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06.26.07
Have you voiced your opinion yet about the five finalist teams to develop Governors Island? If not, be sure to view The Park at the Center of the World: Five Visions for Governors Island at the Center for Architecture, (See On View: At the Center for Architecture) and, now that summer is in full bloom, visit the island itself.
- Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP
In this issue:
·Fit City Addresses Global Energy Deficiency
·Architecture Brands the Green Standard
·NYC Government Inspires Civic Virtue
·Cities to Develop New Landscapes
·Projects of Lightness & Daring Win Design Awards
·Past Ideas Resurface at Governors Island
·Set Surrenders to Dance
·Architecture Inhabits Art at Venice Biennale
Event: Fit-City 2: Promoting Physical Activity Through Design
Location: Center for Architecture, 06.12.07
Keynote: Dr. Craig Zimring — environmental psychologist & professor of architecture and psychology, Georgia Tech
Speakers: Deputy Commissioner Mary Bassett, MD, MPH; Assistant Commissioner Lynn Silver, MD, MPH, FAAP; and Karen Lee, MD, MHSc — NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH); David Burney, AIA — Commissioner, NYC Department of Design and Construction; Joan Blumenfeld, FAIA, IIDA, LEED AP — AIANY President; Laurie Kerr, RA — Office of the Mayor; Joyce Lee, AIA — NYC Office of Management and Budget; Ellen Martin, RA — 1100 Architect; William Stein, AIA — Dattner Architects; Russell Unger — U.S. Green Building Council; Dan Wood, AIA — WORK ac
Organizer: AIANY; NYC DOH
Sponsor: NYC DOH; Esque provided by IZZE Beverage Company
The Fit City 2 panel urges cities to encourage Active Mobility.
Kristen Richards
We have a global and personal “Energy Problem” in America, posits Laurie Kerr, RA, of the NYC Office of the Mayor. At a personal level, part of the problem is too much “unusable” energy in (zero-value food products or simple over-eating), and not enough energy out (exercise or even basic movement). As a result, there is an increase in national obesity, which is fast becoming a chronic disease epidemic in the U.S. Remote control air conditioning, automatic doors, and eight hours at the office sitting in front of a computer screen comprise a few examples of activities straining our energy resources while decreasing personal movement. This conference brought together architects, designers, and public health professionals to address how building design and policy decisions can increase physical activity to improve health and conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
One of the biggest culprits is television, which is threatening to replace the refrigerator as the number one energy consumer in American households. There are two ways to look at it: flat-screen TVs are using massive amounts of energy, or people are sitting inertly in front of TVs most hours of the day. Offices and homes present key opportunities for designing increased movement integrated into the daily habits of occupants. On average, Americans gain one pound per year in their overall weight. This could be eliminated if each person took 4 flights of stairs daily. However, walking is not an option for everyone, and opportunities for exercise exist for people in wheelchairs and the aging population.
A successful architectural example, given by AIANY Executive Director Rick Bell, FAIA, is Millennium Park in Chicago, masterplanned by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Ramping meanders through outdoor park space facilitating wheelchair and bicycle movement in the city. In review of Fit City 2 recommendations, Bell acknowledged that congestion pricing can reduce car use in the city, resulting in reduction of fossil fuel exhaust, healthier air quality, and an increase of available space to build safe bike paths.
Government entities have the power to encourage physical activity. Panelists believe LEED points should be offered for designing increased physical activity in building design. Russell Unger, of the U.S. Green Building Council, hinted that buildings could get innovation points for such design efforts. Further, the NYC Department of Design + Construction (DDC) Commissioner David Burney, AIA, shared the pioneering history of the DDC as setting NYC guidelines for Sustainable Design, Universal Design, and Design Consultants. He suggested DDC would be ready to launch a new guideline for Active Living Design beginning with the information provided at all Fit City conferences.
Following the conference, the breakout session included the panelists and public in a focused discussion on Active Mobility. Hopefully, through task force groups, some of the ideas and suggestions will be incorporated into the Mayor’s PlaNYC.
Robyne Kassen is designing for increased mobility as the principal of NYC-based Pedestrian Studio.
Event: Brandism Series: Brand as Sustainability
Location: Center for Architecture, 05.23.07
Speakers: Michael Buckley, FAIA — Director, Columbia University Program in Real Estate Development; Andres Escobar — founder & principal, Andres Escobar & Associates; Robert F. Fox Jr., AIA — partner, Cook + Fox Architects; Alberto Foyo — principal, Alberto Foyo Architect; Kenneth Lewis, AIA — associate partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Christopher Sharples — founding partner, SHoP Architects
Moderator: Susan Szenasy — editor-in-chief, Metropolis
Organizers: Anna Klingmann, Assoc. AIA; AIANY
The Conde Nast Building, designed by FXFowle Architects, pioneered the green brand when it was constructed in 1999.
Jessica Sheridan
As NYC experiences a surge in building projects with “starchitecture” branding, it is also becoming an epicenter for green initiatives. The fifth in a six-part series, this panel targeted the possibilities of using “brandism” to promote sustainable thinking — how starchitecture can help forward sustainable building, and how environmentalism has become a brand in itself.
Environmental responsibility is on the verge of becoming a design mandate, with new software making performance-driven design even more attainable. Architects can model dynamic environments in real time and share with the client how sustainability positively impacts the bottom line over time. Already, the international housing market is experiencing a shift towards green, though dollar-driven Americans still equate green with high costs. Among renters, however, green demand is high and perhaps will cause a “trickle-up” effect.
Corporate developers are currently way ahead of their residential counterparts, who often eschew green measures in favor of speed. In order to target these developers, architects must devise a quick version of sustainable building, which can in turn be used as a marketing tool.
With innovative branding, green can be seen as a cost-effective solution. LEED has already had success branding itself as a model of eco-responsibility. By coupling the mandate for responsibility with the reality of energy savings, architects can send a message to clients that green makes sense on multiple levels.
To achieve this, the panel proposed government tax credits based on units of “greenness”; branding architects as sustainability experts; and rethinking curricula at universities. Car companies use celebrities to market hybrid cars to consumers. Likewise, architecture can use branding to market itself as a product with a message of eco-responsibility and cost-efficiency.
Kate Soto is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor.
Event: NYC: Design Challenge!
Location: Center for Architecture, 05.30.07
Speaker: Alexandros Washburn, AIA — Chief Urban Designer, NYC Department of City Planning
Sponsor: NYC Department of City Planning
Alexandros Washburn, AIA, Chief Urban Designer with Jeffrey Shumaker, Associate Urban Designer at the NYC Department of City Planning.
Kristen Richards
“There are a million people coming to the city. How should we grow?” was the question New York City’s Chief Urban Planner, Alex Washburn, AIA, put to the small but attentive gathering in the Center for Architecture’s library. There was nothing coy or ambiguous about his vision of the city’s future — honed by his tenure as an advisor to Senator Patrick Moynihan (and the only architect on the staff of a U.S. Senator). “The quality of public design is a political fact,” Washburn said. “Buildings don’t lie. Moynihan believed buildings make a city better. I still use his lessons every day.”
“It’s always been Jane versus Bob,” he continued, “blocks versus super-blocks,” referring to the famous (or infamous) battles between Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses. Though he holds some admiration for Moses’s ability to “ju-jitsu” government funding for transportation and public parks and creating public/private partnerships on “unprecedented scales,” Washburn said, “My heart is with Jacobs.”
He was asked why he left a very successful private practice (W Architecture and Landscape Architecture) to go back into government. He cited three reasons: Mayor Bloomberg’s “courageous” plaNYC 2030, a “genius financier” in Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, and “someone who cares totally about design,” City Planning Director Amanda Burden, Hon. AIANY. The challenge he sees now: to do skillful planning on a Moses-like scale that entails politics, civic and market demands, and design — an ideal melding of Moses/Jacobs priorities — that will increase the fine-grain texture of the city rather than erase it. The city’s commitment to green public open spaces and “pedestrians come first” approach is, in Washburn’s opinion, causing an evolution — “a new definition and a new paradigm for civic virtue. It’s time to get away from the birds-eye view and humanize how we plan the city,” he
said
resolutely.
