Author: Jessica Sheridan Assoc. AIA LEED AP

09.30.08

E-Oculus will be publishing a special tribute issue in memory of Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA, who recently passed away. A Call For Tributes has been posted, and all remembrances are welcome. Please e-mail eoculus@aiany.org by Friday, 10.03.08.

– Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP

CLICK ON BLOG CENTRAL: AIANY BLOG: The AIANY Chapter has launched a new blog. Blog Central features opinion pieces on architectural issues relevant to NY-based designers, firms, and projects, along with spotlights on debates and discussions at the Center for Architecture and AIANY, and is an informal discussion board. Be sure to check it out regularly and contribute to the dialogue.

Some of the recent debates include:
· Bikes in Buildings Bill. Intro 38 is a bill that would require building owners and managers to provide access to their buildings for bicycles. Click the link to voice your opinion.
· 6 Month Rule. NCARB passed a rule that requires a six-month regulated reporting period for intern architects enrolled in the Intern Development Program. Read how this affects firms and schools as well as individuals.
· AIANY Policy. Have you wondered how AIANY establishes its policy positions? Laura Manville, the AIANY Policy Coordinator explains all.

To become a regular contributor to Blog Central, please e-mail e-Oculus. Pen names are welcome.

Last week, Google launched a public transportation search engine to rival HopStop. HopStop is my main source of information when I am trying to figure out how to go from one part of the city to another; Google is simply not as good… yet.

HopStop not only calculates the quickest route from one locale to another, it provides information on travel preference — by subway/rail only, bus only, a combination of both, or on foot. There is an option to select more street-walking with fewer transfers, or vice versa. The best part about HopStop is that it is up to date with transit delays and takes the time of day into account when calculating travel time. The Taxi Cost/Time link lets one choose if he/she is travelling via yellow cab or car service. Surprisingly, I have found that it is usually correct in its estimates.

The Google search engine runs through Google Maps. Like HopStop, one can choose whether he/she is traveling by car, public transit, or walking. One advantage to Google is that the search allows for a departure or arrival time, and it can also give walking distances in miles or kilometers.

Overall, both search engines are useful, but the true test is whether they are accurate and reliable. While Google only calculates train time and walking time, it does not take into account any delays or waiting times. HopStop does. Because of this, Google doesn’t necessarily make the best assessment. When I am trying to figure out how to get from one place to another, waiting for trains often takes up a significant amount of time. Until Google works that out, I’m sticking with HopStop.

The Cooper Union Student Eco Initiative is looking for designers who have an opinion on the current trend of green design. The school is collecting responses from professionals, students, and the population at large to incorporate into its first public work: square vinyl stickers, each sporting a quotation about green building, that will be applied this October by students and community members on the construction fence surrounding Cooper Union’s new Morphosis-designed academic building. They will use the building as a vehicle to stimulate public conversation about sustainable construction and green design in the context of NYC and beyond.

Cut and paste the questions below into an e-mail with responses:

The U.S. Green Building Council defines “green buildings” as structures that work “to significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and on the building occupants, green building design and construction practices address: sustainable site planning, safeguarding water and water efficiency, energy efficiency, conservation of materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.”

1. Please describe your initial reaction to the term “Green Design.”
2. What are your personal ideas of “green” or ecologically minded design?
3. Are you at all skeptical about the aims of “green development” or the designation “green?”
4. Do you think there are ways in which ecologically minded design can impact fields other than construction? If so, how?
5. Do you think there should be a set of binding rules for new developments (regarding their environmental impact)? If so, what should they be?
6. Will green practices in the United States be enough to solve ecological problems, or is the help of other nations also required?

09.16.08

To commemorate the seventh anniversary of 9/11, this issue of e-Oculus includes articles, news items, and commentary on some of the events and developments at Ground Zero. Be sure to check out “9/11 Remembered,” the third annual installment by photographer Frank Ritter, who attended the ceremonies and documented the day.

– Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP

Note: In the Summer 2008 Design Awards issue of OCULUS, Farnaz Mansuri, Assoc. AIA, was inadvertently omitted as a De-Spec Inc. design team member in the credits for the Interiors Honor project Banchet Flowers (page 22). In the same issue, Gary Haney should have been included on the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill team for Project Merit winner Al Rajhi Bank Headquarters (page 36).

CLICK ON BLOG CENTRAL: AIANY BLOG: The AIANY Chapter has launched a new blog. Blog Central features opinion pieces on architectural issues relevant to NY-based designers, firms, and projects, along with spotlights on debates and discussions at the Center for Architecture and AIANY, and is an informal discussion board. Be sure to check it out regularly and contribute to the dialogue.

Some of the recent debates include:
· 6 Month Rule. NCARB passed a rule that requires a six-month regulated reporting period for intern architects enrolled in the Intern Development Program. Read how this affects firms and schools as well as individuals.
· AIANY Policy. Have you wondered how AIANY establishes its policy positions? Laura Manville, the AIANY Policy Coordinator explains all.

