Search Results for: architecture firm

February 6, 2019

My 500sqft: How an architect brought chic sensibility to her Hell’s Kitchen apartment

Shanghai native Nicky Chang is nothing if not accomplished in her field, having graduated from the Yale School of Architecture and worked for firms such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. But when she had a chance to combine her passions of architecture, interior design, and culinary arts, she couldn't pass up the chance. Nicky is now the head of design and strategy at Junzi Kitchen, a fast-casual Northern Chinese restaurant founded on Yale's campus with locations in Morningside Heights, Greenwich Village, and soon at Bryant Park. When Nicky moved from New Haven to Hell's Kitchen, she was downsizing by three times. Luckily, as she jokes, "architects have mild OCD tendencies when it comes to organization," so she was able to maximize her 500-square-foot walk-up without sacrificing style. Ahead, take a tour of Nicky's calm, chic, and cozy home and hear from her about her plant collection, love of cooking, and what it's like to work in hospitality design.
Take the tour
January 14, 2019

Get a closer look at Snøhetta’s new designs for Phillip Johnson’s 550 Madison Avenue

In December, 6sqft reported that architecture firm Snøhetta had unveiled a preservationist-friendly revision to a controversial design for an updated AT&T building at 550 Madison Avenue. Now you can get a look at the full details of the Certificate of Appropriateness proposal that will be presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) tomorrow. The latest design is one of several revisions, each followed by controversy over being seen by preservationists as diverting too much from the building’s original design by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. In addition to comparisons to the original, new designs must consider the subsequent revamp that made it the Sony building in 1994, which replaced the building’s open Madison Avenue arcade with “Sony Experience” storefronts and covered a rear public arcade with a glass roof.
Compare the new with the old
December 18, 2018

Washington Heights’ first food hall announces spring opening and vendors

Earlier this year, the Post called Washington Heights “the new Williamsburg,” after census data revealed that the upper-Manhattan neighborhood has more millennials than any other area in the entire city. After being priced out of areas like Bushwick, the Heights is a cheaper but equally convenient place to settle down. And like any good up-and-coming NYC spot, Washington Heights will soon be getting its very own food hall. Eater reports that North End Food Hall will open this spring at 4300 Broadway, at 183rd Street, with local favorites like Dashi Ramen (from the team behind Jin Ramen), Harlem Public, and Salt and Bone Smokehouse.
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December 5, 2018

Legendary Apollo Theatre is expanding with two additional theaters

Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater, which helped launch the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, and other such luminaries, is expanding for the first time since it opened in 1934, by adding two new performance spaces and additional office space as part of the redevelopment of the Victoria Theater on West 125th Street. Scheduled to open in fall 2020, the new Apollo Performing Arts Center will allow the nonprofit Apollo Theater to increase the number of programming, educational, and community programs it offers.
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December 5, 2018

Snøhetta reveals more preservation-friendly redesign for Philip Johnson’s 550 Madison

Architecture firm Snøhetta unveiled this week a preservationist-friendly revision to a controversial design for an updated AT&T building at 550 Madison Avenue. The latest design is one of several revisions, each followed by controversy over being seen by preservationists as diverting too much from the building’s original design by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. In addition to comparisons to the original, new designs have had to consider the subsequent revamp that made it the Sony building in 1994, which replaced the building's open Madison Avenue arcade with “Sony Experience” storefronts and covered a rear public arcade with a glass roof.
'Hands off my Johnson'
November 26, 2018

New Long Island camping cabins bring modern, affordable design to state parks

Photos by Albert Vecerka/Esto for WXY Aimed at bringing new visitors to the state's parks, the NY Parks 2020 initiative funded a $9 million project that created the first vacation cabins and cottages to offer accommodations in Long Island's Wildwood and Heckscher State Parks. The architecture firm WXY, headed by Claire Weisz, was chosen to design the new cabins. The first of these, 10 cabins ranging in size from 670 to 784 square feet, became available to rent on Memorial Day weekend. They represent an unusual attempt to introduce modern creative design where we traditionally find rudimentary and rustic construction while providing high quality, affordable accommodations for park visitors.
Take a look inside
November 16, 2018

Google officially files permits for expansion plans at Hudson Square’s St. John’s Terminal

