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08.07.07
Welcome to August, the month that New Yorkers tend to flee the city’s heat and humidity. If you are sticking around, take advantage of the lighter crowds to explore some of those places you normally avoid. You may be surprised at how much they have changed. Some ideas: Bryant Park, Hudson River Park, West 23rd St at Chelsea Piers…
- Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP
In this issue:
·Out of 300 Projects 10 Win Place at Center Show; Friedlander Wins Special Place
·Reinventing the Wheel Often Slows New Practices
·Designers Rethink Cityscape — One Scaffold at a Time
·On the Road: John Margolies Reminisces
·Rewind: Itemizing the Changing Face of NY
Event: 25th Annual Art Commission Awards for Excellence in Design; and Art Commission Awards for Excellence in Design Exhibition Opening
Location: Rose Center for Earth and Space, American Museum of Natural History, 07.17.07 (award ceremony); Center for Architecture, 07.23.07 (exhibition opening)
Speakers: (award ceremony) James P. Stuckey — Art Commission President; Patricia E. Harris — First Deputy Mayor; Jackie Snyder — Art Commission Executive Director; Commissioners Nicholas Scoppetta (Fire), John Doherty (Sanitation), Janette Sadik-Khan (Transportation), Adrian Benepe (Parks), Kate Levin (Cultural Affairs), David Burney, AIA (Design + Construction), Robert Hess (Homeless Services), Jonathan Mintz (Consumer Affairs).
Organizers: (award ceremony) Office of the Mayor; Art Commission of the City of New York; (exhibition) AIANY; Art Commission of the City of New York
Exhibition Designer: Pentagram
Sponsors: (exhibition) Exhibition Patron: F.J. Sciame Construction; support provided in part by the George Lewis Fund
Duncan Jackson, Grimshaw Architects
Prototypical Street Furniture for Installation Citywide — Bus Stand, designed by Grimshaw Architects/Cemusa for the NYC Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Consumer Affairs (DCA).
Garretted away on the third floor of City Hall the Art Commission of the City of New York is NYC’s design review agency, an organization that has widespread influence over the five boroughs despite being hidden from view. The agency’s directive is to review permanent works of art, architecture, and landscape architecture proposed for city-owned property. Its scope includes construction, renovation or restoration of buildings, such as museums and libraries, creation or rehabilitation of parks and playgrounds, installation of lighting and other streetscape elements, and design, installation, and conservation of artwork.
The Art Commission was established in 1898 and for the past 25 years it has presented awards of excellence. Out of approximately 300 projects in review, this year the Commission selected 10, which are currently showcased at Art Commission Awards for Excellence in Design now on view at the Center for Architecture.
The Commission also honored Michael Friedlander, a 25-year veteran of the Department of Sanitation and its director of special projects, with a Special Recognition Award for the quality of design he brings to the department’s capital projects. As part of this award he is cited for the two Manhattan projects that he submitted to the commission last year — construction of a salt shed at West 55th Street and 12th Avenue, and a garage at 543 East 73rd Street.
“The 10 winning projects exemplify the ideas of high-quality and innovative public design, and their sponsoring agencies and architects should be very proud of their accomplishments,” Mayor Bloomberg proclaimed in a statement issued by the Office of the Mayor. This is evident in the exhibition at the Center, where you can view all of the award winning projects while sitting on a real bus stop bench — a component of the new bus stop shelters, newsstands, and automatic self-cleaning toilets designed by Grimshaw Architects/Cemusa for the NYC Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Consumer Affairs (DCA).
Projects of the Department of Design + Construction (DDC), in collaboration with architecture firms, garnered five awards: Department of Homeless Services with Polshek Partnership Architects (DHS Family Center, Bronx); the Fire Department of NY (FDNY) with Polshek Partnership Architects (Rescue Company 3 Firehouse, Bronx); the FDNY with Dean/Wolf Architects (EMS Station 50, Queens Hospital Center); the Queens Library with Marble Fairbanks (Glen Oaks Library, Queens); and the DOT and the DCA’s Percent for Art Program with artist Nobuho Nagasawa and Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architecture (Columbia Waterfront District, Brooklyn). The Department of Parks and Recreation with Toshiko Mori Architect’s Poe Park Visitor Center, and the DOT, Port Authority of NY and NJ, and Department of Parks and Recreation with artist Elyn Zimmerman’s CaVaLa Park are also on view. All of these projects except CaVaLa Park and the Columbia Waterfront District are part of the DDC’s Design + Construction Excellence program.
Courtesy Center for Architecture
Hoping for creative independence, new practices often face a dilemma. They want to reinvent the wheel too quickly when they might do better to understand and use wheels already in motion. Yet young practitioners can be equipped to produce compelling, unexpected models out of those existing wheel prototypes, and end up ‘rocking the boat’ of the establishment.
In the last issue of e-Oculus, Mark Strauss, FAIA, AICP, Immediate Past President of AIANY, and founding father/self-professed New Practices “Dad,” wrote about the accomplishments of the nascent New Practices Roundtable. (See “New Practices Grows Up,” 07.24.07). The original grassroots group provided a resource and forum for young upstart firms to swap ideas and learn survival skills for professional practices. It went on to promote six new practices from each side of the Atlantic — New Practices New York, and New Practices London (an exhibition, New Practices London, will open at the Center for Architecture August 23). Now called the New Practices Committee, AIANY’s youngest committee, we’ve turned focus on a simple, and perhaps more fundamental question, “What’s new?” in the practice of architecture in NYC, regionally, and globally.
