this issue, British designer Freyja Sewell created the "Sensory Concentration Space," a cocoon-like habitat for enjoying different stimuli and escaping away from it all. Hand-sewn from biodegradable grey felt, it isolates people from the hustle and bustle of modern urban life, something most New Yorkers could benefit from.
Learn more about this warm comfy space

October 16, 2015

Robert Stuart Fills His West Village Condo With Thoughtful Details for a Past Reimagined

By Rebecca Paul

This gorgeous, rustic West Village condo belongs to designer Robert Stuart from Rob Stuart Interiors. Located on Perry Street, his city oasis was used as a warehouse in the 1980s, so was in desperate need of some personality when he moved in. With his own home as his canvas, the designer took advantage of the massively high ceilings, wood burning fireplace, and panoramic NYC views. Before renovations were installed, the space was stripped down to its bare bones and every corner and detail was put in place to design a home of the past reimagined.
See it all here

Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion Debuts Its ‘American Cheese Yellow’ Paint Job

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

October 16, 2015

Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion Debuts Its ‘American Cheese Yellow’ Paint Job

By Dana Schulz

After 8,000 hours and 1,600 gallons of paint, the New York State Pavilion's Tent of Tomorrow is camera-ready for its spot on Open House New York Weekend. The Daily News reports that Philip Johnson's iconic World's Fair structure in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is now sporting a fresh coat of "American Cheese Yellow" paint. The job "included power-washing off decades of rust, applying primer and the historically accurate paint while working on a platform suspended 100 feet in the air," and it cost $3 million. It'll certainly be all over Instagram tomorrow and Sunday, but some ambitious architecture lovers have already gotten up close to the landmark.
Have a look at the pictures here

Architecture And Design

October 16, 2015

Jaw-Dropping Apartment in Former Ballroom of Park Slope’s Historic Montauk Club Asks $5.25M

By Emily Nonko

Well, it doesn't get much better than this. The entire fourth floor of Park Slope's historic Montauk Club, located at 25 8th Avenue, is now on the market for $5.25 million. This apartment was originally the private social club's ballroom, which was built in 1889 to serve the Brooklyn elite. Today, it's still a private club, although a lucky someone now gets to live on the fourth floor. 4,000 square feet, mahogany woodwork, chandeliers, fireplaces, and a copper bathtub? It's too hard not to swoon.
Take the tour

October 15, 2015

First Full Look at Extell’s 80-Story One Manhattan Square, 800 Condos Aimed at Asian Buyers

By Ondel Hylton

Bloomberg News reported yesterday that the restless developer Gary Barnett will soon begin marketing the 800 condominiums of his upcoming One Manhattan Square development to Asian buyers first. Apparently not satisfied with erecting two of the tallest and priciest residential buildings in the city, One57 and the Central Park Tower, the Extell Development Company founder and CEO is busy laying the groundwork for one of the largest condominium towers in the city at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. Going by the address 252 South Street, the bipartite tower is being designed by Adamson Associates Architects (AAI) and will soar 80 stories tall, roughly to the same height as the Comcast Building (former GE/RCA Building) in Midtown. At nearly 850 feet, the tower will be the tallest skyscraper on the island between Midtown and downtown, and by far the tallest building directly along the waterfront. Its staggering 800 units will fall just short of the city's largest individual condo-tower, the 816-unit Corinthian in Murray Hill.
More details on the development

October 15, 2015

Grid System: Ying Chang’s Customizable Mesh Desk Adapts to Your Busy Life

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

With limited space, New Yorkers need to be smart about the way they live and work. So if you often find yourself multi-tasking at home, this design may be right up your alley. Royal College of Art graduate Ying Chang has come up with the modular "Grid System," a piece of furniture that allows users to plug and unplug different storage boxes and trays according to their needs.
Learn more about this clever design

October 15, 2015

Studio Cadena Turns a Cramped 600 Square Foot Bushwick Loft Into a Three-Bedroom Artist Residence