First reported by CityRealty, Oxford Properties Group filed a building permit application yesterday to construct a 588,000-square-foot commercial addition to the St. John’s Terminal building in Hudson Square, a property they acquired in January. As 6sqft previously reported, architecture firm COOKFOX will helm the conversion and it is expected that Google will buy or lease the building, which is projected to be finished in 2022. If Google sticks to this plan -- in addition to their forthcoming expansions at Pier 57 and Chelsea Market -- the tech giant would double their employee force in the area to roughly 20,000. (This announcement follows that of Amazon’s impending expansion at a similar scale in Long Island City.)
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November 15, 2018

MVRDV’s vibrant ‘vertical village’ hotel breaks ground in Washington Heights

Netherlands-based architecture firm MVRDV on Thursday broke ground on its first major project in the United States: a 22-story tower in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood. Dubbed the Radio Tower & Hotel, the mixed-use building will feature a hotel, retail, and office space all in a colorful, boxy structure. According to the architects, the vibrant boxes take inspiration from the colors of "storefronts in the majority-Hispanic neighborhood" and keeps them the same size as other buildings in the area.
See it here
October 31, 2018

Take a walk down West 69th Street, the most over-the-top Halloween block in NYC

There are plenty of neighborhoods throughout the city that get in on the Halloween spirit and make for the best trick-or-treating, but arguably the biggest spectacle exists on the Upper West Side--probably not your first guess for spooky, kooky, and downright insane holiday decor. But thanks to the West 69th Street Block Association, the stretch of the street between Broadway and Central Park West turns into a wonderland of skulls, zombies, bloody scenes, and even a table setting complete with brains and rats. 6sqft took a walk down 69th Street and captured all its Halloween mayhem in the photos ahead.
See all the over-the-top decorations
October 22, 2018

Newark and NYC appear to be favored for Amazon’s HQ2 site

The hunt for Amazon's second headquarters is still on, more than a year after the company first announced its plan for HQ2. The tech-giant has narrowed its list of potential cities from over 200 to 20, with Newark and New York City both making the cut. Amazon executives recently revisited both of the cities, as well as others like Chicago and Miami, making it seem like the company favors an urban area, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
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October 19, 2018

To kick off Halloween weekend, watch NYC architects face off in a pumpkin-carving contest

Don't expect to see typical Jack-o'-lanterns at the Center for Architecture's pumpkin-carving event this Halloween. On Oct. 26, 20 New York City-based architecture firms will face off at Pumpkitecture!, the center's third annual competition, which tests the ability of architects to create amazing designs across any medium (ie: a round, orange gourd). Attendees can watch the architects live-carve inventive structures and vote for the People's Pumpkin.
More on the gourds
October 9, 2018

Architect Richard Meier steps down following sexual harassment allegations

Famed architect Richard Meier is stepping down from his eponymous architecture firm following sexual harassment allegations made earlier this year, his office announced on Tuesday. According to a press release from Richard Meier & Partners Architects, Meier will "step back from day-to-day activities and support the leadership transition of the firm he founded in 1963." In March, five women accused Meier of sexual harassment and said he groped them, exposed himself, and other similar inappropriate incidents, the New York Times first reported.
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September 17, 2018

Roman Abramovich signs over Upper East Side megamansion to ex-wife in $92M transfer

6sqft recently reported that construction had begun on Russia-born billionaire Roman Abramovich's Upper East Side megamansion combo of three existing  townhouses on East 75th Street. Plans for the megamansion with a pool, art room, backyard and a glass and bronze curtain wall connecting the three townhouses in the rear, designed by Stephen Wang + Associates, were approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in November of 2017. The LPC approval came a few months after Abramovich announced a split from arts patron and businesswoman Dasha Zhukova, whom he married in 2008 and with whom he has a son and a daughter. Now, the New York Post reports, Abramovich has transferred ownership of the properties at 9, 11 and 13, along with at least one other Upper East Side address to his ex.
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September 13, 2018

Get a sneak preview of the 2018 Open House New York sites!