The New Practices Committee, made up of a group of young professionals — most with their own emerging practices — meets bimonthly on issues relevant to a young start-up. Mired by the realities of rainmaking, bill paying, office management, and often building a career on small renovations and competition entries, young practices sometimes find they are expending more creative energy on their bookkeeping than creative architecture. The committee discussions serve to distill common problems and acts, as we often joke, as “group therapy” for young architects.
The 2006 New Practices Showcase proved a visible testament to emerging firms — highlighting six practices that perhaps differed more among themselves than they had in common. It showed that what makes a successful new practice today has little to do with type, quantity, or stylistic appearance of built or speculative projects. The New Practices Committee, Roundtable events, and Showcase will be most successful if they, like the new practitioners and practices, continue to be evolutionary, organic, and respond nimbly to new issues and opportunities in the marketplace, technology, and contemporary culture.
So join the New Practices Committee if you’re involved or even just interested in starting a new practice, or simply interested in the question: “What IS a new practice today, really?” Because the committee and the Chapter realize that many new practitioners cannot afford AIA membership dues, and that the evolving landscape of practice includes many engaged in architecture in non-traditional ways, the New Practices Committee is one of only two AIANY committees open to non-AIA members (the other being the Emerging NY Architects/ENYA committee). We look forward to seeing new faces at our next committee meeting in August. Contact Amanda Jones for more information.
Both authors want to thank the founders and advisors for their support of the New Practices program, and for giving our firms exposure and opportunities since proven invaluable: Joan Blumenfeld, FAIA, IIDA, LEED AP, 2007 AIANY President, Mark Strauss, FAIA, AICP, Immediate Past President AIANY, Rick Bell, FAIA, AIANY Executive Director, the AIANY staff, Diana Darling and William Menking of The Architect’s Newspaper, Häfele America, and all our program sponsors and participants.
Marc Clemenceau Bailly, AIA, and Matt Bremer, AIA, co-chair the New Practices Committee.
Event: SKETCH120
Location: American Can Factory, Gowanus, Brooklyn, 07.28.07
Speakers/Jury Members: James Biber, FAIA — Partner, Pentagram; Andrew Blum — Contributing Editor, Metropolis, Wired; Lauren Crahan — Partner, Freecell; Alexandros Washburn, AIA — Chief Urban Designer, NYC Department of City Planning
Hosts: XO Projects, Inc.
Organizer: Design in 5, Architectural League of New York
Emerging architects sketch at the inaugural Design in 5 event, SKETCH120.
Jonathan Lee
Most every New Yorker walks daily under scaffolds. The unsightly byproduct of a citywide building boom, they are also bottleneck-inducing, shirt-snagging nuisances for pedestrians on crowded streets. And in their current quasi-standardized form, at least in the U.S., they can be seen as irredeemably ugly. As required by law, they have one essential purpose: protecting pedestrians from falling debris during construction or repairs. But for all their squalor, scaffolds are also a liminal condition between private property and public space, and they could potentially serve many other purposes besides trapping projectiles. What if the codes changed and the humble scaffold assumed new forms?
Design in 5, a new group comprising architects, designers, and artists within five years of school graduation, took on the challenge of re-imagining scaffolding in its launch event, a juried charrette. Entrants spent two hours brainstorming the relation between permanent and transient structures, followed by critiques and discussion. Some of the sketches upgraded scaffold pipes with landscaping elements, stands for small businesses, or simple flyers giving historical information and construction timelines about the building within. Others provided access to second-story space for temporary homeless shelters (giving the occupant a retractable ladder for privacy and safety), recreational areas networked among multiple buildings, or out-of-the-way bike storage. One two-level system included fast and slow lanes, with ramps to the upper level for speedier walkers while vendors and other obstacles remain at ground level.
A dilemma raised by Andrew Blum, juror and contributing editor for Metropolis and Wired, involved the role of advertising. Should new designs incorporate ads to generate income or resist the growing encroachment of commerce into every imaginable space? Some felt scaffolds blur the boundary between the private and public realms: building owners are responsible for renting and maintaining them, but they extend private property building into the public right-of-way. More useful purposes for scaffolds — aesthetic upgrades, greening, marginal improvements in urban problems like homelessness, and transportation — thus depend on the financial incentives in the private sector.
The tension between ideal programs and feasible zoning and code changes prompted juror Alexandros Washburn, AIA, chief urban designer at the NYC Department of City Planning, to remind the crowd that regulatory and economic pressures lead owners and developers to maximize their returns on every square millimeter of space within the allowable FAR. Advertising creates incentives to leave temporary structures up indefinitely. That’s what happened in Washburn’s own building, which bore a scaffold for two years because “it was cheaper for the landlord to rent the scaffold than actually fix the façade problem.” Only deliberate policy changes, he believes, can reverse interests that now intrude into public space and give something back by shouldering the costs of more civic-minded scaffolding programs.
