Category: In The News

The “Urban Umbrella” entry to the UrbanSHED competition stood out to me at a recent discussion with the three finalist teams at the Center for Architecture (See “Sidewalk Sheds With Better Design Cred,” by Lisa Delgado, e-Oculus, 01.12.10). So I was excited when Mayor Bloomberg announced last Thursday that the entry won the competition, and that a prototype will be constructed this summer (See Around the AIA).

The design, as the name implies, took inspiration from umbrellas. By using circular geometry, the platform will be constructed with pie-shaped, translucent, fiberglass panels that can be assembled in different configurations. The panels themselves will allow natural light to penetrate to the sidewalk, and can be comprised of various colors, patterns, or designs that can be personalized to the needs of the owner of the building being protected. Of the finalists, this was the only proposal that would make a restaurant desire a construction canopy over its outdoor café.

This was also the only proposal that truly considered scale. The structure is created when two “umbrellas” join together to make a three-pin frame, which transfers load to the columns. As Sarrah Khan, PE, LEED AP, principal of the Agencie Group, co-winners of the competition, explained, because of the redundancy of the structure the size of the footings can be smaller and wind loads can easily be distributed through the frame. Lighting is incorporated into the struts, illuminating the sidewalk at night with fan-shaped patterns. And, like an umbrella opens and closes, so does the structure depending on the widths and height requirements of the sidewalks.

By using components that are similar to those in current sidewalk sheds, the umbrellas can be constructed similarly as well, and pieces may be used for both types of construction. Again, out of all the finalists, the Urban Umbrella was the only one that truly considered sustainability, which was one of the main issues outlined in the RFP.

I hope the prototype will live up to my expectations of the design. If it does, this contest is one of many in the history of design competitions that could radically accelerate the careers of its trio of young winners, Young Hwan Choi, an architecture student at the University of Pennsylvania, and Sarrah Khan, PE, and Andrés Cortés, AIA, principals of the Agencie Group.

In this issue:

· Students to Till Soil in Brooklyn
· New Center Will Showcase Korean Culture
· Smart Medical Facility Has Heart
· More Art Pops Up on Construction Sites
· NYC Waterfront Revitalization Receives Funding
· NY-Based Landscape Architects Create New Destinations Nationwide

Students to Till Soil in Brooklyn

P.S. 216.

WORK Architecture Company

WORK Architecture Company has completed a design for the first Edible Schoolyard New York (ESYNY), founded by chef and organic food activist Alice Waters, which will be located at P.S. 216, in Gravesend, Brooklyn. The goal of the program is to create a space where schoolchildren plant, harvest, cook, and eat together, creating an interdisciplinary curriculum tied into regular academic subjects. At the heart of the project is the kitchen classroom, where up to 30 students can prepare and enjoy meals together. The design is a series of interlinking sustainable systems that produce energy and heat, collect rainwater, process compost, and sort waste with off-grid infrastructure. Part of P.S. 216’s existing asphalt-covered parking lot will be replaced by a quarter-acre organic farm, a kitchen classroom, and a mobile four-season greenhouse, all combined in a newly designed, self-sustaining educational building. The kitchen’s butterfly-shaped roof channels rain water for reclamation.

New Center Will Showcase Korean Culture

The New York Korea Center.

SAMOO Architecture

SAMOO Architecture, the NY studio of the Seoul-based firm, has won an international competition for the design of The New York Korea Center, a new home for the Korean Cultural Service. Located on 32nd Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, east of Manhattan’s Korea Town, the eight-story, 33,000-square-foot facility will offer spaces for exhibitions, performances, lectures, and administration. A multi-layered glass façade creates a screen wall that illuminates three sculptural figures within — composed of polished ceramic, rough terracotta, and milled wood, representing heaven, earth, and humanity. Layered behind the screen wall, display panels will convey a changing visual message to passers-by. At street level, exhibitions will focus on current popular trends in Korean culture, including music, movies, food, technology, and TV dramas. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of the year and LEED accreditation will be pursued.

