In this issue:
· Learning New Lessons From Las Vegas
· The Value of Thinking Institutionally
· Guggenheim Receives Face Lift… From the Inside
· OOZing Humans, Non-Humans Away From Zoos
· Intermodal Transportation Links to Future
· Procrastinators Leave Center Wanting More

Event: Counterpoint: Book Talk with Daniel Libeskind and Paul Goldberger
Location: Center for Architecture, 12.10.08
Speakers: Daniel Libeskind, AIA — Principal Design Architect, Studio Daniel Libeskind; Paul Goldberger, Hon. AIA — Architecture Critic, The New Yorker
Sponsors: AIANY Planning & Urban Design Committee; New York New Visions; Monacelli Press

Studio Daniel Libeskind’s CityCenter in Las Vegas.

©MGM MIRAGE

The new book Counterpoint: Daniel Libeskind in Conversation with Paul Goldberger evades the usual formulas of a monograph, and likewise, a recent book talk ducked its own genre’s stale conventions. In their talk, Paul Goldberger, Hon. AIA, and Daniel Libeskind, AIA, did not refer much to the book; instead, the event was a continuation of an ongoing conversation between critic and architect, begun in an opening section of Counterpoint.

Early on, Goldberger commented on how Studio Daniel Libeskind (SDL) seems to have come to a turning point, having morphed into a prominent enough firm to tackle huge commercial commissions. “It’s a long way from the Felix Nussbaum Museum in Germany to Las Vegas,” he remarked, referring to a Las Vegas development called MGM MIRAGE CityCenter, for which SDL recently designed a 500,000-square-foot complex of retail and public space.

“It’s an adventure,” Libeskind declared. “Even if you design what to some people might seem funny — you know, a Las Vegas project or a shop in a big city… they deserve just as much attention [as] museums and so-called ‘high elite’” commissions. In any case, the Las Vegas of today isn’t as kitschy as it once was, he stated. “Venturi thought it was all about signage, and he was right at that time, but Las Vegas, now, has evolved into the fastest-growing city in America,” and its residents have grown increasingly sophisticated. SDL’s portion of the design, known as The Crystals, features a multifaceted canopy over retail spaces and restaurants, with interior architecture by Rockwell Group.

Another recent project is a 1.5-million-square-foot shopping center and mixed-use complex called Westside in Bern, Switzerland. It might appear to be “about as odd a matching of architect and project as one could imagine,” Goldberger said. But in fact, part of the allure was the challenge of escaping the “dull idiocy” of many such designs, Libeskind explained. “Given how many people spend their time in those places, I want to make it really a destination with a high architectural ambition and bring daylight, bring dramatic forms, unusual materials.” He convinced the client that right-angle storefronts weren’t necessary. Overall, “even though you have the logic of circulation, it’s more a kind of labyrinth of ideas rather than this banal environment,” he added. And the design is successful; in less than two months after Westside opened, more than a million people visited despite the depressed economy, Libeskind claimed.

Of particular interest to his NY audience was a discussion of his design for a residential tower at One Madison Avenue. His creation reveals its layers. “Almost every apartment in this tower is open to the outside world, to the sun,” he said. “The tower itself is permeable.”

All in all, as Goldberger put it, Libeskind’s role these days is to “bring poetry into the prose of life.” When asked what he hasn’t yet designed but would like to try, Libeskind had a quick answer: an airport. “It’s the monotony and the sterility…. They’re not interesting at all, and we spend so much time there,” he said. “I would love if somebody wants to ask me to do it.”

Lisa Delgado is a freelance journalist who has written for OCULUS, The Architect’s Newspaper, Blueprint, and Wired, among other publications.

Event: Architecture and Institutions
Location: Center for Architecture, 12.12.08
Speakers: Damon Rich — Founder & Chair, Center for Urban Pedagogy; Beth Stryker — Director of Programs, Center for Architecture; Gwendolyn Wright — Professor of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University
Moderator: Olympia Kazi — Director, Institute for Urban Design
Organizer: common room

The Center for Architecture brought together a cross-disciplinary audience with Buckminster Fuller’s “Fly’s Eye Dome” installed at LaGuardia Park.