Kristen Richards is editor of Oculus magazine and ArchNewsNow.com.
Event: Toward a Sustainable Urban Landscape
Location: The Morgan Library & Museum, 06.13.07
Speakers: Kenneth Frampton — Ware Professor of Architecture; Kate Orff, ASLA — Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture, Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP)
Organizers & Sponsors: Columbia University Alumni Association
Frampton and Orff call for a re-conceptualization of urban landscapes.
Jessica Sheridan
The future of the urban landscape depends on collaboration between architects and landscape architects. “The megalopolis is new nature,” writes Kenneth Frampton, Ware Professor Architecture at Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), in his essay “Toward an Urban Landscape.” To Kate Orff, ASLA, principal of SCAPE and Assistant Professor of Architecture at Columbia University, GSAPP, new urban reality is fertile ground for exploration.
The use of design strategies associated with landscape architecture may be the most promising response to the “unprecedented scale of urbanization” underway internationally, according to Frampton. Urban form must be re-conceptualized as “urban landscape” to create continuity across multiple scales. As examples, Frampton cites the Diagonals Haus L’Illa building by Rafael Moneo and Manuel de Solá-Morales in Barcelona, where architecture merges with urban form to create new hybrids of public space, and the Yokohama International Port Terminal by Foreign Office Architects, where a landscape-like spatial experience is fused with architectonic form, alluding to a new poetics of construction. Above all, Frampton hopes the integration of landscape and architecture, with an emphasis on the public realm, will renew architecture’s role as a “social, cultural, and political act.”
To Kate Orff, designers must address the meaning of “new nature” posed by Frampton. Orff adds her own call to action for designers to think of “nature as a design issue” requiring cross-disciplinary methods that unite nature and engineering. While this is not a new concept (see Olmsted’s Central Park), it is particularly appropriate in response to contemporary issues of climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation. With the Urban Landscape Lab at Columbia, Orff leads Urban Ecology studios focused on complex urban/natural environments such as the Gateway National Recreation Area and Flushing Meadows/Corona Park. She and her students find design inspiration in the pragmatic demands of environmental issues such a waste management. By blurring boundaries of design and science, Orff endeavors to “fabricate” these “new natures.”
Gregory Haley, AIA, AICP, LEED AP, is a project architect and urban designer at Studio V Architecture, and teaches architectural design studios at NYIT School of Architecture.
Event: AIA New York Chapter 2007 Design Awards Winners Symposium: Projects
Location: Center for Architecture, 06.13.07
Speakers: Alexander Cooper, FAIA — Cooper, Robertson & Partners; Thomas Phifer, AIA, FAAR 95 — Thomas Phifer and Partners; Eric Bunge, AIA — nARCHITECTS; Sara Caples, AIA — Caples Jefferson Architects; Robert Siegel, AIA — Robert Siegel Architects; Henry Smith-Miller & Christian Uhl — Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects; Kathryn Ogawa, AIA — Ogawa/Depardon Architects; Lea Cloud, AIA — CR Studio; Astrid Lipka — Lyn Rice Architects; James von Klemperer, FAIA — Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects; Robert Rogers, AIA — Rogers Marvel Architects; Frederic Schwartz, FAIA — Frederic Schwartz Architects
Moderator: Peter Waldman — juror, AIANY 2007 Design Awards
Organizers: AIANY Design Awards Committee
Courtesy AIANY
The Projects category of the 2007 Design Awards recognized 14 designs that are landscapes, still on the boards, fleeting, or otherwise ineligible for the Architecture and Interiors category. Light structures, flowing forms, and new ideas caught the jury’s eye, according to juror Peter Waldman.
The two Honor awards in the category went to projects memorable for their organic forms. Windshape, designed by nARCHITECTS, is a temporary inhabitable installation for the Savannah College of Art’s summer campus in Lacoste, France, that hosted events throughout the summer of 2006. Students helped wrap 30 miles of string around structural “tripods” made of arcing plastic pipes. As the wind increased, Windshape moved and shimmered over the natural landscape.
After gestating in the office for six years, Thomas Phifer and Partners’ design for the North Carolina Museum of Art is just now gearing up for construction. A “silky” roof of coffers and curved oculi will cover luminous gallery spaces. A series of louvers modulate sun and temperature. Landscape infiltrates the building plan, as the architects thought fitting for a museum with a well-known sculpture garden.
Thomas Phifer and Partners also won a Merit Award with the Office for Visual Interaction and Werner Sobek Ingenieure for a cast aluminum streetlight — the fifth in New York City’s “catalogue,” and the first to be added in 40 years. A taut LED strip, powered by a photovoltaic array, illuminates the entire cantilevered arm.
The façade of Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects’ 82-unit condominium 405 W. 53rd Street ripples like a boardwalk, permitting the best possible views of the Hudson River. Not yet constructed, this Merit Award winner will offer maisonettes in the tradition of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseille.
Rogers Marvel Architects won Merit Awards for two projects. For the Battery Park City Streetscapes, they designed a security system that incorporates street surfaces designed to collapse under the weight of a laden truck. A new park at 55 Water Street Plaza — a.k.a. An Elevated Acre — includes performance and play areas, artificial hillocks, and a steel-and-glass beacon whose colored evening glow is meant to enliven the southeastern tip of Manhattan.
A Merit Award also went to Robert Siegel Architects for the United States Land Port of Entry in Calais, Maine. Still in planning stages, this competition-winning project aims to deliver a welcoming gateway to the U.S., remain sensitive to the glacial geology of the site, and provide security by creating two fixed access bridges.
The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons The New School for Design will be a soup-to-nuts rethinking of the ground floor of a campus building. Windows with occupiable ledges will be punched through the now-opaque façade, so that work displayed within will form the identity of the Center.
On the boards at Kohn Pederson Fox Architects is a pair of residential high-rises, 71 and 32 stories, for Pershing Square, Los Angeles. Going beyond the typical extrusion, Park Fifth creates “stacked neighborhoods” with a variety of scales and typologies. A low hotel/spa complex creates a monumental gateway.
Frederic Schwartz, FAIA, presented the NOLA shotgunLOFT Affordable Housing, an “affordable, sustainable, quality” housing project that received a Certificate of Excellence in the Global Green USA Housing Competition (sponsored by Brad Pitt). This prefab reinterpretation of the shotgun house includes a double-height space to enable natural ventilation, photovoltaic arrays, and some geothermal temperature regulation. While there is said to be a net 93% energy savings, Schwartz noted that some of the sustainable features were only possible thanks to the Hollywood budget available.
The Merit Award-winning 33,000-square-foot Zuccotti Park just southeast of Ground Zero, designed by Cooper, Robertson & Partners, has been in the works for 10 years. A reorientation effected with planters and an array of light strips in the paving will improve this open space won for the public through transfer zoning.
The Merit Award-winning Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, designed by Caples Jefferson Architects, celebrates a group of 19th century tenement buildings. The “heritage destination,” according to Sara Caples, AIA, acts as a gateway to the past with embedded artifacts and patterns derived from African art.
The Projects category of the AIANY Design Awards is, by nature, the most diverse. The 14 winning projects range in scale and type, are unbuilt or under construction, and are both temporary and permanent. The array of new ideas in the profession is reflected in this category, which was one of the jury’s main goals. More detailed reflections of jury members Peter Waldman, Frank Harmon, FAIA, and Jeanne Gang, AIA, are captured in a DVD now available for free from the AIANY.
Elon Danziger, Assoc. AIA, is a project manager at Silberstang Lasky Architects. He studied architecture in Virginia and Mendrisio, Switzerland.