To become a regular contributor to Blog Central, please e-mail e-Oculus. Pen names are welcome.

Event: The High Line: Reviving New York’s Avant-Garde Architecture
Location: Museum of the City of New York, 09.11.08
Speakers: Neil Denari, AIA — Principal, Neil M. Denari Architects; Rick Bell, FAIA — Executive Director, AIANY; Sherida Paulsen, FAIA — Partner, PKSB Architect & Former Chair, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
Panelists: Donald Albrecht — Curator, Museum of the City of New York; Rick Bell, FAIA; Neil Denari, AIA; Thomas Mellins — Curator, Museum of the City of New York; Sherida Paulsen, FAIA; Marc Rosenbaum — Collaborating Architect on HL23, Neil M. Denari Architects
Organizer: Museum of the City of New York

HL23 is designed by Neil M. Denari Architects with the public in mind.

Courtesy Museum of the City of New York

Because of a commitment to design excellence by both the architecture profession and the city, as well as advancements in CAD technology, NYC architecture has thankfully moved beyond the unmemorable designs of the 1980s, stated former chair of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, Sherida Paulsen, FAIA. She sees HL23, designed by Neil M. Denari Architects, following in a line of radical and ambitious contemporary architecture, from the Rose Center for Earth and Space by Polshek Partnership to the Hearst Tower by Foster + Partners.

During a recent tour of the New York Fast Forward: Neil Denari Builds on the High Line exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York (now extended until 10.12.08), Neil Denari, AIA, walked visitors through his design. In trying to develop a market-friendly yet innovative design, Denari wanted to incorporate both hard-edge Modernistic and free-form Contemporary ideas. Curtain walls and metal panels are 20th century inventions, but he pushes their capabilities by fritting the glass to mimic the structure beyond and customizing the stamped panels with the aid of milling machines.

Because the building is sited next to the High Line and adjacent to the low-rises of the Gansevoort Market Historic District, three faç ades will always be visible in the foreseeable future. Denari, therefore, approached the design as if it were a public building, considering its impact on the public realm, even though it consists of private residences. The full-floor units take advantage of Manhattan views, and the aesthetics of the faç ade will hopefully be pleasing to the public (Denari spoke of the emotive power of good design). During the panel discussion, Rick Bell, FAIA, AIANY executive director, commented on how the floor-to-ceiling glass and cantilevering floor plates make the building “of the street.” No doubt, people on the street will be able to view the interiors of the apartments at night — a fact of life that many New Yorkers are familiar with, and perhaps those prone to exhibitionism will be those who embrace and purchase the units, he said.

Not everything has been resolved, though. Paulsen brought up the challenge that all who design next to the High Line will face — how the lower floors will mediate between street level and park level. With two public rights-of-way, storefronts are not necessarily the answer. Also, Bell raised the necessity to preserve the High Line as a public park. Even though HL23 does not provide direct access to the High Line from the apartments, when private buildings are constructed along the park’s perimeter, public access must be maintained and not impeded.

View from the Grand Concourse down 161st Street. On the left: the existing Yankee Stadium. On the right: the new Yankee Stadium under construction.

Jessica Sheridan

I have been spending some time doing research on the Grand Concourse, and have been struck by the presence of Yankee Stadium around 161st Street. From the Grand Concourse, one can see both the old and new stadiums, and even though the new mimics the old, there is a significant difference — the new turns its back on the community.

The South Bronx is transitioning. Parks are being improved, street plantings are being placed along the Grand Concourse, the Paradise Theater is being restored, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts opened a new addition by Arquitectonica in 2006. On a typical Saturday afternoon on the Concourse at 161st Street kids are skateboarding in Lou Gehrig Park and families are picnicking in Joyce Kilmer Park. Looking down 161st Street, the stadiums hover on either side.

Looking to the south, the old stadium opens up to the street. From the Concourse, one can see the seats and the building’s coliseum shape projects shouts from the fans up the hill. The excitement from the ballpark can be felt blocks away; the energy extends beyond the stadium walls. Looking to the north, however, the new stadium is oriented away from the street. No views, no noise, no excitement.

Even if the city replaces the old stadium with a park for the community (replacing the one it took away), what message does it send to the community when the new structure literally pulls away from the neighborhood? On top of it all, ticket prices are being raised, views from the subway are being eliminated, and the number of bleacher seats will be reduced to accommodate more corporate luxury boxes. Yes, the Bronx may be improving, but I believe building design should not take the form of elitism, excluding those impacted by it on a daily basis.

High school juniors at Bergen County’s River Dell High, a NJ school that lost three students in the World Trade Center collapse, are piloting a 9/11 curriculum that the September 11 Education Trust has developed over three years with Queens College professors. The Trust hopes to roll out nationwide a curriculum this spring to be taught in history, sociology, or psychology courses.

Officials from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum launched a pilot program to be used in NY, NJ, and PA schools during anniversary remembrances. They aired the program’s eight-minute film to students at Millennium High School, the first new school to open in Lower Manhattan after 9/11.