If you love architecture and urban design from historic to contemporary, you'll have already been looking forward to this year's Open House New York! This much-anticipated and rare weekend of access to typically off-limits sites is now in its 16th year; this year’s OHNY will take place on Friday, October 12, Saturday, October 13 and Sunday, October 14. Thanks to partnerships with over 400 arts and cultural organizations, city agencies, architecture firms and others, OHNY Weekend will open more than 250 buildings and projects across the five boroughs for tours and talks with architects, urban planners, historians, preservationists, and civic leaders. OHNY has just released a sneak preview of the program, which includes recently-opened sites like 3 World Trade Center, Domino Park and Pier 17, construction previews of 150 Rivington and Hauser & Wirth Gallery West 22nd Street and specially curated series like Works by Women, MAS 125, Factory Fridays and Open Studios.
This way to see what's on the list for OHNY 2018
September 7, 2018

Archtober 2018: Top 10 NYC events and program highlights

Archtober is New York City’s annual month-long architecture and design festival of tours, lectures, films, and exhibitions taking place during October when a full calendar of events turns a focus on the importance of architecture and design. Organized by the Center for Architecture, in collaboration with over 70 partner organizations across the city, the festival raises awareness of the important role of design and the richness of New York’s built environment. Now in its eighth year, Archtober offers something for everyone—from the arch-intellectual who wants to talk about the relationship between architecture and power to the armchair landscape architect with a thing for waterways, parks or sustainable design—in the 100+ event roster. Below, we pick 10 don't-miss highlights in this year’s program.
Learn about the architecture of NYC at these cool events
September 4, 2018

Newark complex designed as Amazon HQ2 bid would include the city’s tallest towers

Since the announcement that Amazon would be choosing the city that would host its second headquarters by the end of the year, competition between contenders has been heating up. 6sqft reported last month that Newark, still in the running along with Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, New York, Boston, three sections of the Washington, D.C., region and Toronto, approved a shiny new incentive in the form of ordinances offering nearly $1 billion in payroll tax exemptions to companies that create at least 30,000 jobs and invest $3 billion in the city over 20 years. Now, Jersey Digs reports that a group consisting of local residents and a California-based architecture firm have come up with a snazzy proposal for Amazon's HQ2 that includes a location and designs for a futuristic complex that would include Newark's tallest towers.
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August 15, 2018

Where I Work: Go inside SHoP Architects’ aviation-inspired offices in the Woolworth Building

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and businesses of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring the Financial District offices of SHoP Architects. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! The largest collection of WWII-era spotter planes in the world, a massive copper section of the Barclays Center facade, a materials library with hundreds of samples of everything from fabric to flooring--these are just some of the surprises you'll come across in SHoP Architects' offices in the iconic Woolworth Building. The firm's projects include buildings at mega-developments like the Domino Sugar Factory and Essex Crossing, the twisting American Copper Buildings, and the world's future tallest residential skyscraper 111 West 57th Street, and their office certainly embodies this creativity and range of work. After taking a tour of the space, 6sqft chatted with Associate Principal Angelica T. Baccon about this very special office design, what a typical day is like at the firm, and, of course, the backstory behind those planes. We also met with Materials Librarian Kate Smith to learn a bit more about this rare resource that helps inform the ideas at SHoP.
Take the tour!
July 12, 2018

Is this 32-story building the next residential tower coming to Hudson Yards?

Rendering via B.ARCHs A rendering has been released for a 32-story mixed-use building in the Hudson Yards area, between 36th and 37th Streets. The owner of the three lots spanning those blocks? Gary Barnett's Extell Development, the same group behind the neighborhood's 610-foot tall 555Ten. CityRealty uncovered the image from BARCHs, a New York-based architecture firm which describes the possible project as providing "residential, retail and parking uses to this rapidly developing neighborhood."
More here
June 28, 2018

Aspiring real estate developer Kanye West takes a loss on Noho condo sale

For those who were skeptical about Kanye West's recently announced foray into real estate ("I’m going to be one of the biggest real estate developers of all time. Like what Howard Hughes was to aircrafts and what Henry Ford was to cars," he humbly said.) here's proof that Yeezy might want to stick to rapping and Kardashian kuddling. TMZ reports that Kanye has just sold his Soho condo at 25 West Houston Street for $3 million, even less than the $3.14 million he paid for it.
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June 15, 2018

Snag a one-bedroom at a passive house in Washington Heights, from $1,650/month

A newly constructed rental that meets passive house standards has launched a lottery for six middle-income apartments in Washington Heights. Designed by PM Architecture, the Uptown six-story building contains 20 units and boasts a facade of charcoal-painted insulated panels. Located at 577 West 161st Street, the building will have a medical office on its first floor, residences above it, and an outdoor recreation space in the back. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the $1,650/month and $1,800/month one-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify
June 12, 2018

