Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has completed the restoration works for Lever House, one of New York’s Modernist landmarks. The building was completed in 1952, following SOM’s design. At that time, architecture critic Reyner Banham said of the building “it gave architectural expression to an age just as the age was being born.” Since then, SOM has retained a level of stewardship, revisiting the building and ensuring that the restoration works preserve the original image without compromising contemporary standards of performance.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, along with the New York City Department of Design and Construction, has announced the breaking ground on the construction of the Studio Gang-designed Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center. Located at the Nostrand Playground in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, the center aims to bring new amenities to the residents of East Flatbush while honoring the history and heritage of the community. The new center is named after Brooklyn-born politician Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman to serve in Congress and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States.
UN Headquarters in New York. Photo by the blowup, via Unsplash
In 1945, the declaration of the end of World War II brought a wave of euphoria to the streets, and optimism permeated the atmosphere with the promise of brighter days. Inspired by this newfound hope, the United Nations Organization (UN) was established in the same year. The vibrant city of New York was chosen as the headquarters location, and an international team of carefully selected and invited architects was tasked with conceiving the project.
For this ambitious and truly international project, eleven renowned architects were brought together from various corners of the world. These architects, often known for their inflated egos, a common trait in their profession, were accustomed to exercising full control over their architectural designs and even their respective countries. They had to coexist in the same space and collaborate on a single project. The successful collaboration on this project would be a compelling demonstration of the possibility of achieving world peace.
WORKac has just initiated the construction of a new cultural center in Inwood, New York. Led by immigrants and women of color, “The People’s Theater: Centro Cultural Inmigrante” is dedicated to supporting immigrant New Yorkers through various artistic programs. Spanning multiple languages and generations, their unique form of theater serves as a dynamic platform for immigrants and members of the Latin, Black, and Queer communities.
From October 12 to 18, NYCxDESIGN presents the Design Pavilion, a prominent public architectural exhibition in New York. Occurring during Archtober, a month-long celebration of architecture, this year's Design Pavilion highlights three imaginative installations spanning materiality, sustainability, social justice, and more.
Two tangible installations have been designed to transform Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District into urban retreats, while the third exhibit offers a digital art projection at the World Trade Center Podium, addressing the nation's history of enslavement and the quest for healing. Along with the pavilions, the Design Talks program highlights and opens discussions on relevant issues of the profession, centering around themes of sustainability, repurposing, and waste reduction.
Oana Stănescu is a Romanian architect, designer, writer, and educator, based in New York and Berlin, with a diverse portfolio of interventions around the world. Selected as part of 2023 New Practices by ArchDaily, the young architect recognizes the value of architecture as a discipline, but nevertheless acknowledges that architecture cannot single-handedly resolve the complex challenges of our world. “Architecture is most powerful when recognized as part of a larger system, rather than being solely self-serving”, she adds in her conversation with ArchDaily’s Managing Editor, Christele Harrouk. In this way, Oana views architecture as a key player in a broader context, working to address significant societal issues.
With several ongoing projects, from the rehabilitation of an existing industrial infrastructure in Romania, to an integrated house within its natural environment in Canada, Oana’s creative process is centered on a commitment to serve people. Watch the full interview and discover below key insights from the conversation.
A simple walk in the park will relax even the most tightly wound individual. But what about the places where people spend far more of their time, such as schools, office buildings, and hospitals? What role can design play in incorporating nature into those environments? And at what additional cost? Bill Browning has published a book—The Economics of Biophilia: Why Designing With Nature in Mind Makes Financial Sense, 2nd Edition (written with Catie Ryan and Dakota Walker)—arguing that the cost of bringing nature into building projects isn't prohibitive but additive. An environmental strategist with a long history in green building, Browning is one of the founding partners (with architects Bob Fox and Rick Cook) of the sustainable design consultancy Terrapin Bright Green. Recently I talked with Browning about biophilic design—and, because he was a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council's board of directors, about the strengths and shortcomings of the LEED rating system.
Two Trees Management announced the official reopening of The Refinery at Domino Sugar, one of Brooklyn’s most iconic buildings transformed into a modern workspace. The design of the adaptive reuse project, led by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) began in 2017 with the purpose of reimagining the monument to become a point of connection between the existing neighborhood and the recaptured waterfront. The building now features 15 stories of office space, approximately 460,000 square feet, complete with retail spaces, communal workspaces, a private club, and event spaces.
Ahmadreza Schricker is an architect whose journey was shaped by his work with Herzog & de Meuron and his time with the well-renowned OMA. His studio ASA North, is well known for its award-winning adaptive reuse of the Argo Contemporary Art Museum & Cultural Center, a former distillery that was awarded at the 2020-2022 Aga Khan cycle. It is a testament to the work ASA North does, bridging gaps between past and future, traditional and contemporary. The interview also goes beyond ASA North, looking into its sister company, ASA South. Based in the virtual world, ASA South challenges conventional boundaries and reimagines architectural practice in the digital age.
Don Davis (American, born 1952). Stanford torus interior view. 1975. Acrylic on board, 17 × 22″ (43.1 × 55.9 cm). Commissioned by NASA for Richard D. Johnson and Charles Holbrow, eds., Space Settlements: A Design Study (Washington, DC: NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1977). Illustration never used. Collection Don Davis. Image Courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art New York has announced the opening of an exhibition focused on the first realized and unrealized projects that address ecological and environmental concerns. Featuring works by architects who practiced mainly in the United States from the 1930s through the 1990s, the exhibition titled “Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism” is on view from September 17, 2023, through January 20, 2024. The over 150 works showcased reveal the rise of the environmental movement through the lens of architectural practice and thought.
After over two decades in the making, the Perelman Performing Arts Center opened to the public on September 19, 2023. The luminous cube-shaped building was designed by the architecture firm REX, led by Joshua Ramus, to become one of New York City’s cultural keystones and the final piece in the 2023 Master Plan for the rebuilding of the 16-acre World Trade Center site. The inaugural season will feature commissions, world premieres, co-productions, and collaborative work across theater, dance, music, opera, film, and more. While only eight stories high, the venue stands out due to its monolithic façade composed of translucent veined Portuguese marble.
Focused in its fifth edition on Adaptation, the Obel Award has been granted to ‘Living Breakwaters’ in New York, a green infrastructure project off the shore of Staten Island. Awarded to SCAPE Landscape Architecture and its founder Kate Orff, masterminds behind ‘Living Breakwaters’, the yearly prize honors architectural contributions that positively impact both people and the planet.
The Obel Award is an international prize for architectural achievement presented annually by the Henrik Frode Obel Foundation, and each year, the jury sets a focus and awards a potential solution. Previously, it recognized Seratech, a carbon-neutral concrete solution, as the 2022 Obel Award winner, while in 2021, the concept of the 15-minute city received the prize for its value in creating sustainable and people-centric urban environments. The award ceremony will take place at the Sydney Opera House on 21 October 2023, and the winner will receive a prize sum of EUR 100,000 and a unique work of art by artist Tomás Saraceno as a trophy.