One group took an evolutionary angle, calling today’s standardized scaffold the result of centuries of Darwinian processes; in many respects it’s “not broken,” but it might eventually give way to an entirely different system. The model is a 900-year-old mosque in Mali made of mud, requiring recurrent repair in the rainy season and thus incorporating wooden structural elements that serve as scaffolding when needed. Permanent “self-integrated” scaffolds, these designers contended, represent a deeper level of sustainability. The idea of harmonizing permanent and recurrent structures led to James Biber, FAIA, juror and partner at Pentagram, to refer to Venetian practices — buildings under repair are reproduced in decorative prints outside their scaffolds, giving observers at least an image of the concealed structure. Thus viewing upkeep as an organic aspect of a building, not an awkward extraneous element, might improve the cityscape.
Bill Millard is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in Oculus, Icon, Content, and other publications.
Event: John Margolies in conversation with Michael Bierut and Phil Patton
Location: The Urban Center, 07.25.07
Speakers: Michael Bierut — Partner, Pentagram; Phil Patton — Contributing Editor, Wired, Esquire, ID, and writer, The New York Times
Moderator: John Margolies — author, photographer, lecturer on American commercial architecture and design
Organizer: The Architectural League of New York
National Freshwater Hall of Fame, Hayward, Wisconsin.
John Margolies, courtesy Architectural League of New York
Clicking through slides, John Margolies provides a quick glimpse into his story of American roadside architecture — a landscape of wigwam-shaped motels, folk art mini-golf, and statuesque gas pumps that, as he says, almost seem like people. Rattling off names, dates, and locations, his mental map reads like an illustrated autobiography, complete with anecdotes for each stop along his journey. Always captured with brilliant blue skies and free of cars and trash, Margolies’s photographs preserve vivid moments from an American landscape that is quickly disappearing.
Within this vanishing landscape, Margolies’s images carry the burden of a nostalgic pretense. Appealing to consumers’ memories of a time gone by, modern businesses mimic the 1950s aesthetic that invigorates his photographs in their logotypes and interior decoration, bypassing the need for real substance. The true strength of his work, though, lies in the authentic and individualized American spirit it captures, not in a shallow discussion of composition and styling.
The once eccentric and democratic landscape has morphed into one of corporate predictability with decorated sheds replacing the now obsolete ducks. Yet despite this increasing homogenization, one could argue that Americans still long for a personal touch. At least one major coffee shop chain has tried to capitalize on the hand crafted, as one audience member pointed out, with its phony handwritten posters meant to inspire visions of silk-screening rather than digital press.
Amidst half-hearted corporate attempts to appeal to Americans’ sense of individuality, we can look back at roadside architecture today and lament the disappearance of the genuine spirit they convey. But we must also remember that, in its day, this same architecture was considered cheap and tawdry, dismissed as too commercial to be taken seriously. Margolies’s photographs, then, provoke an important question: if architecture in the American landscape is a personification of those who live there, what will the endless stream of big boxes and glass façades say about the state of our spirit to those in the future? One can hope that someone with the same love and vision for the vernacular landscape as Margolies will be there to tell part of the story.
Rachel Schauer is concentrating her studies on architecture and communications at New York University Gallatin School. She also is e-Oculus‘ graphic designer.
Event: Historic Cities in Transition, part of the New York’s Identity Crisis series
Location: New York School of Interior Design, 07.25.07
Speaker: Francis Morrone — historian, journalist, author, lecturer, teacher
Organizer: The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America
NYC’s density is pushing inhabitants to places they would not have lived a few years ago.
Jessica Sheridan
City life is in a constant state of flux. In the last of a four-part series, journalist and historian Francis Morrone discussed NYC’s shifting structure, from the postwar economic boom to the glory and grit of the ’70s to current times. Often the evolution is described as increasingly “suburbanized.”
Though “gentrification” was coined in 1964 in the London Times, the phenomenon dates as far back as 1910 — in NYC. Row houses in Gramercy built in the 1850s by the bourgeois fell into disfavor when the Third Avenue El was constructed. After years of economic depression, wealthy bohemians flocked to townhouses as they were renovated. Similarly, in Washington Square, artists like Edward Hopper were followed by people who loved the cachet;, but wanted more amenities. In the ’90s, they succeeded in transforming the neighborhood, overtaking the Upper East Side as most expensive.
NYC peaked economically after World War II, with the country’s top seaport and highest number of Fortune 500 businesses. The ’50s, however, brought decline, population loss, and building neglect. “Urban renewal,” a catchphrase in this Robert Moses era, meant whole neighborhoods gave way to expressways and high-rises. But, as everyone knows, urban renewal had its detractors: The Brooklyn Heights conservation movement began after a Moses-built promenade destroyed much of Brooklyn’s downtown. Henry Hope Reed began giving his historic walking tours, leading to new conservation consciousness for urbanites. Author Jane Jacobs saw in density an opportunity to foster “cordial interactions” in ways that open spaces couldn’t. Jacobs championed “unslumming,” a term she used to mean the process in which inhabitants became upwardly mobile financially, but remained living in the same neighborhood, and thus improved living conditions.
During the ’70s, “planned shrinkage” was in vogue. Led by former City Housing Commissioner Roger Starr, many proposed using public policy to hasten population decline in targeted areas such as Bushwick. Others saw demolished areas as potential crop fields such as wheat and corn. In 1976, Starr wrote that it was time to plan for a smaller city population. He hadn’t planned on the Wall Street boom of the ’80s, or subsequent population booms.