Smart Medical Facility Has Heart

The Milstein Family Heart Center at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia.

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

The six-story, 142,000-square-foot Milstein Family Heart Center at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia recently opened. Designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the $50 million LEED-Gold project features a curved glass curtain wall that acts as a counterpoint to the existing masonry buildings in the hospital complex. Called a “climate wall,” the energy-efficient, double-glazing construction offers views of the Hudson River and the Palisades beyond. Electronically-controlled vertical shades maintain a temperate internal environment and present a constantly changing façade. At night, strategically deployed lighting refracts through the glass envelope, which is suspended from the uppermost floor by a web of stainless-steel cables. The facility provides a full range of medical services including: diagnostics; ambulatory surgery; cardiac catheterization laboratories; medical practice suites; critical care units; and an education/conference center. The new building is connected to its neighbors by a series of inclined glass bridges that traverse the vertical space of the project.

More Art Pops Up on Construction Sites

“Walking Men 99.”

Maya Barkai/Courtesy ADA Art Consulting & Elinor Milchan

The Alliance for Downtown New York is installing five new works of public art this month at construction sites in Lower Manhattan as part of its “Re:Construction” program. The program, which began in 2007, helps mitigate the impact of construction sites by creating temporary artworks. The organization, with four arts consultants, identified artists to create installations at the sites. on a South Street construction fence, “Fence Embroidery with Embellishment,” by Katherine Daniels features ribbon-like stitches of green and white materials woven in geometric patterns to evoke stems and vines. At 99 Church Street, “Walking Men 99,” by Maya Barkai depicts 99 versions of the international “walk” symbol. Amy Wilson’s “It Takes Time to Turn a Space Around,” on a West Thames Park construction fence, is an ensemble of child-like characters in a storybook world. “The O2 Project,” by Elinor Milchan represents a garden of air bubbles at Fiterman Hall. And “Rendering Leonard,” by Helen Dennis tries to capture the city’s energy and flux at 56 Leonard Street. The Downtown Alliance received a $1.5 million grant in 2008 from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation for about 30 projects over three years. Installation is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

NYC Waterfront Revitalization Receives Funding
The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance reports that the New York State Department of State, via the Environmental Protection Fund, has granted $23.8 million for waterfront revitalization projects, $8.9 of which will be directed for projects in NYC. In addition to borough by borough projects, the funds will go to citywide projects, including: the NYC Comprehensive Waterfront Plan: Vision 2020; Urban Park Rangers: Adapting to Climate Change in NYC; Catalyst for Neighborhood Parks: Reclaiming the Waterfront; and Community Eco-Docks. Click here for a synopsis of all the projects.

NY-Based Landscape Architects Create New Destinations Nationwide

Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park BY Thomas Balsley Associates.

Image ©Sneary Architectural Illustration

NYC-based landscape architecture firm Thomas Balsley Associates, has completed the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa, FL. Formerly a lifeless riverfront site, the new urban park has performance lawns and gardens, water features and lighting displays, play areas, and a dog run. The park is framed by the new Tampa Museum of Art, designed by San Francisco-based Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects, and the Glazer Children’s Museum, designed by John Curran, AIA.

Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects is working on the master plan for Shoelace Park, a one-mile ribbon of parkland along the Bronx River, a project of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation in partnership with the Bronx River Alliance. Work will include storm water and erosion control mitigation, streambank stabilization techniques, and control of invasive vegetation; the firm has already hosted a charrette with the local community.

Balmori Associates is working with H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture on the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), an international cultural and scientific center for conservation adjacent to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. The firm is transforming a parking lot into more than an asphalt desert with spines of research files, rain gardens, and braided pathways that will operate as an open-air botanical lab.