Where I Work: Inside C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries in the Village, the oldest pharmacy in the country

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring the oldest pharmacy in the United States, C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries in Greenwich Village, and talking with owner Ian Ginsberg. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries was established in 1838. It is the oldest apothecary in America. It was originally called the Village Apothecary Shop and was opened by the Vermont physician, Galen Hunter. It was renamed C.O. Bigelow Apothecary when it was purchased by an employee, Clarence Otis Bigelow in 1880. The apothecary is in fact so old that it once sold leeches and opium as remedies. According to legend, the chemists at Bigelow even created a salve for Thomas Edison to treat his burned fingers when he was first developing the light bulb. In 1922, the apothecary was sold to the pharmacist, Mr. Bluestone, employed by Bigelow, thereby continuing the unique legacy of passing ownership from employer to employee. Bluestone sold the pharmacy to yet another pharmacist employee, William B. Ginsberg in 1939. And since 1939, three generations of Ginsberg’s have owned and operated the shop, passing down from father to son to most recently grandson, Ian Ginsberg, who 6sqft spoke with at this historic pharmacy in Greenwich Village at 414 Sixth Avenue.
See inside
June 7, 2018

Study: A former freight line on the Lower Montauk branch could help a Queens transportation desert

How do you connect the fastest-growing census tract in the U.S. to New York City’s public transportation hubs? Architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), whose New York City work includes the master plan for Hudson Yards, One Vanderbilt and Two Waterline Square, has released a "visioning study" that explores how the repurposing of the QNS, an 8.5 mile Lower Montauk Branch rail line, into a new transit line in Queens that could revitalize neighborhoods, provide affordable housing, create jobs and add transit service to the over nine square miles of New York City that contain three of the city’s largest and most successful Industrial Business Zones (Maspeth, Long Island City, and North Brooklyn) and two of Queens’ largest central business districts (Long Island City and Jamaica Center), adding to the long-term growth of those districts and creating thousands of potential new jobs.
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May 23, 2018

Reading between the lions: A history of the New York Public Library

The New York Public Library first roared into existence on May 23, 1895, educating and inspiring countless millions, free of charge. The Library’s 92 locations include four research divisions and hold over 51 million items. Out of all these tomes, the greatest tale might be Library’s own history: Founded by immigrants and industrialists, it was equally admired by William Howard Taft and Vladimir Lenin; open to all, it has counted among its staff American Olympians and Soviet spies; dedicated to intellectual exploration and civic responsibility, it has made its map collection available to buried treasure hunters and Allied Commanders; evolving with the city itself, it has made branch locations out of a prison, a movie theater, and most recently, a chocolate factory. The history of the New York Public Library is as vital and various New York itself, so get ready to read between the lions.
The 123-year-old history of the NYPL
May 15, 2018

The buzz on Boerum Hill: How an iconic Brooklyn neighborhood blends old and new

Shelly Place, an agent with Triplemint, describes Boerum Hill as “the perfect blend of old and new. Geographically, it is smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn, convenient to downtown [Manhattan], and close enough without being in the middle of the hustle and bustle. You can go days or weeks without ever leaving Boerum Hill but, if you want, you have the rest Brooklyn right there.” Known for tree-lined streets filled with historic brownstones, Boerum Hill is one of those unique neighborhoods that has successfully blended past and present in a way few communities have been able to. There are a ton of great restaurants and creative cocktail lounges and independent specialty stores alongside the big brands, like Apple, Whole Foods’ 365, and Lululemon, lining Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue. And with a slew of new contextual developments springing up, it's time to turn your attention to the buzz on Boerum Hill.
Everything you need to know about Boerum Hill
May 15, 2018

Fogarty Finger transforms a former Jersey City propeller factory into a beautiful single-family home

In a stunning renovation, architecture firm Fogarty Finger Architects transformed this Jersey City home, a former 1800s propeller pattern factory in the Paulus Hook neighborhood, into a luxurious single-family residence (h/t Dezeen). The original building was a workshop for Alexander Thomson & Sons Pattern Makers, a company that cast wooden forms into metal for propellers. The firm preserved the historic building shell, added a second floor, and excavated the cellar, increasing the living space from the original 3,500 square feet to 8,500 and incorporating unique outdoor space at each level.
Take the tour