By Rebecca Paul

Bushwick is a rapidly changing artists' neighborhood and much like other popular neighborhoods in New York City, is experiencing an increasing scarcity of affordable living space. That being said, it's easy to understand why this group of just-starting-out youngsters decided to transform a 600-square-foot, awkwardly subdivided loft into a bright open space they could share comfortably. With a limited budget and help from the architects and designers at Studio Cadena, their apartment is now a modern and dynamic living space.
Check it out here

October 15, 2015

Pollution Cleanup Park Taking Shape at Gowanus Canal

By Dana Schulz

The Gowanus Canal isn't the first place that comes to mind when one thinks about lush waterfront parks, but that's exactly the vision behind the long-planned Gowanus Canal Sponge Park, an 18,000-square-foot public space that will be built with engineered soil to absorb (hence "sponge") stormwater that would otherwise pollute the canal, as well as plants to break down toxins and floating wetlands. It was first conceived back in 2008 by the Gowanus Canal Conservancy and Susannah Drake, principal at the landscape architecture firm DLANDstudio (who's also responsible for the Queensway). Now, seven years later, DNAinfo reports that state officials announced on Tuesday that construction has officially commenced on the $1.5 million project at the notorious Superfund site. The park will sit on city-owned land at the point where Second Street dead-ends at the canal. Workers are on site, digging out five feet of contaminated soil that will be sent to a special facility that handles toxic materials; during the next 90 days, the metal walkway will be installed; and plants will arrive in the spring.
More on the park and the Gowanus Canal cleanup

Architecture And Design

October 15, 2015

Make Beautiful Music in Ira Gershwin’s Noted UWS Penthouse, Listed for $6M

By Annie Doge

If these walls could sing, they'd probably belt out a Gershwin brothers tune. One of the two adjoining penthouses occupied by George and Ira Gershwin has just hit the market for $5.99 million, The Post reports. The two apartments, located at 33 Riverside Drive, were quite the party pad for the two brothers back in the day; a famed locale that welcomed legendary celebs like Ethel Merman (incidentally, the brothers were said to have written "Girl Crazy" within its walls). The pair called the two penthouses home from 1929 until 1933, and now Ira's space is up for grabs.
More photos inside the home this way

October 14, 2015

These Bike Helmets Are Designed to Resemble the Human Head

By Rebecca Paul

Bike culture in NYC is a vibrant part of the city, so we love any quirky bike swag that might make heads turn. These crazy bike helmets called Project:Human Helmet from Dubai-based designer Jyo John Mulloor are a great example. The conceptual gear doesn't look like a regular helmet, but rather it was designed to resemble the surface of a human scalp. Weird, right?
Find out more about these helmets

October 14, 2015

REVEALED: First Look at GDC Properties’ Townhouses Coming to Long Island City

By Ondel Hylton

After the record snatch-up of Red Hook's King and Sullivan Townhomes last month, another not-so-Brownstoney neighborhood is joining in on the townhouse craze. Westchester County-based GDC Properties is slated to bring eighteen two-family townhouses to Long Island City, and here we have a first look at what the ensemble's 11th Street frontage will look like.
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October 14, 2015

Gracie Mansion Reopening for Public Tours Next Month With a New Art Collection

By Dana Schulz

Gracie Mansion will reopen for public tours starting next month, and visitors will be welcomed with a new, diverse art collection. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Mayor Bill de Blasio’s wife wanted the art and objects inside the 1799 home where her family now lives—one of the oldest surviving wooden structures in New York City—to be a broader and more accurate reflection of the city as it looked in the late 1700s and early 1800s." She therefore brought in 49 new works that include "portraits of freed slaves, historic documents, imported goods and items traded to American Indians." The new installation is called "Windows on the City Looking Out at Gracie’s New York" and will be unveiled at an open house on October 25th.
READ MORE

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