Jessica Sheridan

Big or little, independent or entrenched, New York’s radically different architectural institutions share some common traits. They initiate and propagate both abstract and creative research; leverage other arts as material for inspiration; and help bring discordant voices together in design. The educational collaborative Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is one example of how design groups mediate among city dwellers, architects, and politicians. Like many fledgling architectural groups, CUP’s founder Damon Rich said that he wondered for a number of years how his group’s efforts could be made sustainable. “How can non-profits be more than beautiful bursts of energy?”

One key to the longevity of architectural institutions is the type and quality of the research they undertake. Moderator Olympia Kazi, of the Institute for Urban Design, questioned if the “hundreds” of design research labs practicing today actually generate valuable information, to which Professor Gwendolyn Wright responded that all research is valuable. Applied research, which reveals something new about a problem, is potentially more potent than solely intellectual, meta-scape research, however. Architects often use ex post facto research to “buttress” their designs, said Wright, but even these investigations are important if they reveal a new way of looking at things.

Beth Stryker, Director of Programs at the Center for Architecture, said that the beauty of larger architectural institutions, like the Center, is that they can bring together a range of cross-disciplinary perspectives. She cited Buckminster Fuller as one example of a designer who actively sought outside influences. This past summer, the Center put together a Fuller Study Center, which highlighted some of the many outside-design influences that the designer relied upon.

Though the panel praised institutions’ ability to spark creative thought and collaboration, the definition of what compromises an architectural institution was left fuzzy. How does an informal one- or two-person collaborative without physical space rank against groups with an established public presence, like the Center? Kazi posited a wide definition, saying, “Architectural institutions are places where compromises occur.”

Carolyn Sponza, AIA, LEED AP, is an architect with Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners, and the AIANY Chapter Vice President of Professional Development.

Event: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: Structural Evaluation and Repairs
Location: The Center for Architecture, NYC; 12.16.08
Speakers: Nancy Hudson — Robert Silman Associates
Organizers: Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum during renovation. With the paint removed, the cracks in the concrete are visible.

Jessica Sheridan

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright recently completed an extensive, three-year renovation. Conducted by Robert Silman Associates Structural Engineers (RSA), the comprehensive structural assessment focused on the cantilevered ramps supported by radial walls that define the museum’s Main Rotunda. As an expression of reinforced concrete structural elements, restoring the cast-in-place concrete and sprayed gunite was no small feat — especially when attempting to stay true to Wright’s vision.

RSA’s analysis included $20 million-worth of structural analysis, repair, reconfigured mechanical work, and restored glazing and skylights. To preserve the building, the investigation involved laser scanning, non-destructive evaluation, probes, material testing by ICR (a coating evaluation program) and structural monitoring. A “Shell Model System” was constructed from laser scan data to investigate the museum’s as-built conditions. This finite elemental model mathematically examined existing geometry and material properties to analyze the structure under dead and live loads, as well as wind and temperature loads.

Results from the testing revealed deficiencies created by the original construction, such as voids in web walls and cracking. Because it was required that the museum stay open during the entire renovation process, and to stay as true as possible to Wright’s design intention, exterior repairs were limited. Carbon fiber reinforcing, steel brackets, and dampers were installed in the interior walls to allow the building to move more freely while maintaining the exterior’s smooth finish.

Christian Bergner, Assoc. AIA, currently works at Caples Jefferson Architects, having previously worked with Studio Daniel Libeskind. Bergner is also a member of the AIANY Emerging NY Architects (ENYA) Committee and seeks LEED accreditation.

Event: OOZing Public Workshop, a project by Natalie Jeremijenko
Location: Van Alen Institute, 12.04.08
Speakers: Natalie Jeremijenko — Van Alen Institute New York Prize Fellow 2008-2009
Organizer: Van Alen Institute, in partnership with the Social Science Research Council

Rhinoceros Beetle Wrestling Device, by Natalie Jeremijenko.