The first-ever integrated green code for traditional and high-performance commercial buildings, developed by the International Code Council’s International Green Construction Code (IGCC), is set for a public release in March. The IGCC is designed specifically to integrate and coordinate with the other international codes already being enforced by governmental code officials at all levels. The AIA and ASTM International are cooperating sponsors, and other organizations with representation on the IGCC drafting committee, known as the Sustainable Building Technology Committee (SBTC), include the U.S. Green Building Council, Green Globes Initiative, and more than a dozen others. For more information on activities about the IGCC click the link.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected the 2010 recipients of the Institute Honor Awards. In the Architecture category, NY-based winners include: Architecture: Alice Tully Hall by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with FXFOWLE Architects; Brochstein Pavilion and Central Quad by Thomas Phifer and Partners; Skirkanich Hall by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects; TKTS Booth and the Revitalization of Father Duffy Square by Perkins Eastman, Choi Ropiha, and PKSB Architects; and Yale University Art Gallery, Kahn Building Renovation by Polshek Partnership Architects. In the Interior Architecture category, NY-based winners include: CHANEL Robertson Blvd. by Peter Marino Architect; Craftsteak by Bentel & Bentel Architects; Historic Central Park West Residence by Shelton, Mindel & Associates; and Vera Wang Boutique by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. In the Regional and Urban Design category: the Greenwich South Strategic Framework by Architecture Research Office (ARO) …To view all winners, click here…

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert D. LiMandri, and 2010 AIANY President Anthony Schirripa, AIA, IIDA, unveiled the winner of the urbanSHED International Design Competition, “Urban Umbrella,” which was designed by Young Hwan Choi, Andrés Cortés, AIA, and Sarrah Khan, PE, LEED AP…

The Center for Architecture announced its 2010 Exhibition Design: Harry Elson Architect; KOKO Architecture + Design; Pentagram Architects; Popular Architecture; Poulin + Morris; and Urban A&O… A Graphic Design Shortlist was also announced: 50 50; MTWTF; Object; Omnivore; PS New York; Q Collective; Jeff Ramsey; Remake; Rumors; Thumb; and Topos Graphics…

The Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center announced the winner of the 2010 MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program: Brooklyn-based Solid Objectives — Idenburg Liu (SO — IL); the other finalists include EASTON+COMBS (Brooklyn); FREECELL (Brooklyn); William O’Brien Jr. (Cambridge); Bjarke Ingels Group/BIG (Copenhagen)…

Vincent J. Scully will receive the 2010 Henry Hope Reed Award, and Rafael Manzano Martos will receive the 2010 Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture from the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture… Theoharis David was awarded the 2009 Prize in Architecture from the Cyprus Architects Association…

Bernard Tschumi, FAIA, has donated 43 drawings by his father, Swiss architect Jean Tschumi, to the Architecture and Design Department of the Museum of Modern Art…

The Board of Directors of the AIA selected Hanley Wood to develop an integrated media approach for the AIA’s official publication and annual convention…

The Institute for Urban Design has appointed Anne Guiney, formerly with The Architect’s Newspaper, as new executive director to succeed Olympia Kazi, who is departing to become the executive director of the Van Alen Institute…

Thornton Tomasetti has launched a new sustainability department… Debbi Waters, LEED AP, launched ForeSite, a national planning firm… Holzman Moss Architecture is changing its name to Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture (HMBA) to reflect the addition of new partner Nestor Bottino, AIA…

Helpern Architects has named Lisa Chronister, AIA, LEED AP, a principal, and Jahae Koo, AIA, LEED AP, a senior associate… EYP Architecture & Engineering announced that John Tobin, RA, LEED AP, has been promoted to director of architecture, and Tyson Curcio, LEED AP, to director of project delivery…

Charles McKinney, ASLA, has accepted a newly created position at the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, Principal Urban Designer… Cannon Design has named Peter Hourihan to fill its new position of director of research…

Walk Score is a website that calculates the walkability of any address.

2010 Oculus Editorial Calendar
If you are an architect by training or see yourself as an astute observer of New York’s architectural and planning scene, OCULUS editors want to hear from you! Projects/topics may be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based. Please submit story ideas by the deadlines indicated below to Kristen Richards: Kristen@ArchNewsNow.com.

