Neighborhood Tours

November 30, 2016

Renderings revealed for adaptive reuse Maker Park along the Williamsburg waterfront

Plans for Bushwick Inlet Park, a 28-acre open space along an unused industrial stretch of the Williamsburg waterfront, first came about in 2005, when the Bloomberg administration rezoned the area to allow for new residential development in exchange for the open space. Fast forward to last week, and the city finally acquired the last piece of land for the project, the controversial Citistorage site. Now that the park is on its way to becoming a reality, a trio of grassroots creatives hopes to bring their alternative vision for the former Bayside Oil Depot site to the forefront. Maker Park is the proposal to adaptively reuse this seven-acre parcel's architectural infrastructure--namely the ten 50-foot decommissioned fuel containers--and create a "park as creative as the neighborhood around it." The Architect's Newspaper recently revealed the first set of renderings, which showcase performance venues, art galleries, hanging gardens, reflecting pools, and an adventure playground.
More views and design details

October 25, 2016

Steven Holl’s Upstate ‘Ex of In House’ is an experiment in voids and sense of place

By Rebecca Paul

In architecture, research and concept come long before building and design, but more often than not architects don't have the chance to execute their ideas to the fullest extent when managing client expectations. But New York-based architect Steven Holl didn't have that issue with his Ex of In House, a small guest house-turned-experimental site on the property of his personal Hudson Valley residence. The 918-square-foot structure is part of the firm's Explorations of "IN" research project, which questions "current clichés of architectural language and commercial practice." Here, they wanted to explore "a language of space, aimed at inner spatial energy strongly bound to the ecology of the place.”
See more of the house

October 25, 2016

Columbia’s DeathLab proposes a suspended cemetery of pods under the Manhattan Bridge

By Dana Schulz

Each decade in the New York metropolitan area about 500,000 people are buried in cemetery plots, taking up a dwindling amount of land and outputting cremation smog into the air. With this growing issue in mind, a trans-disciplinary research and design group at Columbia University known as DeathLab has been working for the past five years to reconceive "how we live with death in the metropolis." One of their proposals is Constellation Park, a system of hundreds of burial pods suspended under the Manhattan Bridge that together create a twinkling public park. Atlas Obscura shared the design, which, if built, could reportedly accommodate around 10 percent of city deaths a year.
The surprising reason why these pods twinkle

September 29, 2016

Brooklyn ‘eco triplex’ with natural swimming pool and green roof renting for $1,400/night

By Emily Nonko

This Carroll Gardens townhouse may be the only one in Brooklyn that lays claim to a "natural" swimming pool in its backyard. It was renovated with eco-friendly features in mind and you can experience it yourself through Airbnb for $1,395 a night. Three floors overlook ecologically landscaped gardens and water features that include a natural pond with native fish and turtles. Atop the house is a green roof with its own pergola. And inside, the home is decked out with antique wood floors, clay walls, and large sunny rooms with views of the surrounding greenery.
Check out the interior

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

By Dana Schulz

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

September 12, 2016

Why people hate revolving doors and how to curb the phobia

By Michelle Cohen

You know that moment of awkwardness when you’re sucked in to a totally irrational game of chicken with up to three other human beings while attempting to do something as simple as enter your office building through an innocuous-seeming revolving door? While it was reportedly first patented in 1888 by a man who couldn’t deal with having to hold regular swinging doors open for the ladies, the revolving door comes with its own means of sorting us according to levels of everyday neurosis. The first revolving door was installed in a restaurant called Rector’s in Times Square in 1899. And that’s probably when people started avoiding it. Will some part of me get stuck? Do I have to scurry in there with someone else? 99% Invisible got their foot in the door and took a closer look at how this energy-efficient invention still gets the cold shoulder and how to fight the phobia.
How to turn this trend around

August 29, 2016

Bono: A stylish aluminum composter perfectly sized for your countertop

By Rebecca Paul

Composting in New York City can be challenging to say the least. Not only are you dealing with the constant changing of the seasons, but space in this densely packed town is also sparse. However, with every challenge is also an opportunity, and much like many of the other problems associated with these limitations we look to design to keep us moving in the right direction. On the composting front Polish designer Ala Sieradzka's as made for us Bono, a compact countertop composter spun from powder-coated aluminum that comes with an equally stylish cork lid and base.
learn more here