Event: Designing Governors Island: In Conversation and Open House
Location: Van Alen Institute, 06.13.07
Speakers: Raymond Gastil — Director, Manhattan Office, NYC Planning Department; Linda Pollak, AIA, ASLA Associate — partner, Marpillero Pollak Architects; Tracy Metz — author & journalist; Damon Rich — founder and creative director, Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)
Moderator: Chee Pearlman, ISDA — director, Chee Company
Organizer & Sponsor: Van Alen Institute
How can an ideas competition from over 10 years ago influence current design trends? The “Public Property” competition for Governors Island is one case study.
Courtesy Van Alen Institute
In 1996, the Van Alen Institute hosted “Public Property,” a competition for Governors Island that called for ideas about how the island could be used if it were to become public property. Now that the land is public, and five teams are competing to design the island’s future, panelists convened town-meeting style to discuss the relevance of open ideas competitions in general, and speculate about how the original competition may have influenced current proposals.
Praising the value of ideas competitions, author and journalist Tracy Metz believes the “viral buzz of the Internet” can generate diverse ideas from a broad spectrum of designers and the public. Competitions make sites visible and create dialogue about the site, stated Linda Pollack, AIA, ASLA Associate, partner of Marpillero Pollak Architects. However, it is unfortunate that winning submissions are not always realized, and competition sponsors do not always make this clear to entrants. Competitions for public projects can influence a community creating a forum for the public to communicate how they would like to see their neighborhood developed, according to Damon Rich, founder and creative director of the Center for Urban Pedagogy. Raymond Gastil, Director of the Manhattan Office of the NYC Planning Department, sees competitions as a way to merge the boundaries between the public and designers, allowing design to enhance public space.
After Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg declared Governors Island public property in 2006, the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) summoned “visionary ideas to redevelop and preserve” the island. This July, one of the five finalist teams will be selected. As proof of the influence of “Public Property,” it will be interesting to see if ideas presented in 1996 will reappear in the final design.
To see the five finalist proposals, the Center for Architecture and Governors Island are hosting an exhibition, “The Park at the Center of the World: Five Visions for Governors Island” See On View: At the Center for Architecture for more information.
Rebecca Ward is a New York-based writer.
Event: SURRENDER — Wendy Osserman Dance Company
Location: The Duke on 42nd Street, 06.06-09.07
Choreography: Wendy Osserman in collaboration with the dancers
Dancers: Charis Haines; Cori Kresge; Victoria Lundell; Wendy Osserman; Emily Quant; Aya Shibahara; Justin Ternullo
Composer: Rosi Hertlein
Musicians: Rosi Hertlein; Warren Smith
Lighting Design: Kathy Kaufmnan
Set Design: Illya Azaroff, Assoc. AIA — the design collective studio
Costumes: Cori Kresge; Aya Shibahara
The set for SURRENDER evokes Klimt and Ernst.
Illya Azaroff
Both architecture and dance can explore the relation between performer and environment. “Dance is a testing ground for architectural ideas,” says Illya Azaroff, Assoc. AIA, Director of Design of the design collective studio and set designer for SURRENDER, recently performed by the Wendy Osserman Dance Company. The performance was inspired by the work of Gustav Klimt and Max Ernst, and in response to the paintings and the dancers’ movement, Azaroff created a set that both highlights and camouflages the performers. Along with the integrated lighting, costumes, and music, the boundaries among different media rhythmically shift throughout.
The minimal set is a collage comprised of three elements: a suspended ladder-like component stage right; a white, slashing sculpture stage left; and a swooping curtain moving from the ceiling stage right to the floor stage left. Each element shifts in meaning and use throughout the performance. For example, in “The Fall” the set seems to take cue from the dancer’s actions — when she flows, her movement blends with the curtain; when she agitatedly gestures, the sculpture seems to argue with her. In “Seasnakes” the colors of the costumes blend in with patterns projected onto the curtain. Dancers alternate fading in with and separating from the background as they carry cumbersome objects on their backs. When they strip from their burdens, the sculpture acts as a shelter protecting them as they expose their inner selves. And in the final piece, “Owning It,” the ladder is the central object. The scattered, rectangular lighting on
the floor appears as if rungs had fallen from
above.
In conversation with Azaroff, he discussed the collaborative process with Osserman, focusing on how the discourse about Klimt and Ernst paintings enhanced the design process. While Osserman concentrated on composition, Azaroff was captivated by space. As they both began to incorporate human scale into the performance, the set and dances were developed separately but equally. Ultimately, the music, costumes, and light created the overlap needed to fuse all of the elements together.
The many layers recall Surrealism and Symbolism in general, but it is the performer/environment relationship that highlights the direct connection to Klimt and Ernst. Sometimes blending and other times acting in opposition to each other, the set and dancers inhabit the stage defining and redefining their relation to each other. The design collective’s website states that the driving force behind the firm’s work is to assemble collaborative teams to create “landscapes of the imagination.” SURRENDER exemplifies this in every way.
Event: La Biennale di Venezia — Art Section: Think with the Senses — Feel with the Mind. Art in the Present Tense.
Location: Venice, Italy, 06.10-11.21.07
Curator: Robert Storr — Biennale Art Director
Monika Sosnowska’s installation in the Polish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
Johannes Knoops
While the terms “art” and “architecture” are by no means synonymous, and while each camp benefits from tracking the other, I become itchy over such slurs as “Frank Gehry… the sculptor,” and “Frank Stella… the architect.” But I can point to several architectural strategies evident in this year’s 52nd International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, Think with the Senses — Feel with the Mind. Art in the Present Tense.
Monika Sosnowska tests the volumetric limits of the container with a structure that appears to be crunched and crammed to fit within the Polish Pavilion. The jagged linear result fills the space with visions of structural failure.
In the fantasy world of Canadian artist David Altmejd, his psychological pathos incorporates the contextual botanical reality beyond the gallery’s windows. By visually uniting the trees of the Giardini Biennale (the grounds on which many of the national pavilions are sited) with his constructed dream world of man-eagles and lurking squirrels in strategically placed mirrors, the walls of the gallery infuse his world with ours.
Surfaces altering between transparency and reflection test your sense of safe passage through the Belgian Pavilion. Despite the conscious “nerdiness” of artist Eric Duyckaerts’ pseudo lectures that confront you along your journey, the craft and refinement of the physical labyrinth lend the installation a Miesian visual elegance.
Black boxes that are sliced in two are posited about the Hungarian Pavilion in Andreas Fogarasi’s tectonic installation. Spread apart, the two pieces of each black box form a theater: one end shades a video screen from the sun-drenched gallery, while the other forms a seat for viewing that video. Depending on their positions in the space, each pair is kept either at an intimate distance or spread apart to permit passage by others while maintaining their axial relationship.
Yves Netzhammer and Christine Streuli diagonally slice the Swiss Pavilion with a single plane that reorders both its exterior and interior spaces in section. From the path outside, an elaborately painted plane calls out to the passing public like a Soviet Constructivist marquee graphically wearing its message. Upon entering the pavilion one is sheltered below this same plane while videos weave and co-exist with the contents of its painting. Matched in inclination, two stairs elevate you to a new internal space within the existing pavilion. This theater employs an existing wall as its screen while viewers recline on the plane’s slope.
Many moments exist beyond the architecture at this year’s Art Biennale, but these five installations operate in a realm of current architectural discourse, questioning boundary, plane, and perception.
Johannes Knoops, Assoc. AIA, FAAR, is a designer and educator focused on issues of mapping, metaphor, and artifact. This inquiry has recently received a third “UNbuilt” Architecture Award, while his next project to explore the spatial implications within Venetian business cards, has just received support from the Emily Harvey Foundation.