THE 2010 THEMES:
Spring: Architect as Leader: (CLOSED).

Summer: AIANY Design Awards 2010: Recognition of outstanding architectural design by New York City architects and for work completed in New York City. There are four categories of Design Awards: Architecture, Interiors, Urban Design, and Un-built Work. Click here for details.
Register/Submit entries by 02.05.09

Fall: Thinking Back / Thinking Forward and Understanding the Shift: The recession has given us the opportunity to reflect on the last decades of design and building — and what might be ahead. We will investigate trends in design, building, and marketing that are coming into play. What are the next steps in social media, BIM, sustainability, technology, competitions, stalled projects, adaptive re-use, design for flexibility, mergers and firm acquisitions?
Submit story ideas by 05.21.09

Winter: Practice without Borders: The world is growing smaller. New York is an international city, and it is easier than ever for overseas firms to work here and for New York City firms to work abroad. We will look into reciprocity, licensure, removal of boundaries to practice, and international competitions as ways to build renown.
Submit story ideas by 08.13.09

02.19.10 Call for Entries: 2010 Vision Awards

In another mystifying development at Ground Zero, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) announced that a mural for the construction fence at the World Trade Center, designed by Sage & Coombe Architects, will instead be installed at Louise Nevelson Plaza in Lower Manhattan later this spring. According to Robin Pogrebin in her article, “Planned Mural Will Not Be Installed at Ground Zero,” The New York Times Art Beat, 01.08.10, despite winning a competition hosted by the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) and PANYNJ, the entry was deemed “not extraordinary enough” for the site.

At a site where construction barricades block access, entry to the subway and Path trains is an ever-changing maze, and a Subway restaurant will reach the top of the Freedom Tower before anything else, I wonder what is worthy enough for a construction fence? For a firm like Sage & Coombe (which has not responded publicly to the announcement), recipients of a 2007 AIANY Design Award for Interiors and part of the Mayor’s Design + Construction Excellence Program in 2007, having its winning entry pushed aside and relocated to a nondescript plaza is a major insult to the quality of its work.

Perhaps what the DOT and PANYNJ have planned is something truly spectacular, but for some reason I find it hard to believe that every entry to the competition was inadequate, and even more so that the winning entry did not deserve the prize.

In this issue:
· Recipe for New Design: The Robert at MAD
· What’s Cooking at the Freedom Tower
· Autohaus Shifts into Gear
· More Mixed-Use for Melrose Commons
· Louvre Expands LENS to Lille

Recipe for New Design: The Robert at MAD

The Robert.

Photo Credit: Andrea Malizia

The Robert, a 132-seat restaurant, recently opened on the ninth floor of the Museum of Arts and Design. Schefer Design created a flexible, open interior environment that maximizes views of Columbus Circle and Central Park. Materials such as metallic porcelain tiles, expanded metal ceiling panels, stainless-steel trim, tightly upholstered metallic fabric panels, decorative plaster, and strategically placed mirrored panels create a back-drop that reflects the museum’s architecture and provides a setting for selected art installations. London-based designer Philip Michael Wolfson created sculptural pieces including the restaurant’s two reception desks and a 15-foot-long steel communal table with a six-foot-tall “sound wave” element. Mobile-like LED-lit Lucite chandeliers and sconces were designed by San Francisco-based designer Johanna Grawunder, and Vladimir Kagan designed the upholstered furniture. A new video art piece, “Orbit 2” by artist Jennifer Steinkamp, is the first work to be displayed on the restaurant’s 103-inch plasma screen.

What’s Cooking at the Freedom Tower

The Subway restaurant is located in the Northwest Pod — containers NW31, NW32 AND NW33.