August 28, 2016

Fashion Stylist Scott Newkirk Goes Unplugged in His 14×14 Rough-Hewn Cabin

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

For many city dwellers bogged down by the hustle and bustle of everyday life, vacations are spent offline in far-away places, disconnected from technology and reconnected to nature. But fashion and interior stylist Scott Newkirk proves you don't have to go that far to have your own unplugged woodland dream. Located in Yulan, New York, just 90 miles northwest of NYC, Newkirk's charming wooden cabin is a mere 14x14 feet and is made entirely from salvaged and reclaimed pieces of wood.
Learn more about this rough and ready cabin

August 16, 2016

VIDEO: Watch One of NYC’s Largest Trees Get Taken Down and Turned Into Lumber

By Dana Schulz

When the Parks Department recently declared one of the city's largest trees dead (and therefore dangerous to those walking by), they turned to the experts at RE-CO BKLYN, a Ridgewood-based company that reclaims fallen NYC trees and produces live edge slabs and custom furniture. The circa 1870 European Elm tree lived in Prospect Park and was 75 feet high and more than seven feet in diameter with 18- and 24-inch limbs that were starting to break off in extreme weather events. But instead of simply ripping the tree up and dumping it in a landfill, Andrew Ullman, Brooklyn’s Director of Forestry, decided to enlist RE-CO to mill it and turn it into dry lumber that will be used to create a custom conference table for the NYC Parks Prospect Park offices.
Watch the full video here

August 5, 2016

Fernando Mastrangelo Carves Glacier-Inspired Furniture From Sand

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Brooklyn-based designer Fernando Mastrangelo, founder of design firm MMATERIAL, was inspired by the blue shades of majestic Patagonian glaciers like Perito Moreno for his Drift collection. These sculptural pieces of furniture look like carved stone, but are actually made from sand.
Learn more about this alkaline designs

A Shipping Container Tower Transformed this Brooklyn Carriage House

By Emily Nonko

File this under kooky design schemes that actually work. Inhabitat NYC profiled a Clinton Hill carriage house completely transformed by a shipping container tower built inside. The homeowners, artist Markus Linnenbrink and art dealer Cindy Rucker, were on the hunt for an architect who could renovate with as many sustainable elements as possible. They picked the design firm LOT-EK due to their specialty in shipping container buildings. The result? A container tower that serves as the core of this retrofitted carriage house, and many more repurposed details throughout.
Check it out

August 1, 2016

This Stylish Coffeemaker Lets You Reuse Your Coffee Grounds to Grow Mushrooms

By Michelle Cohen

The modern world never tires of discussing the best ways to brew coffee–and coming up with cute coffeemakers to do it with. Designers Adrián Pérez and Mauricio Carvajal have made the process much more efficient by putting the grounds to good use, too (h/t Inhabitat). The duo's HIFA coffee system repurposes coffee grounds to grow oyster mushrooms.
See how it works

July 20, 2016

New Photos of NYC’s First Residential Urban Farm at Urby Staten Island

By Dana Schulz

Urban farms are nothing new to NYC, but the first one at a residential building is taking shape at Staten Island's Urby. The $250 million, 900-unit rental development is located on the borough's North Shore waterfront, just minutes from the ferry, and is a collaboration between Ironstate Development and Dutch architecture and design firm Concrete. There will be 35,000 square feet of retail space, and though the units are quite nice and modern, it's the health-centric amenities that really set this LEED-certified project apart. Urby will offer an outdoor pool, a two-story fitness center, filtered communal well, landscaped courtyards with fire pits, a rooftop apiary with beehives, a 300-car garage with electric car chargers, and access to a waterfront esplanade. In the food department, there's one of the city's largest urban farms, which is employing New York's first farmer-in-residence, as well as an on-site bodega, cafe, and communal test kitchen.
Check it all out

July 18, 2016

Shipping Crates Inspired These Simple Wooden Wardrobes By Sigurd Larsen

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Living efficiently in a studio apartment has many challenges, but one of the biggest gripes, especially for women, is where to stock all those clothes. If your home lacks a Carrie Bradshaw-esque walk-in closet, these custom-made pieces by architect Sigurd Larsen may work wonders. They take inspiration from the wooden shipping crates typically used to transport or store large, heavy or awkward items, and can also double as attractive room dividers.
Learn more about this wooden wardrobe