Speaking at the New York Building Congress breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental on June 19, The Port Authority of NY & NJ Executive Director Anthony E. Shorris led off his remarks by quoting Mies van der Rohe: “Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space.” True enough, but the remarkable thing is that we now have a Harvard and Princeton-educated Port chief executive who not only knows that Mies is more, but knows how to use him to talk with construction industry and labor leaders about a new spirit of openness at the Port Authority. The remarks, paralleled by pronouncements by Governors Spitzer and Corzine, is indicative of changes in Port Authority Board rules and procedures that will allow for greater public participation (see also “Port Authority Tentatively Approves Changes Aimed at Increasing Public Scrutiny,” by Ken
Belson, The NY Times, N.Y./Region,
06.22.07).
Shorris previously served as Deputy Chancellor for Operations and Policy at the New York City Board of Education, and was a faculty member at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. For the June 19 audience of building execs he spoke of the Port Authority’s goals in the following words: “The Port Authority should be marked by the audacity of the past without the arrogance. The Port Authority is fundamentally a BUILDING agency. Quality of design, excellence of design, is one of the criteria by which we judge projects. We will see what can be applicable from the Federal GSA model. Buildings like the transit hub by Calatrava are more than functional, they are grand.”
He noted that, “We are making the agency operate more transparently, doing things that other governmental agencies have been doing for a long time. The Port Authority should meet or exceed the standards of both states and institutionalize those changes so that these improvements survive the tenure of any Director. Ultimately, the agency should not do anything that it is afraid to talk to everyone about. The Port has been moving in this direction for months. We are proud of what we do, and showing people what we do. Openness and transparency do not conflict with the excellence of our staff and our ability to deliver projects.” After the attack on the World Trade Center, where many Port Authority employees perished, there was a renewed sense of purpose and a glimmering of openness in an agency previously known for its secretive behavior. With Board meetings now to be open to the public and press, more information about project planning and design consultant
procurement will be
accessible.
During the Q&A period, Shorris elaborated upon the Port Authority’s role in several major upcoming projects or plans, starting with the long-planned transformation of the Farley Post Office Building into a major rail hub. He noted, “At Moynahan Station the Port Authority’s role is predominantly in collaboration with New Jersey Transit on Access to the Region’s Core. We are also looking at a new baggage-checking facility. That grand transit hub needs to be fully integrated, linking as well to the PATH system at 34th Street.”
In response to a question about Representative Jerrold Nadler’s quest for a rail freight tunnel, he said: “Freight capacity needs to be expanded and we need to get some trucks off the road to reduce air pollution. The movement of freight in the region is something that the Port is best able to manage. It is a central question environmentally…. The Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel general plan is to be a joint effort with New Jersey Transit — we need to do this together, and we’re committed to a robust partnership to make sure that we get this implemented since it is so important to the two states.”
His conclusion about collaboration was optimistic: “The identification of enormous infrastructure projects in the region is an important thing — it has to be something that over the long term generates more revenue. Both governors are interested in moving big infrastructure projects. But the Feds are not great partners on this, so we have to find some locally generated revenue. We are fortunate now to have two governors and a mayor who are desirous of getting things built. They are so much of a mind that it is great to watch them work together. The public has not seen its government look to execute great public works the way we have the possibility to achieve now. The public needs to see that this can happen. People see a connection between resources and the quality of their lives. If we can show people that investments in infrastructure can lead to better quality of life, there will be support.”
We look forward to ongoing opportunities to see the palpable results of these process changes and project planning overtures.
Recently, there has been much discussion about the future of Governors Island. As the date approaches for one of the five finalist teams to be selected to develop the island, the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) has been soliciting opinions from the public. After visiting the island, viewing the current exhibition at the Center for Architecture (See On View At the Center for Architecture), attending a panel discussion at the Center with various governing officials involved in the decision process (See the AIANY online calendar), and interviewing Leslie Koch, President of GIPEC (See Conversation published 05.30.07), I have decided which of the five entries I prefer.
What I like about the West 8/Rogers Marvel Architects/Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Quennell Rothschild and Partners/SMWM entry is that it explores a range of ideas to satisfy visitors of all ages without relying on historic precedent. The proposal provides 3,000 free bicycles and lounge chairs to be used throughout the island. The north end of the island will retain its existing historic identity, largely untouched, and the south end will develop naturally as a marsh. Demolition debris will be used to create a “vertical landscape.” Eventually, the south and north ends of the island will be separated by a 40-foot-wide channel along the original boundary of the island (the southern end was created from subway construction infill).
Sustainability is taken into account in a variety of ways, from wind turbines to hydroelectric and solar energy generators. Time passage is incorporated into the tree layout; in principle, the essence of the scheme will be preserved even if 40% of the trees remain after 20 years. The vertical landscape is organized to reflect veins in an insect wing strategically placed to frame views of the water and Statue of Liberty.
One of the most successful aspects of the proposal, in my opinion, is that it respects Governors Island as it is and does not try to over-develop too quickly. The first phase hardly changes the island’s existing conditions, only adding a few amenities to entice visitors. Phase 2 integrates the simpler design aspects of the proposal, and the third phase is reserved only if enthusiasm and funds are available. With this strategy, the population can ease into the more radical ideas put forth, and GIPEC can gauge whether or not it is reasonable to develop further.
Although “a team not a scheme” will be selected, and the design and development will change as reality sets in, I think this scheme reflects an intelligent, feasible strategy worth exploring further. To view all five teams’ submissions, read firm bios, scroll through public feedback, and give your own opinions, check out The Park at the Center of the World website.
In this issue:
·Residence Hall is First to Go LEED Gold
·Playground Makes Builders of Preschoolers
·New Vision Proposed for East River Waterfront
·Chanel Packaged and Ready for Beverly Hills Debut
·New Arts Center Develops Alongside Modern Landmarks
·Williams College Welcomes New Student Center
Residence Hall is First to Go LEED Gold
Langdon Woods residence hall for Plymouth State University.
Cannon Design
The Buffalo office of Cannon Design recently completed the first residence hall to earn LEED Gold, Langdon Woods for Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. The firm engaged the university by holding design workshops, environmental classes where students computed the carbon footprint of the wood, brick, and glass proposed for use in construction, and sociology classes to develop an ethical manifesto to inform future sustainable campus projects. The numbers tell the story: the hall is 58% more energy-efficient than a conventional building of its size, saving the university nearly $230,000 a year; a 40% reduction in water use conserves almost 1.4 million gallons of water a year; 20% of building incorporates recycled materials, 36% of which come from within 500 miles of the project site; almost 70% of the wood used was harvested from responsibly managed forests; and 80% of construction waste was diverted from landfills.
Playground Makes Builders of Preschoolers
The New York Hall of Science Playground.
BKSK Architects
A 30,000-square-foot addition to the New York Hall of Science Playground in Queens, the largest science playground in the U.S., has been designed by BKSK Architects in association with Lee Weintraub, Landscape Architecture, expressly for preschool-age children. Children can discover fundamental principles of physics, architecture, and ecology through interactive play. The $2.7 million playground includes a Bridge Path with landscaped hills and pathways of varying elevations. A Shelter Path offers enclosures that dot the landscape recalling follies once popular in picturesque English gardens. A giant Rabbit Hole and Interactive Nest evoke animal shelters, and a Sand Path and Mushroom Water Pump allow children to become builders in an environment where natural materials can change shape and consistency. The new playground compliments the existing and adjacent playground designed by BKSK in 1999 for older kids.
New Vision Proposed for East River Waterfront
A new vision for Manhattan’s East River Waterfront.