Today, NYC is preparing for one million new residents in the next 10 years. The city is so dense that recent graduates are moving into tenements in Bushwick — once targeted for “shrinkage” — and services are following suit. Morrone urged New Yorkers to be guardians of our city history, such as the Brooklyn Brownstone Belt, while thinking about its future.
Kate Soto is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor.
Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into the report on the Eldridge Street Synagogue (See “Eldridge Street Restores Jewish History,” by Linda G. Miller, e-Oculus 07.24.07). You expressed our philosophy and project goals perfectly. There are a few facts regarding the history of the project that we’d like to clarify. The project is based on plans and specifications prepared by Walter Sedovic Architects. The project that was begun by Giorgio Cavaglieri, FAIA, in 1989 was abandoned. The master plan, which has guided the restoration project over the last 17 years, was prepared under my supervision in 1990 while I was employed at Robert E. Meadows PC Architects (the firm Meadows/Woll wasn’t in existence in 1990). Peter Woll (there is no Bob Woll) was not involved with this project.
We feel that these are substantive corrections and hope that they will find their way into e-Oculus.
Again, thank you for all your hard work and for your interest in our firm’s projects.
Jill H. Gotthelf, AIA
Associate, Walter Sedovic Architects
Irvington, NY
Sunday, 7/29, marked the start of season two of HGTV’s “Design Star” program, where 11 designers compete to have their own show on HGTV. Unlike the Bravo series, “Top Design,” which was unsuccessful in my opinion (see “Design Scrapes Bottom of Barrel,” 02.06.07), “Design Star” gives a good sense of the struggles that designers often experience when given a difficult task under a tight deadline.
In the first episode, contestants were challenged to design the living space they will share throughout the show. Given $15,000 and 72 hours, individual designers chose a space to make their own. There was no attempt to create an overall unified space — it was every man or woman for him/herself. The finished design included a sunken dining room, a half-pipe skating ramp, window seating overlooking Las Vegas, and a telephone book sculpture. I could relate to the designers as they strove to make comfortable their temporary home.
One thing is clear: each designer has a particular sense of style and personality — a must for a television show host. Contestants are not all stereotypes, although there is a flamboyant Fabio look-alike, a pumped-up jock, and a passive aggressive southern belle. A self-proclaimed “Metro Hippie” from Minnesota, the show’s first green designer, showed promise, but, sadly, there was no green design in his attempt at built-in lounge seating. His eco-perspective will shine in future episodes, I hope. The one designer from NYC, Kim Myles, is a hairstylist with no formal training. Her meditative space was well laid out, if not very cutting-edge and exciting.
One of the show’s assets is the online design tips given by judge Vern Yip, designer and owner of Vern Yip Designs. He explains what fails and succeeds with each designer’s project. “At the end of the day, function must take precedence,” he claims.
At this point who knows the winner, although I’m rooting for the Metro Hippie to pull off some innovative sustainable design, which could lead to an appealing new HGTV show. He probably will not win, though, because at 25 his amateurism is apparent. Overall, the show is fun. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the challenges and to relate to the contestants.
In this issue:
·Tropical House Roots John Belle To Homeland
·University of Buffalo Expands
·Luxury Residence Encourages Kids to Play
·It Peis to be a Father-Son Team
·Luxury Pad to Help Rich Patients Recover in High Style
·New Biology: Mixing Medical Technology with Interior Design
·How do You Say Eco-Centric Luxury in Chinese?
Tropical House Roots John Belle To Homeland
The Tropical House at the National Botanic Garden of Wales was designed by Welsh-born John Belle, FAIA, RIBA.
Rick Bell, FAIA
Welsh-born John Belle, FAIA, RIBA, of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, was guest of honor at the official opening of the new Tropical House he designed, pro bono, at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. The glass building, which has been in the works for the past four years, is the garden’s largest new attraction since it opened in 2000 and has been stocked with thousands of tropical flowers and plants. To paraphrase the NYC-based architect, his contribution to the land of his birth is a building about the connection between the world of plants and the realm of architecture. He was made an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales in 2003.
University of Buffalo Expands
The University of Buffalo campus.
Courtesy Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners (BBB) will lead the team that will transform the University of Buffalo (UB) into a model 21st century public university. The master plan will focus on construction, renovation, expansion, and environmental sustainability of facilities, public spaces, landscaping, and transportation on UB’s North and South Campuses and the emerging downtown campus. The $4.5 million comprehensive physical plan, funded by UB’s capital budget and managed through the State University of New York Construction Fund, will support the university’s goal to grow 40% by 2020. As part of the strategic planning goal, UB aims to increase the university’s positive impact on the local and statewide economy and quality of life. BBB will work in collaboration with UB’s “Building UB” team: Buffalo-based Foit-Albert Associates, landscape architects Andropogon Associates of Philadelphia, academic-space programmers DEGW of Chicago, and facilities-condition specialists VFA of Boston.
Luxury Residence Encourages Kids to Play
The Common Playroom in 255 E. 74th Street.
H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture
World Wide Holdings has commissioned H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture (H3) to design an 84-unit, 30-story luxury residential tower on the Upper East Side. The upper floors of 255 East 74th Street will offer family-sized three- to five-bedroom units; the lower floors will feature loft-like duplex apartments; the base will house high-end retail shops and services. Geared toward young families, the 200,000-square-foot project will offer specially constructed playrooms. Other kid friendly features include a recreational space with a toddler room, cruising wall, tree house, arts-and-crafts room, reading area, game room with modern arcade games, and a 1,500-square-foot outdoor playground. The angular-form building will be distinguished from its neighbors with its sheathing in alternating bands of insulated glass and textured metal panels.