Courtesy PANYNJ; Courtesy DCM Erectors

A Subway restaurant has opened for Freedom Tower construction workers who want to stay in the tower during their half-hour lunch break (as the tower gets higher, it could take them 45 minutes to get to the street). The restaurant is like any other Subway, but the big difference is that it is housed in a series of shipping containers that will rise in tandem with the tower itself. A Subway franchisee was subcontracted by DCM Erectors, which fabricates and installs all of the tower’s structural steel. DCM Erectors was given the layout and they had the container fabricated to suit the constraints of the structure of the tower. The restaurant occupies three of nine top level containers. The remaining six containers in the pod are for dining areas and mechanical services.

Autohaus Shifts into Gear

Mercedes-Benz Autohaus.

The Spector Group

The Spector Group has been awarded the contract to design the new Mercedes-Benz Manhattan dealership in Clinton Park, a mixed-use development on 11th Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets designed by TEN Arquitectos and currently under construction by Two Trees Management. The dealership will occupy parts of the first two floors of the complex for showrooms and offices, and three levels below ground for service facilities. This is the only company-owned dealership in the country, and the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz Autohaus initiative, a new set of design standards geared toward optimizing the customer’s experience. The new facility will combine brand and architectural design elements that are oriented toward creating more transparency, comfort, and convenience. It will feature state-of-the-art showroom technology and a service area. In addition to the dealership, the $700 million Clinton Park includes more than 900 mixed income rental apartments, retail space, a health club, and a NYPD equestrian facility.

More Mixed-Use for Melrose Commons

Melrose Commons North Urban Renewal Area.

Magnusson Architecture & Planning

One of the last large city-owned tracts of land in the Melrose Commons North Urban Renewal Area (URA) in the Bronx will be transformed into a mixed-use project designed by Magnusson Architecture & Planning (MAP). Three connected buildings will include 260 units of low- to moderate-income family housing, subsidized senior housing, studios, and 27,500 square feet of retail space. The project is designed for LEED Silver certification; green features include solar heating, roof gardens, and storm water management. Developed by CPC Resources, The Bridge, and The Briarwood Organization; the latter will also construct the project. Under the auspices of the City of New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), 2,743 dwelling units have already been built or are currently under construction within the Melrose Commons URA, contributing to the city’s $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP) to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing.

Louvre Expands LENS to Lille

Louvre LENS.

SANAA/ImreyCulbert/Catherine Mosbach

Ground was recently broken on a former coalfield for the new Louvre LENS near the city of Lille in northern France. Co-designed by NY-based Imrey Culbert, Tokyo-based SANAA, and Paris-based Mosbach Paysagistes, the new branch of the Louvre will span 300,000 square feet and will house hundreds of artworks from the Louvre’s collection. Located on a 153-acre site, five one-story transparent and reflective pavilions will blend into the landscape. One of the pavilions, the Gallery of Time, will feature a semi-permanent exhibition of artworks regardless of styles and origins and arranged in chronological order — a departure from the way art is exhibited in Paris. A square-shaped pavilion in the center serves as the main reception area and will contain a large staircase that leads down to the first basement level. It will house a place where visitors can look down into the museum’s studios and see where artworks are prepared for display.

Hive at 55.

Courtesy of Hive at 55

Many unemployed architects pick up freelance projects as they wait for signs of economic revival, while others take the opportunity to start their own small practices. However, working from one’s apartment poses many challenges and obstacles to productivity, and renting office space in NYC can be prohibitively expensive. But now there is an affordable alternative. The Alliance for Downtown New York, in conjunction with the NYC Economic Development Corporation, 55 Broad Street, and the Rudin family have launched Hive at 55 , a new co-working facility.

The 4,000-square-foot, fully outfitted space provides shared workspace and support for small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. It is located at 55 Broad Street, also known as the New York Information and Technology Center. The facility includes workspace for more than 40 people at one time, in open seating and three private workrooms. Amenities include WiFi, fax, printer and copy machines, conference rooms, and bicycle storage. Conference rooms may be used for workshops, classes, seminars, and business meetings.