Courtesy Municipal Art Society
Architect Ricardo Scofidio, AIA, and landscape architects Ken Smith, ASLA, Matthew Urbanski, ASLA, Margie Ruddick, ASLA, Kate Orff, ASLA, and Brian Jencek gathered to brainstorm about the future of Midtown Manhattan’s East River waterfront. Since NY State is planning to rebuild the midtown section of FDR Drive, the former Con Ed power plant site is being redeveloped and NYC is planning to facilitate an adjacent waterfront esplanade to the United Nations. The Municipal Art Society (MAS), City Councilmember Daniel Garodnick, and Manhattan’s Community Board 6 organized the charrette to explore development options. Ideas included: the realignment and lowering of the 42nd Street exit ramp off the FDR, elevating people not traffic, to create a “grand urban terrace” overlooking the river from 38th to 42nd Street; a “forested hill” surrounding an existing ventilation shaft; a glowing six-story pylon to anchor a ferry terminal; a restaurant and
vertical public space; and means to descend to the river.
Chanel Packaged and Ready for Beverly Hills Debut
The Chanel West Coast flagship store.
Peter Marino Architect for Chanel
After an extensive interior and exterior redesign by long-time Chanel collaborator Peter Marino Architect, the Chanel West Coast flagship store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is set to reopen later this summer. The 14,700-square-foot, four-story building will house two boutiques and a rooftop penthouse suite and terrace for private client events. As in other Chanel stores Peter Marino, FAIA, has designed internationally, the architect incorporated the brand’s icons throughout. The façade is inspired by the Chanel No 5 perfume box using milky-white microglass outlined in blackened steel. A grand stair, which cascades into a series of display terraces, rises past an LED luminary wall — a hallmark of Chanel flagships — to the second floor’s custom-designed wool and silk carpets, patterned after the label’s classic tweed. The rooftop features thousands of tone-on-tone LED’s illuminating a collection of the Chanel Double-C logo.
New Arts Center Develops Alongside Modern Landmarks
Reva and David Logan Center for Creative and Performing Arts.
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
The University of Chicago has awarded the design of the $100 million Reva and David Logan Center for Creative and Performing Arts to NY-based Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. The center will provide performance, lecture, and exhibition venues for all areas of artistic expression, and is slated for opening in 2011. Key facilities will include studios, classrooms, and exhibition space for the visual arts, rehearsal and shop areas, as well as a black-box theater; individual music practice and ensemble rehearsal rooms, multipurpose performance space; a film vault and a lecture/film screening hall, digital media and editing labs, and state-of-the-art media classrooms. The center will be located alongside Fredrick Law Olmsted’s Midway Plaisance, one block from Mies van der Rohe’s School of Social Science Administration, and two blocks from Eero Saarinen’s Laird Bell Law Quadrangle.
Williams College Welcomes New Student Center
The new student center at Williams College.
Polshek Partnership Architects
The new 90,000-square-foot, $44.5 million Paresky Center, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, recently opened on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, MA. Sited at the 400-acre campus center, it is a new focal point for student life. The new building provides a venue for student and social activities, including formal and informal dining, meetings, gatherings, performances, and study and lounge areas, which were formerly dispersed around campus or inadequately housed. In its proportions, furnishings, and materials the double-height space takes cue from 19th-century resort lodges. Cherry flooring from nearby Great Barrington, and slate and tiling from Vermont relate to the New England character of the campus. In addition, the building employs a number of energy saving and sustainable design features consistent with the LEED guidelines.
In this issue:
·AIA Presidents Call for Global Response to Climate Change
·AIANY 2007 Grants Awards at Annual Meeting
·Southpoint Goes North
·AIANY Members Teach at Harvard GSD’s Executive Education Program
·Passing: Margaret Helfand, FAIA
AIA Presidents Call for Global Response to Climate Change
At the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2007 National Convention in San Antonio, the presidents of 16 national, regional and international architectural associations spoke in one voice to urge the design and construction industry to adopt well-defined global sustainability goals as the benchmarks of their practice. They established the San Antonio Declaration:
We the undersigned, presidents of our respective national architectural institutes, acknowledge the critical nature of global climate change and the urgent need to mount a global response. Statistics clearly show the preponderant responsibility of the design and construction industry for energy consumption and carbon emissions in building construction and operations.
Over the past 35 years, a long list of increasingly urgent calls for responsible action have been issued on the world stage: from United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972; to the Bruntland Report, “Our Common Future” produced in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development; to the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992; to the Declaration of Interdependence for a Sustainable Future, UIA/AIA World Congress of Architects, Chicago, 18-21 June 1993; to the three environmental principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
We call on all architects, engineers, contractors, developers and educators to adopt and implement these sustainability goals as the benchmarks of their practice.
AIANY 2007 Grants Awards at Annual Meeting
AIANY bestowed eight awards and six citations for excellence at the Chapter’s 140th Annual Meeting at the Center for Architecture. The recipient of the Medal of Honor — AIANY’s highest award — went to Weiss/Manfredi Architects.
Other awards included the Public Architect Award to Stephanie Gelb, AIA, Vice President of Planning and Design for Battery Park City Authority; the AIANY Award of Merit for non-professional contributions to the profession went to Adam Weinberg, the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art; the George S. Lewis Award for contributing to the betterment of New York City went to Friends of the High Line; the Harry B. Rutkins Award for Service to the Chapter went to Andy Frankl, President and CEO of Ibex Construction; the Oculus Award for excellence in architectural journalism went to The Architect’s Newspaper; and the Andrew J. Thomas Pioneer in Housing Award to Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, a NY-based firm specializing in affordable and sustainable housing. David Dunlap, of The New York Times, is this year’s
Honorary
Member.
Special Citations were bestowed on: Susan Szenasy, Editor-in-Chief of Metropolis; plaNYC represented by Rohit Aggarwala of the Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability; and Jared Della Valle, AIA, LEED AP, and Andrew Bernheimer, AIA, for their innovative work in the NYC Housing, Preservation and Development agency’s New Foundations Program in East New York.
Three Vice Presidential Citations were also awarded. Annie Kurtin, AIANY’s Communications and Policy Coordinator, received the Vice Presidential Citation for Public Outreach; Ralph Steinglass, FAIA, Chair of the AIANY Professional Practice Committee, received the Vice Presidential Citation for Professional Development; and Umberto Dindo, AIA, Chair of the AIANY Architecture in Education Committee, was awarded the Vice Presidential Citation for Design Excellence.
Southpoint Goes North
By Carolyn Sponza, AIA, AIANY Vice President for Professional Development, Southpoint competition organizer
An abbreviated version of the Center for Architecture’s 2006 exhibition Southpoint: from Ruin to Rejuvenation is navigating its way around other New York Chapters, courtesy of a traveling program funded by AIA New York State. Exhibiting work from the Emerging NY Architects (ENYA) Committee’s biennial design competition of the same name, the show has traveled to the AIA Buffalo and AIA Rochester chapters, which have both hosted opening receptions and presentations given by the competition’s coordinators. This is the second ENYA biennial competition to tour chapters statewide — the first was the Groen Hoek competition, launched in 2003.
At the Rochester opening, Carolyn Sponza, AIA, Vice President for Professional Development AIANY, presented the competition planning process and lessons learned that any planning group might apply to future competitions. After the presentation, attendees discussed how the concept of either an ideas or built competition for young architects could be translated locally in Rochester. The Chapter had recently hosted a design competition for “the house of the future” in conjunction with Rochester magazine.
If you missed the exhibition at the Center for Architecture, the traveling version of Southpoint: from Ruin to Rejuvenation will be moving closer to home in July, opening at AIA Long Island. Also, keep an eye out for the launch of ENYA’s new biennial competition in September 2007. Visit the ENYA Competitions website and sign up to receive e-mail updates.