It Peis to be a Father-Son Team
The Centurion.
Pei Partnership Architects
L.C. (Sandi) Pei, design partner of Pei Partnership Architects, is collaborating with his father, I.M. Pei, FAIA, in the design of their first ground-up residential condo building on West 56th Street off Fifth Avenue for Stillman Development and Antonio Development. The 19-story building will be clad in handset French “Chamesson” limestone and will feature a terraced profile. The dark aluminum, nickel, stainless steel, and translucent glass entrance canopy leads to a lobby whose focal point will be an outdoor water garden, visible through a glass wall. The building will contain 48 one- to four-bedroom homes, including 13 terraced residences and three penthouses. SLCE Architects is in charge of the building’s interior architecture.
Luxury Pad to Help Rich Patients Recover in High Style
The Medical University of South Carolina has begun its 20-year master plan.
NBBJ
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has begun a $190 million, 20-year master plan led by NBBJ New York to rebuild its entire campus in historic downtown Charleston. Plans call for replacing the current circa 1940s campus with five new all-inclusive specialty buildings that will be the first freestanding health care facility in the country constructed in accordance with International Building Code in both hurricane and seismic zones. Phase one, likely to be completed in October, includes a 641,000-square-foot, 156 private room facility for cardiovascular and digestive services. A four-story diagnostic and treatment building and a seven-story patient tower will be connected by a large garden atrium. The all glass facility was designed to resemble a luxury hotel with a tree-lined conservatory entrance, curved hallways with private patient and family walkways, and valet parking.
New Biology: Mixing Medical Technology with Interior Design
North Shore — LIJ Health System, Center for Advanced Medicine Smith: (l-r): Institute for Urology, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Breast Imaging Center.
Swanke Hayden Connell Architects
Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA) has been making a few architectural nip/tucks to the North Shore — LIJ Health System. The firm designed the new Smith Institute for Urology at North Shore’s Center for Advanced Medicine, an outpatient facility that combines advanced medical technology with interior design. Exam rooms are arranged in pods consisting of four exam rooms serviced by a private toilet and a nurse cubicle. The layout is zoned based on treatment hierarchy with general exam rooms in front, cystoscopy and urodynamics procedure rooms behind it, and utilities and supplies service the clinical zone in the rear. The hospital’s new Breast Imaging Center includes three ultrasound rooms, five mammography rooms, one biopsy room, one holding room, and one bone density room with a plan layout that separates patient and staff/radiologist traffic flow.
At the Southside Hospital in Bayshore, Long Island, SHCA designed a new catheterization lab, containing two labs, a shelled room with space for a third lab, and recovery space, among other support and operational functions. The labs are designed along a corridor that separates the traffic flow of clean and soiled materials. All three projects use materials specifically developed for healthcare environments for flooring and other surfaces in clinical areas. Natural wood, ceramic tile, carpet, glass, spa-inspired fabrics, and indirect lighting are meant to create a clean, professional, yet soothing environment.
How Do You Say Eco-Centric Luxury in Chinese?
Kevin Kennon Architect is designing two eco-centric luxury developments in Haikou (left) and Sanya (right), China.
Kevin Kennon Architect
Kevin Kennon Architect (KKA) is to design two luxury developments in China, to be completed in mid-2008. In Sanya, called a tropical oasis in the Hainan Islands, the firm is designing a 350-room, five-star hotel, an 18-story, 2,000-square-meter high-rise residential building, and a 23-building apartment and condominium complex in the shape of a continuous ribbon that winds throughout the site’s infrastructure. In Haikou, a seaside tourist center in southern China, the firm is designing 20,800 square meters of four variously sized villas, a luxury hotel, and a community center, all on 40,000 square meters. Both properties will employ the firm’s eco-centric design aesthetic while creating modern architectural forms within the surrounding natural environment.
In this issue:
·Ready About? Architect’s Regatta Heartily Returns
·Buildings Department Cracks Down on Illegal Ads… Again
·Counties Go Carbon Neutral
Ready About? Architect’s Regatta Heartily Returns
This year’s architect’s regatta, a charity race for Project City Kids, a free sailing program for children, is upon us. Only open to architecture firms, the 2007 ChallengeNY Architect’s Regatta will be held Thursday, September 6.
First prize will win the ChallengeNY perpetual trophy designed by Les Metalliers Champenois, a multi-disciplinary metalwork company. In addition, all teams are asked to find, fabricate, or otherwise furnish a small parting gift to bestow upon the boat immediately following theirs in the final standings. Gifts will be valued more dearly for their wit than wealth, so plan accordingly.
The suggested entry is a $1,000 donation to Project City Kids. For more information visit the website, or e-mail Gerry Dolezar.
Buildings Department Cracks Down on Illegal Ads… Again
Department of Buildings (DOB) Commissioner Patricia J. Lancaster, FAIA, announced phase two of the department’s enforcement campaign against illegal advertising. Expanding upon a crackdown on illegal advertising on sidewalk sheds, this new phase targets illegal advertising signs on buildings, which are generally large and mounted by anchors to the exterior wall of a building. The DOB is adopting a zero tolerance policy toward advertising signs posted on building walls and will issue violations to offending building owners and outdoor advertising companies.