City Gives First Approval for the Lowline, Must Raise $10M Over the Next Year

Lowline Lab via 6sqft

July 14, 2016

City Gives First Approval for the Lowline, Must Raise $10M Over the Next Year

By Dana Schulz

The world's first underground park just got one step closer to reality thanks to approvals from the NYC Economic Development Corporation. The Lowline, which will occupy a 40,000-square-foot abandoned trolley terminal below Delancey Street on the Lower East Side, received the thumbs up after an eight-month bidding process during which no one else submitted a proposal. City hall granted co-creators James Ramsey and Dan Barasch control of the space provided they can reach a $10 million fundraising goal over the next 12 months, complete a schematic design, and host five to 10 public design sessions and quarterly community engagement meetings.
What's next and who's paying for this?

July 7, 2016

Conserve and Reuse Pre-Shower Water With Aguawell

By Dana Schulz

On days like today, a cold shower is often the only way to cool down, but this overindulgence can get quite wasteful, especially if you're guilty of letting the shower run before hopping in. In fact, designboom tells us that those moments of adjusting the temperature can add up to 12 liters of lost water per minute. That's where Aguawell comes in. The simple, practical unit catches clean water before it hits the drain, so you can then use it for everything from watering plants to keeping pets hydrated.
Find out more

June 27, 2016

Interview: COOKFOX Partner Brandon Specketer on Biophilia’s Role in Building Design

By Diane Pham

You’ve certainly heard of LEED and Passive House in architecture, but what about biophilia? For COOKFOX, adding nature to a building and all the elements that surround it is a no-brainer. They strongly believe that humans have a deep, innate connection and love of nature, and in an urbanscape, they only way we can live fulfilled lives […]

June 20, 2016

This Hive Lets Urbanites Raise Bees in Style

By Dana Schulz

When 6sqft interviewed beekeeper and founder of Andrew's Honey Andrew Coté, he described how when he first started beekeeping in the city he placed his beehives wherever he could -- "on top of the bridge cafe in the Financial District, community gardens, friends’ rooftops or balconies." Though he now has an entire system of rooftop hives, other New Yorkers looking to get buzzing can still employ his small-scale take on apiculture. It was with this urban beekeeper in mind that German illustrator Maria Emmrich designed her modular Manufaktur Eins, which takes up less room than a standard hive. Designboom notes that it "combines the natural needs of the insects and the ergonomic requirements of the beekeepers" to create a stylish way to raise honeybees anywhere from a balcony to a garden.
More on this design-friendly beehive

Con Ed Will Offer Rooftop Solar Panels to 300 NYC Homes

Image via 350.org flickr

June 17, 2016

Con Ed Will Offer Rooftop Solar Panels to 300 NYC Homes

By Michelle Cohen

Con Edison announced Monday that the utility company will offer solar panels and batteries to 300 Brooklyn and Queens homes as part of a plan to create a virtual power plant for the city's power grid, as the company outlines in a "Clean Virtual Power Plant" implementation plan (pdf). Quartz reports that Con Ed, partnered with solar-panel manufacturer Sunpower and energy storage company SunVerge, plans to use these “grid assets” as backup power and as a source of electricity and balancing services for the grid. Residential Con Ed customers will be able to lease the solar and lithium-ion battery systems from the power company for a small fee that will appear on their bill. There is currently no net metering method in place for the homeowners to sell power back to the grid as some individual solar panel users do, though ConEd says that if the project is successful it will allow suppliers/aggregators of solar rooftop and battery systems to sell to the grid.
Find out how it works

June 15, 2016

Lighting Science’s Fred Maxik Discusses How to Use Interior Light to Improve Sleep and Health