AIANY Members Teach at Harvard GSD’s Executive Education Program
By Stephen Kliment, FAIA
This summer’s Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) Executive Education Program lists some 40 courses ranging from one to three days, and covering design ideas and technologies; business practices such as financial management, contract fundamentals, writing, and leadership; planning and real estate development. Instructors for the summer program include the following AIANY Chapter members (course names are in parentheses)
· Randolph Croxton, FAIA (Architecture and Sustainability: Integrating Built and Natural Environments; also The Sustainable Campus: Restorative Pathways of Growth on Campus)
· Julia Monk, AIA, (Hotel Design and Development: Hospitality for the Future)
· Gregory Beck, AIA (Experience Architecture)
· William Pedersen, Jr., FAIA (The New American Courthouse)
· Walter Chatham, FAIA (Alternative House Practices: Designing Development Homes)
· Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA (Writing for Success in Architecture and Engineering Design Practice)
· Raymond C. Bordwell, AIA (Public School Planning and Design)
· J. David Hoglund, FAIA (Planning and Design for a New Generation of Seniors: a Focused Look at Retirement)
· Robert A. Klein, AIA (Strategic Facilities Planning: Aligning Real Estate and Facility Assets with Business Goals)
For details on these and other courses, visit the website and click on Summer Programs. Or call 617.384.7214.
By Joan Blumenfeld, FAIA, IIDA, LEED AP, AIANY President
Margaret Helfand, FAIA, celebrating her firm’s exhibition design at the opening of The Fashion of Architecture CONSTRUCTING the Architecture of Fashion at the Center for Architecture in January 2006.
Kristen Richards
It is with great sorrow that we note the passing of Margaret Helfand, FAIA, on June 20, 2007. The AIANY Chapter has lost a great friend, a tireless advocate, and a talented practitioner.
As President of the Chapter in 2001, Margaret was one of the driving forces behind the conception and eventual realization of the Center for Architecture. She had the vision and foresight to see the value and the possibilities in the dream of having a unique place where architects and the public could together celebrate the built environment. She was one of the few individuals who could reach beyond the day-to-day in her strategic thinking, and this ability also stood her well in her role as co-chair for New York New Visions. Her intelligence, organizational skills, and energy were instrumental in the successful development of guidelines for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan.
Throughout the past few years, she had remained a consistent and valued presence at the Center. As chair of numerous committees, such as Exhibitions, Coordinating, and the Advisory Council, she dedicated considerable time and effort into making sure the Center was a success. Her passion for architecture and for the mission of the Chapter and the Center was clearly evident in everything she did.
Somehow, in addition to her involvement with the Chapter and the Center, she managed to run a successful design practice, a practice whose creative and sensitive work has won numerous awards at local, state, and national levels. She served as a role model for women in the profession, and during the course of her career she was a pioneer in that way.
We, collectively, suffered a great loss last week. It is hard to believe that we will not see her at the Center, and get to talk to her, have the benefit of her sage advice and guidance, and hear her laugh. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends. We all will miss her.
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The Architectural League of NY has announced that New New York: Fast Forward, the recent exhibition on new development in NYC, has been reborn as a website and portfolio-sized traveling show. On the website, videos of 30 architects featured in the exhibition discussing topics ranging from the current state of NYC urban development to Jane Jacobs vs. Robert Moses are available. Interviews include: Sara Caples, AIA; Stephen Cassell, AIA; David Childs, FAIA; Bruce Fowle, FAIA, LEED AP; Hugh Hardy, FAIA; Gordon Kipping, AIA; Richard Meier, FAIA; Gregg Pasquarelli; Ronnette Riley, FAIA; Frederic Schwartz, FAIA; Michael Sorkin; Robert A.M. Stern, FAIA; and Billie Tsien, AIA.
The travel version of the exhibition, available by appointment at the League office, includes DVDs of all interviews, a portable DVD player, and notebooks exploring nearly 600 new projects. Offices and schools may request an on-site presentation. For more information, or to make an appointment, e-mail exhibition curator Gregory Wessner.
The Illuminating Engineering Society New York Section (IESNY) announced the recipients of the 2006 Lumen Awards for lighting design in the following categories: Award of Excellence — Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design: 7WTC (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill/James Carpenter Design Associates); Citation Awards — Leni Schwendinger Light Projects: illumination of Coney Island Parachute Jump; and Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design: Minneapolis Central Library Children’s Reading Room (Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/Architectural Alliance).
Citation for Daylighting — Tanteri + Associates: Museo de Arte de Ponce (Luis Gutierrez Architect); and Merit Awards — Renfro Design Group: 21c Museum Hotel (Deborah Berke & Partners Architects/K. Norman Berry Associates Architects); Tillotson Design Associates: Alessi Flagship Store (Asymptote); Fisher Marantz Stone: Georgia Aquarium (Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback/Peckham Guyton Albers & Viets/Heery International); Arc Light Design: Millennium Hilton Bangkok (BARstudio); Sachs Morgan Studio: Temple Emanu-El (Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners); and Ann Schiffers Lighting Design: Third Point (Slade Architecture/TPG Architecture)…
Steven Holl Architects was awarded two RIBA International Awards for Architecture 2007 for the New Residence at the Swiss Embassy and the School for Art & Art History at the University of Iowa (also 2007 AIANY Design Award winners)… The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, designed by Bermello Ajamil & Partners, was honored with “Best New U.S. Homeport” by Porthole Cruise Magazine, and “Best Turnaround Port” by Princess Cruise Lines… The Brooklyn and Manhattan Cruise Terminals were together chosen as “Best U.S. Homeport” by TravelAge West… The Battery Maritime Building has won the 2007 Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) MASterwork Award for Best Commercial Restoration…
The ACE Mentor Program of Greater New York announced 47 four-year scholarship awards. Top winners were Diniece Peters and Steven Montoni. Click here for the complete list of winners…
This fall, AIA Chicago will launch a new professional publication, Chicago Architect… Justin Davidson will be New York magazine’s new classical music and architecture critic…
RMJM and Hillier Architecture have merged to become RMJM Hillier… Andres Lepik will join MoMA as a Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design… Joan Gerner, Assoc. AIA, was named Executive Vice President for Design, Construction and Capital Planning of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation… Gilbert Delgado, AIA, has been named Cornell University architect…
The Friends of the High Line hosted their 7th Annual Summer Benefit and Highliner’s Summer Party at the IAC Building June 20.
(Left) Friends of the High Line co-founder Robert Hammond, AIA, with Ricardo Scofidio, AIA. (Right) Joshua David, Friends of the High Line co-founder, and Gary Handel, AIA.
©Patrick McMullan, courtesy Friends of the High Line
Openhousenewyork (OHNY) held a benefit at the Riverhouse Sales & Discovery Center June 7. Pictured left-right: Rick Bell, FAIA, AIANY Executive Director and host committee member; Scott Lauer, OHNY founder and board president; and Michael J. Strauss, Vanguard Construction & Development Co. and Center for Architecture Foundation board member.
Veronica Price
A Look at the American Institute of Architects: Building a Better City, by Lisa Iannucci, was recently published in the May issue of The Cooperator: The Co-op & Condo Monthly.
Oculus 2007 Editorial Calendar
If you have ideas, projects, opinions — or perhaps a burning desire to write about a topic below — we’d like to hear from you! Deadlines for submitting suggestions are indicated; projects/topics may be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based. Send suggestions to Kristen Richards.
08.07.07 Winter 2007-08: Power & Patronage
06.28.07 Submission Extension: AIA New England’s People’s Choice Awards 2007
Firms submitting project(s) to the AIA New England Design Awards Program may submit an additional display board to the People’s Choice Awards program that will be exhibited at the Ring’s End Showroom prior to the AIA New England Annual Conference October 5-7, 2007 in New Canaan, CT. Visitors to the showroom and library can vote for their favorite projects. The project submission may or may not be the same as that submitted to the Design Awards program. For more information, click the link or contact Joanne Reese at AIA Connecticut.
07.10.07 Submission: Perm Museum XXI
The Centre of Contemporary Architecture in Russia announces a two-stage open competition for the design of a museum center in the city of Perm. The collection in the Perm Art Gallery comprises 47,000 objects and paintings including a wide range of Russian and European art, as well as ancient ceramics, bronzes, and applied art from Egypt, Tibet, Japan, India, and China. The pride of the collection is Russian wooden religious sculpture from the 18th to early 20th centuries. The prize fund for the competition totals $300,000.