“New York is certainly known for its busy landscape, but not every one of the city’s 950,000 buildings can be used as advertising space,” Lancaster says. “Some zoning districts allow advertising signs on building walls while others do not…. It is now time for these illegal signs to come down.”
Advertising posted on building walls is permitted in some commercial and manufacturing zoning districts, but, with the exception of some grandfathered signs, it is never permitted in residential districts. To install a wall sign, building owners must obtain an alteration permit and, in some cases, register with the DOB as an outdoor advertising company.
To report illegal signs on walls or sidewalk sheds, New Yorkers should call 311. For more information, visit the Department of Buildings’ website.
Counties Go Carbon Neutral
With local governments being in an ideal position to advance the green building movement, the National Association of Counties (NACo) has adopted a resolution supporting the AIA SustAIAnability 2030 Challenge calling for public buildings to be carbon neutral by 2030. U.S. buildings account for nearly the same amount of carbon emissions as the economies of Japan, France, and the United Kingdom combined, and if designed in an energy-efficient manner they can significantly reduce energy consumption, energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and slow the effects of climate change.
The Resolution Urging Counties to Adopt the “2030 Challenge” Goals for Public Buildings also asserts that NACo supports federal efforts to promote green buildings. The resolution highlights the many benefits of green buildings such as high performance school buildings and the need for greater emphasis to be placed on “life cycle costs.” To read the full resolution, click on the link.
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This is Astroland's final summer as we know it. Will you miss it when it changes?
Note: Results from this poll are non-scientific.
The world of social networking is expanding as the Center for Architecture now has a Facebook group. Find out about recent news and exhibition openings, post event photos and videos, connect with other members in the architecture community, and raise discussion topics on the Discussion Board. This is the second AIANY-based Facebook group, added to the Emerging NY Architects (ENYA) committee’s Schedium group, which provides up-to-date information on the upcoming international sketching competition.
The Boston Society of Architects, in conjunction with the NY Chapter of the American Society of Architects, have announced winners of the 2007 K-12 Educational Facilities Design Awards Program, including NYC firms: Rogers Marvel Architects, Honor Award for Design Excellence for the Stephen Gaynor School & Ballet Hispanico; Platt Byard Dovell White, Award for Design Excellence for The Reece School; Davis Brody Bond Aedas, Citation for Interior Courtyard Design for the John C. Daniels School; Gran Kriegel Associates, Citation for Urban Design/Iconic Contribution to Streetscape for Bronx Lighthouse Charter School; and Tsao & McKown Architects, Citation for Furnishings/Millwork for Public School 19 Library and Public School 46 Library…
The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) NY Chapter announced the winners of the 2007 Lester Dundes Design Awards, including NY firms: Gensler, in the categories of Commercial Over 50,000 SF for the American Red Cross in Greater NY, Commercial Under 50,000 SF for BBH/Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and Retail for HBO Shop/Home Box Office, Inc.; TPG Architecture, Commercial Over 50,000 SF for Moët Hennessy USA; Perkins Eastman, Healthcare for Duke University Medical Center & Health System; ICrave, Hospitality for STK/The One Group; and Ted Moudis Associates, Retail for Tiffany & Company…
Elizabeth Leber, AIA, has been named a partner at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners… Pei Partnership Architects added three new principals to its senior management team — Stanley Pinska, AIA, Dennis Egan, RA, and Toh Tsun Lim, RA… Perkins Eastman announced recent promotions in its NY office including new principals Mark McCarthy, AIA, and Robert J. Pizzano, RA, as well as new associate principals Emily J. Kelly, AIA, and Robert C. Masters II, AIA, LEED AP…
Douglas K. Engebretson, FAIA, was recently elected president of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)… The Municipal Art Society announced that its long-time president, Kent L. Barwick, will step down as chief executive officer in early 2008…
School of Visual Arts (SVA) will honor Steven Heller with the Masters Series Award and retrospective exhibition… The New York Sun announced that Julie Satow is joining the paper as editor of the Real Estate and Business sections…
Crowds gathered to celebrate the opening of Arch schools: r(each)ing out at the Center for Architecture July 19.
(l-r): Heather Philip-O’Neal, AIA, Board Director of Educational Affairs for AIANY with Judith DiMaio, AIA, dean at New York Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture and Design.
Jonas Hidalgo
(l-r): Elisabeth Martin, AIA, faculty at the School of Visual Arts and past president/secretary of the Center for Architecture Foundation with Jane Smith, chair of the Interior Design Program at the School of Visual Arts.
Jonas Hidalgo
The celebration continued at the opening for Art Commission Awards for Excellence in Design at the Center for Architecture July 23.
(l-r): Jackie Snyder, Executive Director of the Art Commission of the City of NY, with Joan Blumenfeld, FAIA, IIDA, LEED AP, 2007 AIANY President.
Sam LaHoz
(l-r): Jim McCullar, FAIA, AIANY First Vice President/President Elect, with Sarelle Weisberg, FAIA.
Sam LaHoz
(l-r): Mark Strauss, FAIA, AICP, AIANY Immediate Past President with Tony Schirripa, AIA, IIDA, AIANY Board of Directors Treasurer.
