Manhattanhenge 2012
It happens just four times a year (two full suns, and two half-suns) but you can bet New Yorkers make the most of it…Manhattanhenge, that is. Coined by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the merge of Manhattan and Stone Henge is used described the phenomen when the sun perfectly aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan. “Manhattanhenge comes about because the Sun’s arc has not yet reached these limits (of the solstice), and is on route to them, as we catch a brief glimpse of the setting Sun along the canyons of our narrow streets,” explained Tyson.
Standing far to the east side, the ArchDaily team stood shoulder to shoulder with dozens of anxious observers in Tudor City, an elevated niche that offers a clear shot down 42nd Street and is graced with the beautiful profiles of the Chrysler Building and the Bank of America Tower. Although the cloudy skies of Thursday only allowed a few red rays to run across the sides of the buildings, Wednesday’s crystal clear evening showed the red fireball in all its glory sitting between the grided streets.
More about Manhattanhenge after the break.
NY Exhibition opens tonight: SLIPSTREAM / FreelandBuck
At least since Leonardo Da Vinci’s first attempts to describe turbulence, architects have been fascinated by the dynamics of flow – perhaps seeking an escape from the solid, stable nature of buildings. Beginning in the 1990′s, architects have used digital software to imbue structures and spaces with some of the same qualities as Da Vinci’s meticulous drawings: fluidity, undulation, instability and temporality. But while software has allowed architects to create novel, dynamic forms digitally, they have struggled to translate these qualities to the physicality of the material world. Slipstream is a physical structure that confronts that leap directly, translating a 2-dimensional digital line drawing into 3-dimensional space.
Alluding to Lebbeus Woods’ 2010 ‘Slipstreaming’ drawings of flow, the installation is a single drawing extruded through the gallery space and cut away to produce a set of interconnected spaces. The linear extrusion acts as both structure and dynamic visual filter, shifting views through the installation and between the spaces it defines. It’s integrity as a structure is masked by both its redundancy and bright coloration. Employing gradients that diffuse and coalesce along its length, color amplifies the undulating lines, establishing cross currents that intensify as visual eddies. Irreducible to form, structure, or graphic, Slipstream is a combined phenomenon of the three.
Don’t miss SLIPSTREAM’s opening tonight, July 12th, from 7-9pm at New York’s Bridge Gallery in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Find more details here on the bridgegallery official website. The exhibit will remain on view until August 24th.
Four Pritzker-Prize winners to submit conceptual designs for new office tower in Manhattan
L&L Holding Company, LLC, today announced that four of the world’s most acclaimed architecture firms – Foster + Partners (Lord Norman Foster), Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (Lord Richard Rogers), OMA (Rem Koolhaas) and Zaha Hadid Architects – are participating this week in the conceptual design phase of its architectural competition for a new office tower to be constructed at 425 Park Avenue in Manhattan.
In April of this year, L&L Holding invited 11 of the world’s most accomplished architects to express their interest in competing for the commission to design a new tower at 425 Park Avenue. Of those invited, nine firms chose to enter the competition. After careful deliberations, L&L Holding narrowed its list to the four selected firms, each of which is led by a Pritzker Prize-winning architect with extensive international experience and proven expertise in office tower design.
The architects and their teams have prepared and are presenting their conceptual designs this week for a 650,000 square foot tower that will be designed to high L.E.E.D. sustainability standards.
What’s in a Number?
What do you think of the number 300? Mayor Michael Bloomberg found the number to be just the right amount of square feet necessary to attract a younger demographic to live in the city. In a city-sponsored competition entitled adAPT NYC, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is inviting developers to submit proposals for a new construction project in Kips Bay, Manhattan. The challenge is to design what Bloomberg calls “micro-units”, between 275-250 sqf of living space, complete with a place a kitchen and a bathroom, but no closet is necessary. “Developing housing that matches how New Yorkers live today is critical to the City’s continued growth, future competitiveness and long-term economic success,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “People from all over the world want to live in New York City, and we must develop a new, scalable housing model that is safe, affordable and innovative to meet their needs.”
More about the competition after the break.
641 Avenue of the Americas / Cook + Fox Architects
Architect: Cook+Fox Architects
Location: New York, NY
Client: Cook+Fox Architects LLP
Completion: July 2006
Size: 12,121 SF
Photographs: Cook+Fox Architects
Diller Scofidio + Renfro Unveils New Columbia University Medical Building
Columbia University has been at the forefront of medical education for more than two centuries, as it was the first medical school in the United States to award the M.D. degree in 1770. Now, the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has announced plans for a new, state-of-the-art medical and graduate education building that reflects how they believe medicine is and should be taught, learned and practiced in the 21st century.