08.31.07 Registration Extension: Schedium
The AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee invites you to submit your drawing portfolio as part of our new program. Integral to Schedium is an invitation to submit one’s portfolio celebrating emerging architects’ drawing abilities. Architects who are selected from the portfolio competition may be asked to participate in the live drawing series. International practitioners are welcome.
09.07.07 Registration: Market Value Competition
Over the past 15 years, downtown Charlottesville, VA, has experienced an ongoing renaissance. Responding to a public call to craft a vision for the future of two city blocks south of the city’s pedestrian mall, the city is sponsoring a design competition to investigate and establish the best alternatives for realistic, innovative models for mixed-use development. The prize value is $25,000 among three winners.
Gallery Hours
Monday–Friday: 9:00am–8:00pm, Saturday: 11:00am–5:00pm, Sunday: CLOSED
Join an Architalker for a Hosted Tour of Center for Architecture
Exhibitions
Join us for free Architalker-hosted tours of the Center for Architecture exhibitions Fridays at 4:00pm. To join one of these tours, meet in the Public Resource Area on the ground floor of the Center for Architecture.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
June 28 — August 11, 2007
Building Connections: 11th Annual Exhibition of K-12 Design Work
Galleries: Judith and Walter Hunt Gallery, Mezzanine Gallery
The Center for Architecture Foundation’s annual exhibit of K-12 explorations into the built environment showcasing models and drawings from Learning By Design: NY, a school based residency program, as well as work from its youth programs at the Center for Architecture.
Organized by:
The Center for Architecture Foundation
Exhibition Designer: 1100: Architect
Graphic Designer: Casey Maher
Exhibition Patron: Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Vanguard Construction
Exhibition Friend: Vanguard Construction
May 31-August 25, 2007
The Park at the Center of the World: Five Visions for Governors Island
Galleries: Edgar A. Tafel Hall
The exhibition features five landscape architecture and architecture teams selected to present their design visions for the future open spaces on Governors Island, the 172 acre Island off the tip of Manhattan. Governors Island’s open space will include the two mile Great Promenade that provides outstanding views of Lower Manhattan and New York Harbor, a new park, and restoration of the landscape in the Island’s National Historic District. Showcasing conceptual and illustrative designs by the five teams for the open space of Governors Island, the exhibition provides a platform for public feedback before the jury will take place in late June 2007. A design team will be selected by mid summer.
Exhibition related programming organized by American Institute of Architects Planning & Urban Design Committee , American Society of Landscape Architects New York Chapter, Center for Architecture Foundation and Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC)
Exhibition Designer: Freecell
Exhibition Graphics: WSDIA | WeShouldDoItAll
For a list of the teams click here.
June 2nd – September 2nd on Governors Island
Governors Island is open for visitors every Saturday and Sunday. (For ferry schedule and other information log onto www.govisland.com)
Sponsored by: Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC)
Related Events
Panel discussion with winning team date tba
Saturday, August 11, 2007, 9:45 - 11:30 AM
FamilyDay@theCenter
Governors Island Walking Tour & Scavenger Hunt
To Register: 212.358.6133
April 9-July 7, 2007
2007 AIA New York Chapter Design Awards
Galleries: Kohn Pedersen Fox Gallery, HLW Gallery, South Gallery, Edgar A. Tafel Hall
A showcase of the 2007 award-winning projects in three categories-Architecture, Interiors, and Projects. Selected from hundreds of international, national and local submissions, these projects spotlight the extraordinary achievements in architectural design excellence happening in New York City and around the world.
Exhibition and Graphic Design: Graham Hanson Design
Organized by: AIA New York Chapter and the AIA New York Chapter Design Awards Committee
Benefactor: DIRTT,
Oldcastle Glass
Patron:
HOK,
Microsol Resources,
F.J. Sciame Construction,
Laticrete International,
Trespa
Lead Sponsor: Certified of New York, Inc., Columbia, KI, Langan, Mancini Duffy, Richter + Ratner, Syska & Hennessy
Sponsors:
Atkinson Koven Feinberg; Bauerschmidt & Sons, Inc.; Bentley Prince Street; Beyer Blinder Belle: Architects and Planners; Cosentini Associates; Costas Kondylis & Partners; Forest City Ratner Companies; FXFOWLE ARCHITECTS; Gensler; Gilsanz Murray Steficek; Haworth; Hopkins Foodservice Specialists, Inc.; The I. Grace Company, Inc.; Ingram, Yuzek, Gainen, Caroll & Bertolotti; Lutron; Mechoshade Systems; New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies: The Real Estate Institute; Perkins + Will; Peter Marino Architect; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Steelcase, Inc.; Studio Daniel Libeskind; Swanke Hayden Connell Architects; Thornton-Tomasetti Group; Turner Construction
March 22-July 7, 2007
Making Housing Home
Photographs with residents of New York City housing developments
Gallery: Library
Norma’s House
Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani
This photographic exhibition explores how people inhabit housing to create homes in two of New York City’s affordable housing developments, each of which were developed to provide good homes for all. Because units of housing are in essence homes for families, this project takes an interior look at what architecture can allow and support, to afford the crucial process of making space for oneself within designed spaces and housing markets. If social housing reflects the social covenant of our society, what is it to which every citizen is entitled? What does it take for a life to flourish and can a building help or hinder this process? What becomes of designed spaces once they are inhabited?
An Installation by Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani
Exhibition underwriters: Related Apartment Preservation, 42nd Street Development Corporation, Barbara Stanton
Organized with: Center for Human Environments, Housing Environments Research Group, The Graduate Center, CUNY
The interior of the Queens Museum of Art expansion.
Grimshaw Architects, courtesy Queens Museum of Art
Through 07.08.07
Macro to Micro: Grimshaw in New York
Recently extended, this exhibition presents the body of projects completed Grimshaw Architects over the past 25 years, featuring the newest work being produced by the NYC office. Plans for the Queens Museum of Art expansion, the Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center in Troy, NY, and the Fulton Street Transit Center in Manhattan, as well as an array of new street furniture for NYC are on display. The multi-media exploration incorporates building elements, drawings, video, photographs, models, and computer-generated graphics.
Queens Museum of Art
New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Meryl Meisler “A Garden Grows in Bushwick (Snake in the Grass),” 1984-1990, detail.
Courtesy Brooklyn Historical Society
Through 08.26.07
Up From Flames: Mapping the Recovery of Bushwick 1977-2007
Bushwick is one of Brooklyn’s “hottest” neighborhoods, abuzz with construction, renovation, and aspiration. However, in the aftermath of the1977 NYC blackout, rife with burning and looting, Bushwick’s recovery began. Up From Flames literally maps out the success of urban planning and community strength. The installation brings the mapping process to life — including important articles from The Daily News and The New York Times — and interviews with public officials and local residents. Painting and drawing by NYC artist Meryl Meisler are also on display.
Brooklyn Historical Society
128 Pierrepont St. Brooklyn, NY
“Liquid Sky,” by Ball-Nogues Studio, the winning entry for the 2007 Young Architects Program. Six towers support the kaleidoscopic patterns of color created by tinted Mylar petals.
©2007 The Museum of Modern Art
Through 09.28.07
Liquid Sky
The Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center present an installation in P.S.1’s outdoor courtyard by Los Angeles-based firm Ball-Nogues Studio, winner of the 8th annual MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects Program. Given a budget of $70,000, translucent Mylar panels resembling stained glass flowers create kaleidoscopic patterns across the courtyard. Community hammocks, a “droopscape,” and “drench towers” that periodically soak visitors carve space to serve as the venue for Warm Up, the annual P.S. 1 music series.