Sam LaHoz
David Burney, AIA, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Design + Construction, with Joan Blumenfeld, FAIA, IIDA, LEED AP, 2007 AIANY President.
Sam LaHoz
09.10.07 Submission: AIANJ Design Awards
AIANJ’s Design Awards Program recognizes architectural projects that exhibit design excellence. The program is open to AIA members only, and non-NJ-based architects may only submit projects located in NJ. Honor and merit awards will be presented for built and unbuilt projects, and sustainable and high performance projects may also be acknowledged. Winners will be announced at the AIANJ Design Conference 09.20.07, and awards will be presented at an awards ceremony 01.12.08.
10.30.07 Submission: The Buckminster Fuller Challenge
Established to catalyze the vanguard of a global design revolution, the Challenge awards a single $100,000 prize to support the development and implementation to solve the world’s most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth’s ecological integrity. This way of working, Fuller often referred to as the “trimtab principle,” or doing more with less.
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.
ATTENTION:
The Center for Architecture will be hosting FringeNYC 2007 from Friday, August 10 to Sunday, August 26. Exhibitions located in the Mezzanine, Judith and Walter Hunt, KPF, HLW, South Galleries and Tafel Hall will have limited viewing hours. The exhibitions will be open for viewing during the following times:
8/11, 11am to 12pm
8/13, 9am to 12pm
8/14, 9am to 12pm
8/15, 9am to 12pm
8/16, 9am to 8pm
8/18, 11am to 12pm
8/20, 9am to 12pm
8/21, 9am to 12pm
8/22, 9am to 12pm
8/23, 9am to 8pm
8/24, 9am to 12pm
8/25, 11am to 12pm
For more information on FringeNYC, please visit www.fringenyc.org
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
July 23 — September 1, 2007
Art Commission Awards for Excellence in Design
Galleries: Street Gallery, Public Resource Center, Gerald D Hines Gallery
This exhibition showcases the winners of the Art Commission’s 25th annual Awards for Excellence in Design. The 10 award-winning projects were selected by the members of the Art Commission from the hundreds of public art, architecture and landscape architecture projects reviewed during 2006.
Established in 1898, the Art Commission is New York City ’s design review agency; it is composed of 11 members, including an architect, landscape architect, painter and sculptor as well as representatives of the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library.
Organized by:
the AIA New York Chapter and the Art Commission of the City of New York
Design: Pentagram
Exhibition Patron:
Exhibition support provided in part by the George Lewis Fund
July 19 – October 19, 2007
arch schools: r(each)ing out
Galleries: Kohn Pedersen Fox Gallery, HLW Gallery, South Gallery
Last September, leading New York area architecture schools participated in an exhibition that set out to foster a closer connection between the schools, students, and the profession.
This summer will feature our third annual architecture schools exhibition, arch schools: r[each]ing out, devoted exclusively to the work of students. The AIA New York Chapter’s annual architecture schools exhibition demonstrates exemplary student work representing the 9 New York area architecture schools, whose deans sit on the Board of the AIA New York Chapter, and 8 invited schools, including the four interiors design programs in New York City. The schools are asked to submit work related to the 2007 New York Chapter’s presidential theme “Architecture Inside/Out”.
Participating Schools:
The City College of New York (CUNY)
Columbia University
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Cornell University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology
New York School of Interior Design
Parsons the New School for Design
Pratt Institute
PrincetonUniversity
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
School of Visual Arts
Syracuse University
University at Buffalo (SUNY)
University of Pennsylvania
Yale University
Exhibition and related programming organized by the AIA New York Chapter and the Center for Architecture Foundation
Sponsors:
Supporters:
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Friends:
Beyer Binder Belle: Architects & Planners
Butler Rogers Baskett Architects
Francois de Menil Architect
Gabellini Sheppard Associates
Mancini Duffy
Terrence O’Neal Architect
Related Events
Friday, September 14, 2007, 7:00 –– 9:00pm
AIAS Event
Monday, September 24, 2007, 6:00 –– 9:00pm
Deans Roundtable and Reception
Monday, October 1, 2007, 6:00 – 8:00pm
2007 Dean’s Forum
Thursday, October 11, 2007, 9:00pm – 2:00am
Party@theCenter!
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
Storefront/Control Group Student Design Award 2007.
Courtesy Storefront for Art and Architecture
Through 08.25.07
Storefront/Control Group Student Design Awards 2007
Using streaming technologies, Second Life, Google Earth, and other collaborative platforms, the yearly Storefront/Control Group Award presents selected graduate and undergraduate work and the story behind their designs. This competition was the first in a series intended to bring a broader understanding of architectural thinking and technology to the public. Eighteen architecture schools in the Northeast U.S. submitted the best work of graduate and undergraduate students this year. NY-based winners include Selma Antoine — Jamaica Information, Social & Cultural Exchange Place, CUNY/Undergraduate; Dale Lunan — Virtual Terror Tribunals, Syracuse University/Undergraduate; and Jennifer Chuong — Housefold Dwellings on the Surface, Cornell University / Undergraduate.
Storefront for Art and Architecture
97 Kenmare Street
eCalendar includes an interactive listing of architectural events around NYC. Click the link to go to to eCalendar on the Web.