By Diane Pham

Studies have shown that getting a good night's sleep is critical to keeping one's self happy, healthy and fully functioning. But with advances in technology, modern humans have increasingly found themselves typing and swiping into the wee hours of the night without any regard for what time it is. Unfortunately, exposure to light before bed can have serious negative effects on our body, messing with our circadian rhythms and suppressing our ability to produce melatonin—the hormone that controls our sleep and wake cycles. But beyond feeling tired and irritable the next day, not getting enough sleep also has tremendous long-term effects that include, but are certainly not limited to, depression, immune stress, weight gain, premature aging and disease. Luckily, there are researchers out there harnessing the power of the light spectrum to engineer light bulbs that work with our bodies and environment, rather than against them. To help urban dwellers sleep better, we tapped Lighting Science Group founder and Chief Technology Officer Fred Maxik to learn more about the challenges we face when it comes to city and indoor light, as well as for some tips on how to improve health, productivity, sleep, and even happiness by simply switching bulbs. Lighting Science is one of the world’s leading LED manufacturers and they've worked with everyone from NASA to national sports teams to the creators of the Lowline Underground Park.
Learn more about what lighting is best for your home and health here

June 10, 2016

KPF’s William Pedersen Designs an Ultra-Modern Doghouse With Green Roof

By Annie Doge

KPF is best known for transforming cities with supertall towers, but for the firm's founding Design Partner and Principal, William Pedersen, there's no scale that should be left unchallenged. Pedersen teamed up with fellow KPF architect Trent Tesch to create the One Jackson Square (OJS) Doghouse, a pint-sized structure for pets that boasts a striking curved form. According to the KPF pair, the OJS is "designed for the city dog, the country dog, and the spoiled dog."
more on the design here

June 8, 2016

POLL: Will Solar Canopies Be the New Wave of Solar Power in NYC?

By Dana Schulz

Installing solar systems in NYC can be tricky due to strict regulations and the complexity of buildings sites. But yesterday, 6sqft shared Brooklyn Solar Works' and Situ Studio's clever Solar Canopy, which "not only adheres to the city’s strict building codes, but has been developed specifically for the characteristically flat rooftops of NYC." The A-frame structures' columns bolt to rails attached to a building and are oriented at a 33-degree pitch to maximize panel efficiency when pointed south. And since they have a head clearance of ten feet, they don't eat up roof space. They've already been installed atop homes in Brooklyn, but at a price point of around $30,000 (though tax incentives bring that down to about $7,000) and a pretty obvious visual presence, can Solar Canopies replace traditional solar panel systems in the city?
Tell us what you think!

June 7, 2016

New ‘Solar Canopy’ Can Be Installed Atop Any NYC Building to Provide Solar Power

By Diane Pham

Brooklyn SolarWorks and Situ Studio have devised a clever and flexible solar panel system that not only adheres to the city's strict building codes, but has been developed specifically for the characteristically flat rooftops of NYC. The "Solar Canopy," as it has been named, is designed as a tent-like structure with a coverage of 2.5-feet by five-feet and a head clearance of ten feet above its pathway—plenty more than the nine feet required by the city. SolarWorks and Situ have already installed their Solar Canopy at several properties in Brooklyn, including atop homes in Bed-Stuy, Park Slope and Crown Heights.
find out more here

May 27, 2016

Uroboro Is a Simple Yet Stylish Home Composter That Feeds Your Plants Using Worms

By Dana Schulz

New Yorkers tend to be pretty environmentally conscious, but when it comes to composting, we just don't have the means to make it work without backyards or bulky, high-tech appliances. With these limitations in mind, Portuguese designer Marco Balsinha has come up with a solution. His home vermicomposter called Uroboro is a simple design of stacked pots that hold dirt and food waste, which is broken down by earthworms. Explained by Core 77, it's corked on the bottom and topped by a planter that indicates the level of decomposition.
Learn more

May 11, 2016

Grow Vegetables in Your Apartment Effortlessly With Foop and Your Smartphone

By Rebecca Paul

Caring for plants at home is a nice idea, but growing food inside your city apartment is an even better one. Now with Foop, a hydroponic pod from Japan, you can grow vegetables and herbs, like lettuce, parsley, basil, and mesclun with almost no effort. The process couldn't be easier; The first step is to purchase of your desired vegetable seeds, and the second to place the seeds into Foop's "cultivation cup." After the seeds are in place, you set a time frame for them to grow using Foop's app. When the vegetables are ripe for picking, you'll get a notification on your phone!
READ MORE

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