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
22-25 Jackson Ave at the intersection of 46th Ave in Long Island City
Through 01.20.08
IDEO Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection
The sixth installment in a series featuring over 30 works organized under the rubric of “design thinking” — a timeless, inherently human approach to problem-solving. IDEO chose objects that exhibit tangible evidence of innovative problem solving over the past five centuries. Despite their diversity, the objects reveal a shared story about how the design thinker interacts with the world, evoked by three lenses — inspiration, empathy, and intuition — that provide a look into the broader social behaviors.
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
2 East 91st Street at Fifth Avenue, New York City
06.27.07 through 09.02.07
German Museum Highlights “Young American Architects’ Scene”
This exhibition maintains that American clientele are seeking original ideas and American cities are confronting a reawakened consciousness to meet their demands. As a result, young architects are experimenting with shapes, materials, analogies, and relationships to produce unique projects international in flavor. Firms featured include Christoff:Finio Architecture, Della Valle Bernheimer, Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis, Lyn Rice Architects, MESH Architectures, nARCHITECTS, Predock Frane Architects, SHoP Architects, Slade Architecture, and WORK ac.
Deutsches Architekturmuseum
Schaumainkai 43 in Frankfurt am Main
eCalendar includes an interactive listing of architectural events around NYC. Click the link to go to to eCalendar on the Web.
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Looking for help? See resumes posted on the AIA New York Chapter website.
ARCHITECT
Arch. firm seeking talented junior architect/proj.mgr. Design, production. Comm. & res. projects. VectorWorks on Mac. Great learning environment/benefits. Martin E. Rich Architect, PC. Fax: 212-880-2394 Email: jobs@richaia.com
Experienced Interior Architect/Designer
High-end, award-winning residential interior design firm has opening for a highly motivated interior architect/designer.
· Proficiency in AutoCAD, Microsoft Office
· Project Management
· CAD and hand drafted working drawings, detailing
· Studio IT and procurement a plus
· Integrity and strong work ethic
Opportunity for growth in a small firm with national clientele and excellent benefits. Progressive urban environment with access to national resources without large city hassle. Serious/experienced candidates only. Fax/email resume 410-234-0198; mh@monahajj.com
Nothing says ‘Glamorous’ like the job title ‘Project Architect’.
Here at Goshow Architects, located in New York’s flatiron district, we know glamour. It just so happens that Angelina Jolie is a friend of ours. Well, not a friend, but a friend of a friend. Actually, we saw her once on the street. At least we think it was her. It looked like her. From the back. And we’re pretty sure our friend Angelina would be eager to join our unique environment! (Brad’s into Architecture, after all.)
Like any good celeb, we’re socially aware — focusing on Green Design and socially-conscious public projects. Want to join our entourage?
We’re looking for multi-taskers with 5-10 years job experience, with technical skill in construction detailing, and experience in construction site administration. Angelina may not be ACAD proficient, but we are, and you should be too. A B-Arch, well, that’s just how we glamorous folks roll.
Email your cover letter with resume and salary requirements to: JobOpps07@goshow.com, and check out our website — www.goshow.com.
NELSON; a unique, fast-growing A&E firm is seeking a CAD Application/Technical Engineer, located at any of our primary offices, including our headquarters in Philadelphia.
This position will develop and deploy strong technical application base for CAD applications throughout NELSON. This includes managing upgrades, customizations and general operations on consistent and integrated platforms. Applications include AutoCAD, ADT and ABS and full scope of CAD and related applications. Ideal candidates have expertise in AutoCAD, ADT, ABS, LSP, VBA, CAD GUI customization, CUI, profiles, MNU configurations, and expert user certification from Autodesk on supported application. Candidates must have minimum 2YR degree specializing in CAD/Autodesk products and 5-7 years supporting Architectural/Engineering in technical engineer position.
Please send resume to jobs@nelsononline.com
Visit www.nelsononline.com to view open positions/locations.
NBBJ, a leading global architecture firm, has growth opportunities for qualified Intermediate and Senior level Architects, Project Managers, and Interior Designers to join teams working on Corp/Comm, Sci/Ed and Healthcare projects regionally and internationally. To apply, please visit http://www.nbbj.com/whoweare/careers/joblistings.htm.
ARCHITECT
Established NYC firm w/high profile clients seeks project manager with
strong technical and design skills. Min. 3 years experience. Plenty of
opportunity for the right person. Fax or email resume to 212-807-9944 /
lstrohl@laliremarch.com
Interior Design Firm Seeking Shared Space
Residential interior architect and interior design firm looking to sublet space from an architectural firm where we can share your conference rooms, kitchen, etc.
Desk area for at least 2 desks and many bookshelves, in the Union Square / Flatiron / soho neighborhoods.
Please call 917.826.2402
ARCHITECTURE FT/PermPosition
Tired of complaining about your limited influence as an architect? Ever wonder how development and design can work together to make great places and regenerate our cities and smalltowns? Seeking to expand your skill set? If so, Street-Works may be the place for you! Street-Works LLC, an entrepreneurial, award-winning, and design-oriented development & development consulting firm, is seeking architects, planners and urban designers to work on a range of exciting large-scale mixed-use, and retail-oriented development projects. The candidate must be geared toward working collaboratively in multi-disciplinary teams. Architecture or planning degree req’d and 3-7 years of related experience. Pshop, 3D-modeling, Autocad-proficiency, hand drawing skills and interest in the “bigger picture” a must.
Street-Works is located in White Plains, NY adjacent to the N. White Plains train station. Excellent growth opportunities, competitive salary and benefits.
Send CVs to info@street-works.com
Architect
RARE OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN GLOBAL DESIGN FIRM IN
NEW NYC HEADQUARTERS
CALLISON SEEKING ENERGETIC AND TALENTED INDIVIDUALS WITH
A DESIRE TO GROW AND BECOME THE FUTURE OF THE FIRM
SENIOR DESIGNERS (7-15 YRS EXP)
PROJECT ARCHITECTS (5-8 YRS EXP)
INTERMEDIATE ARCHITECTS (3-5 YRS EXP)
INTERIOR DESIGNERS — FF&E (3-5 YRS EXP)
WE DESIGN MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT, RETAIL, CORPORATE WORKPLACE AND MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT (BROADCAST & MISSION CRITICAL FACILITIES)
YOU WILL WORK IN A BEAUTIFUL OFFICE & EXCELLENT LOCATION.
Experience in Design and Construction Detailing. Software skills to include: Microstation or Autocad, Sketchup, Photoshop, Excel, Powerpoint
Send Resumes to resume@wpa-works.com and indicate position sought in Cover Letter.
Architect — Green Building. Innovative company needs a presenter to educate and inspire building professionals to use new architectural daylighting technologies. www.advancedglazings.com/careers
Callison: A World of Design Opportunity
Callison is an international architecture firm focused on excellence, in design and client service. The New York office, which services the Retail, Corporate Workplace and Mixed Use markets, is growing and seeks talented:
Project Managers
Project Architects
Designers
Interior Designers
We offer competitive salary, full medical and dental / vision, 401(k) / profit sharing, transit subsidies, and a great location! See how you can join us on our journey by visiting us at www.callison.com Email resume to employment@callison.com .
We are an Affirmative Action/EEO Employer who values workplace diversity.
Commercial Loft sublet:
New construction, prime Soho location. Private office and workstations available for sublet within architect’s office. Sun-filled office loft, access to all amenities including conference rooms, roof terraces. 24/7 building access. Contact Elaine Suben 212-524-8512 elaine.suben@subendougherty.com for further information.
Rapidly expanding, award winning NYC firm specializing in boutique hotels and large-scale residential projects throughout North America has openings at all levels of experience.
PROJECT MANAGERS & JOB CAPTAINS
Intermediate and Senior Project Managers/Job Captains for large and medium scale projects. Autocad proficiency, experience with client contact, consultant coordination a must.
Excellent benefits, salary commensurate with experience. Email resume to H. Weber: contactus@SBJgroup.com
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