Located on the CUMC campus in the Washington Heights community of Northern Manhattan, the 14-story facility will aim to achieve LEED Gold certification and incorporate technologically advanced classrooms, collaboration spaces, and a modern simulation center. The design is led by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Gensler as executive architect.
Continue after the break for more details!
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College / Cooper, Robertson & Partners
Architects: Cooper, Robertson & Partners
Location: New York, NY, USA
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Chuck Choi
2012 MASterworks Awards
The Municipal Art Society of New York recently announced the Six provocative and innovative architecture and urban design projects that received the 2012 MASterworks Awards. New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street (Gehry & Partners for Forest City Ratner) has won the top honor, “Best New Building,” while “Best Restoration” goes to New York City Center (Ennead Architects). “Best Neighborhood Catalyst” awards were given to the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College (Cooper, Robertson & Partners) and the Queens Central Library: Children’s Library Discovery Center (1100 Architect with Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership), with an honorable mention going to El Museo Del Barrio (Gruzen Samton). A new category, “Best New Urban Amenity,” was created for Ateliers Jean Nouvel’s Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park. For more information on the awards, please visit here.
Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park / Cook + Fox Architects
The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park in midtown New York, designed by Cook + Fox Architects, is the first commercial high-rise to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The design and high performance of this building is intended to set a new standard for commercial construction and for the office-work environment. By focusing on ways to emphasize daylight, fresh air and a connection to the outdoors, the architects redefine the parameters of the skyscraper as more than a glass box.
More on the strategies implemented in this project after the break.
FDNY Marine Company 9 / Sage and Coombe Architects
Architects: Sage and Coombe Architects, LLP
Location: Staten Island, NY, USA
Proyect Year: 2012
Project Area: 9,500 sqft
Photographs: Paul Warchol
Milestone for 4 World Trade
Yesterday, the final steel beam rose 977 feet into the air and was placed atop 4 World Trade Center – the 72-story tower designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki. As gospel singer BeBe Winans sang “God Bless America”, the 8 ton beam, signed by all members of the team and adorned with an American flag, reached its final destination atop the city’s sixth tallest tower.
At over 80 years of age, Maki is making his New York debut in an elegant manner. The tower was designed to serve as a “respectful backdrop” to the National September 11 Memorial and not to compete with 1 World Trade. ”This is a special place with a sacred meaning and we felt we had to be respectful,” explained Osamu Sassa, Maki’s project architect, to The New York Times. Such a ideology offers a strong contrast with the other architectural statements that will eventually rise as part of the World Trade Center complex, such as Norman Foster’s 2 World Trade and Richard Roger’s 3 World Trade. While the minimalism of Maki may have kept the design under the radar during its design and construction stages, the grace of its simplicity will craft a dignified presence while visiting the site. ”The design of the tower at 150 Greenwich has two fundamental elements – a ‘minimalist’ tower that achieves an appropriate presence, quiet but with dignity, and a ‘podium’ that becomes a catalyst for activating the surrounding urban streetscape as part of the revitalization of lower Manhattan,” explained Maki.
More about 4 World Trade after the break.
Green Carceri (Highline 4.0) / TARQUITECTOS
The Green Carceri, designed by TARQUITECTOS, arises as a natural extension of the High Line Park, connecting himself with the High Line and flying over the river, thus enabling a continuation of the public space underneath with the neighborhood to the height of the street and the docks. Winding around a series of vertical communication cores, the building allows both internal transit users and visitors to descend to the level of the street without having to enter the building. More images and architects’ description after the break.
modeLab Parametric Design Workshop
Studio Mode / modeLab is putting on a two-day intensive parametric design workshop July 7-8 which will introduce participants to the fundamental concepts and essential skills necessary for effectively designing with Grasshopper for Rhinoceros. In a fast-paced and hands-on learning environment, participants will explore concepts such as object attributes/parameters, data types, data structures, composing algorithms, as well as the creation and manipulation of computational geometry through parametric modeling interfaces. workshop curriculum will additionally cover techniques for Ccntrolling the flow of data via functions, conditional statements/logical gates, sampling data, and user interface objects. For more information, please visit here.