The Public Information Exchange (PIE) is an AIANY initiative designed to create an archive of NYC projects, proposals, programs, and exhibitions presented or discussed at the Center for Architecture. It is a forum for public discussion, both general and professional, that includes continuous commentary from users and participants. Click the link to take part.
ADVERTISE IN THE eOCULUS CLASSIFIEDS!
· Click here to download an ad rate/insertion order form.
· Fill out the form and fax it back to us at 212-696-5022.
· E-mail the ad directly to eOculus_ads@aiany.org
Your ad will run in the next available posting. eOCULUS is sent out every other Tuesday.
Would you like to have your message featured in eOCULUS? Spotlight your firm, product, or event as a marquee sponsor of eOCULUS, the electronic newsletter of the AIA New York Chapter. Sponsors receive a prominently-placed banner ad. Your message will reach over 10,000 architects, decision-makers in the building industry, and design enthusiasts via e-mail every two weeks (and countless others who access the newsletter directly from the AIA New York web site). For more information about sponsorship, contact: listadmin@aiany.org or 212.358.6114.
Looking for help? See resumes posted on the AIA New York Chapter website.
Urbahn Architects is seeking an architect with 7+ years experience, with skills in design, technical production and construction administration for a range of projects, with particular expertise in transportation facilities. Must be organized, self-starter, with writing abilities and computer skills. AutoCAD knowledge required.
Urbahn specializes in several building types, including school and university, justice, healthcare, research and transportation. The firm is renowned for excellent design and service to large institutions. Competitive salary and benefits offered, with opportunity for growth and development.
EEO-A/A. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.
Please send resume to:
caffuzzia@urbahn.com
or
Urbahn Architects
49 West 37th Street
New York, NY 10018
Att: Alix Caffuzzi
Fax: 212.563.5621
PROJECT ARCHITECT @ hMa
hanrahanMeyers architects are interviewing qualified candidates for a full-time project architect position. Qualified candidates need a minimum 2 years of working drawing experience.
Candidates can either U.S. mail hard copies or e-mail following our REQUIRED PDF FORMAT:
Visit http://www.hanrahanMeyers.com and click on ‘work for hMa’ for detailed application instructions.
Do not call the hMa office or come in person without a scheduled interview.
hMa offers competitive pay packages and full benefits to their employees.
BFI Construction Corp.
Construction Managers – General Contractors
NYC commercial, retail, and high-end residential renovation and construction.
From pre-construction to occupancy call or email so we many work with you on your next project.
Jon P. Mendelson VP New Business Development
212-929-3610 jon@bficc.com
www.bficc.com
Senior Designer/Project Manager
Small downtown design-focused architecture firm with work in branded environments, retail, and restaurants seeks a senior designer/project manager for a full-time salary position with benefits. Must have B Arch and minimum of seven years experience, including two years in construction administration. AutoCad a must; Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark or InDesign a plus. Retail experience desirable but not required. Must have ability to effectively communicate with clients, vendors, and contractors.
Send resume and salary requirements to genriquez@paulbennettarchitect.com
Senior Architect/Project Manager
Minimum 15 years experience, license preferred.
Award-winning mid-size firm seeking talented and experienced architects for leadership on significant mixed-use urban projects. CAD proficiency, design and construction document experience required. Congenial, design-oriented office specializing in sustainable ‘Green’ design, housing, community development and schools. Good benefits + salary with growth opportunity.
Please email resume and salary requirements to Lrondon@maparchitects.com
Handel Architects seeks talented, dynamic, detail-oriented individuals for two positions in our SoHo design practice.
Job Captain: 10+ years experience, expert in assessing, detailing, and coordinating project needs for high rise residential, mixed-use projects.
Construction Admin: Energetic, committed licensed architects with12+ years experience in Construction Admin of large-scale urban projects and strong communication skills.
We’re creating large, transformative projects in a relaxed, studio atmosphere. Check out www.handelarchitects.com to learn more. Send resumes, work samples, and references to jobs@handelarchitects.com.
Architect II
Title Code: 21215
Bureau: Human Resources and Administration
Division: Facilities Management and Construction
Work Location: 59-17 Junction Blvd.
Salary: $60,382 (New Employees); $69,439 (full-time Employees who have been working for NYC at least two years)
Number of Positions: 1
Hours/Shift: 35 hours/Monday-Friday
Job Description:
Prepares and/or supervises the preparation contract documents; drawings & specifications for major projects for new construction, remodeling or repair of public works, structures or installations for DEP. Supervise the preparation cost estimates and material quantities. Serves as team leader on projects with great technical complexity and/or impact on agency architectural operations and/or City infrastructure. Sign and seal architectural plans and documents for small in-house renovations and ability to file same with Dept of Buildings for work permit and sign-offs.
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Valid New York State Architect License and minimum four years full-time architectural experience. In addition the candidate for Level II Architect must have one of the last three years of experience as a project leader on complex projects requiring expertise in the disciplines needed to design and/or construct these types of projects.
TO APPLY, PLEASE SUBMIT 2 COPIES OF YOUR RESUME WITH JVN NUMBER TO:
NYC Department of Environmental Protection
59-17 Junction Boulevard, 11th Floor
Flushing, NY 11373-5108
or fax 718-595-4386
Att: Terry Pupillo
For more information about DEP, visit us at: www.nyc.gov/dep
JVN: 826-07-HRA-021
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.
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