Governors Island / West 8
Despite all of the preconceived notions about New York City being overpopulated, noisy and constantly bustling, there are numerous pockets within the five boroughs that offer respite from the city. This design strives to be one such pocket – or island. Governors Island has a long military history that dates back to 1776. It was controlled by the U.S. Government first for the U.S. Army and later for the Coast Guard. In 2002 the island was “sold” to the people of New York and declared a national monument. In 2010, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson agreed on the future operations, planning and redevelopment of the island through the Trust for Governors Island. Since then, the island has been open during the summer months for visitors to enjoy the unique seclusion offered by the the old military grounds. But the Trust had bigger plans. Choosing a team of architects, urban planners, designers and landscape architects that include Rogers Marvel Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Mathews Nielsen and led by West 8, plans began to unfold that would reimagine the island as a getaway for New Yorkers. Playing up to its isolation, its abundance of lawns and trees, and the views that it offers, the first phase of the plans have officially broken ground and are scheduled for completion in Fall 2013.
Check out what’s in store for Governors Island after the break.
Video: The Manhattan Project / Cameron Michael
Cameron Michael captures the energy of the city with this time-lapse production. From the highline to the city skyline, this video makes you feel like you’ve just spent your entire Sunday walking through the streets of Manhattan. Although Michael admittedly “bent” a few laws while filming The Manhattan Project, this adventure seems to have been well worth the effort. Enjoy!
Video: New York Sleeps
Depicting iconic architecture such as the Guggenheim and the Brooklyn Bridge, this series of contemplative black and white photographs by Munich-born photographer Christopher Thomas reveals a disturbingly tranquil New York City.
CLOG: Data Space launch
Taking place June 15th from 7-9pm at McNally Jackson in New York, CLOG is inviting the public in their celebration of the launch of their third issue, Data Space.
The editors of CLOG will be joined by Andrew Blum, author of the recently published “Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet,” and Neil Sheehan, Principal of Sheehan Partners, who designed Facebook’s Prineville Data Center, to discuss the architecture of data centers, a fairly new building typology, which has become a major energy consumer and a burgeoning building type. These facilities can range from small portable modules to massive warehouses full of servers, from sleek new constructions to the reuse of existing infrastructures.
For more information and to order your own copy of the issue, please visit here.
modeLab Screening Workshop
Taking place the weekend of July 21-22, Studio Mode / modeLab is putting on the Screening Workshop which will focus on the performative capacity of screening devices to regulate light and view while simultaneously producing both ornamental as well as material effects. The workshop will make extensive use of our digital fabrication equipment, coupled with parametric patterning techniques in Grasshopper for Rhinoceros. In a fast-paced and hands-on learning environment, participants will explore issues pertaining to the coordination of fabricated parts through unique object attributes, baking objects with user-defined attributes, nesting optimization with Rhinonest for Grasshopper, as well as the precise creation and manipulation of computational geometry through parametric modeling interfaces. For more information, please visit here.
Thomas Phifer and Partners Unveils Design for Corning Museum of Glass
New York practice Thomas Phifer and Partners have unveiled their design for the new 100,000 square foot North Wing expansion at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. The state of the art, “energy smart” building will provide the ideal interior environment for preserving the Museum’s unparalleled collection of glass art through natural lighting, an intelligent building envelope and sophisticated temperature and air quality controls. The $64 million North Wing is scheduled for completion in 2014.
Continue after the break to learn more about the North Wing expansion.
A Lesson in Dedicated Collaboration: Hunts Point Landing on the South Bronx Greenway / Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects
In the past decade New York City’s government, along with numerous organizations and design teams, have taken the initiative to revive the city’s public spaces and reclaim underutilized areas that have long been associated with the city’s manufacturing past. We’re all familiar with the High Line, a project that takes over the elevated rail lines of Chelsea and Meat Packing District that until several years ago stood as a desolate and eroding piece of infrastructure, which was beautiful in its own way but largely underutilized. Then there is the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which has become a mecca for designers, fabricators and research companies and has recently acquired a museum to celebrate its history. And of course, there are the city’s waterways, which, since New York City’s early history, have served its manufacturing and trade economy, have become parks along the waterfront as part of the Hudson River Greenway and the FDR Drive. Manufacturing has long been replaced by Wall Street, but there are parts of the city that still retain the industrial past along the historic waterfront and continue to operate some of the most important facilities that allow the city to function. Now it is time to reintroduce a public use among these industrial zones.
More after the break!