Photograph by Chris Woebken. Photograph provided courtesy of Van Alen Institute, ©2008

OOZing, by Van Alen Institute New York Prize Fellow Natalie Jeremijenko, seeks to identify productive cohabitation between animals and humans in the city. “Zoo” spelled backwards (and “without cages,” as the artist and engineer stated), OOZ is a project that she hopes will challenge society and policy makers to redefine the role of non-humans in the urban landscape.

Jeremijenko dismisses the notion that nature is “out there somewhere” else; instead, humans are part of a natural system and must acknowledge socio-ecological relationships to improve urban conditions. Recent sightings of coyote in Central Park and wild turkey on Staten Island are intrinsically natural, she stated. Jeremijenko believes that the zoological model of collecting species in categorical boxes opposes the natural state of biodiversity and creates a separation between humans and animals.

“We screwed up,” she said, referring to current climate and food crises. Her work seeks to amend that error by using technology to investigate social change. With a touch of humor, Jeremijenko’s experiments include a bat detector, a rhinoceros beetle wrestling device, and toilet facilities for pigeons. Those who interact with her work build new relationships with the animals, thus leading to a different understanding of the creatures. This is necessary to move forward and improve the environment, she believes. Rather than observing animals through a simulated ecosystem in a zoo or whispering around them in a park, Jeremijenko boldly asserts: “Perhaps we can do something, and perhaps it could be good.”

Jacqueline Pezzillo, LEED AP, is the communications manager at Davis Brody Bond Aedas and a regular contributor to e-Oculus.

Event: Design for Living: Intermodal Transportation Facilities
Location: Center for Architecture, 12.08.08
Speakers: Peter David Cavaluzzi, FAIA — Principal, Ehrenkrantz Ekstut & Kuhn Architects; Jeff Dugan, AIA — Principal, Dattner Architects; Peter Scaglione, AIA, AICP — Associate Partner, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners
Moderator: Robert Davidson, FAIA — Senior Vice President, STV Incorporated
Organizers: AIANY Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; New York New Visions
Sponsors: Champion: Studio Daniel Libeskind; Supporters: Gensler; Humanscale; James McCullar & Associates; Friends: Costas Kondylis & Partners; Forest City Ratner Companies; Frank Williams & Associates; Hugo S. Subotovsky A.I.A. Architects; Mancini Duffy; Magnusson Architecture and Planning; Rawlings Architects; RicciGreene Associates; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Syska Hennessy Group; Trespa North America; Universal Contracting Group

The Myrtle-Wyckoff Station by Dattner Architects with Domenech Hicks & Krockmalnic.

Dattner Architects

The way architects design intermodal transit facilities is changing rapidly. The fundamentals of new urban structures and planning are being studied and applied throughout the U.S. — and locally, as NYC prepares for new urban growth. Three projects of different scales were recently presented in a panel.

The Gateway Center in Los Angeles, designed by Ehrenkrantz Ekstut & Kuhn Architects, will link subway, rail, and bus transit in a rapidly expanding downtown location near Union Station. The new transit hub was influenced by analysis of circulation patterns and is designed to remain at the center of the urban core as the city grows, according to firm Principal Peter David Cavaluzzi, FAIA. It will offer plazas, city sightlines, and circulation paths to help anchor developing neighborhoods.

At the other end of the size spectrum, the Myrtle-Wyckoff Station, designed by Dattner Architects with Domenech Hicks & Krockmalnic, is sited at the heavily urbanized border between Queens and Brooklyn. The station has a central rotunda with a channel-glass cylinder rising above the public entrance and crisscrossing elevated catwalks and stairways. Public art spans the round ceiling. Even though it is not truly an intermodal facility, the station is close to the future site of a bus terminus being planned around the corner. It is not clear, however, whether there is an intention to link the two into a single facility.

The Hoboken Terminal project is a large-scale renovation of an existing intermodal facility. On the National Register of Historic Places, the complex accommodates rail and waterborne transit. Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners used the building’s history to influence the rebuilding of the main terminal hall. Using original plans and modernizing the lighting scheme, stained glass and copper complement the Victorian-styled structure. The original clock tower was replaced with prefabricated sections that were stacked on-site. The pride shown in the exacting restoration of the public spaces will encourage greater use of the facility, stated Associate Partner Peter Scaglione, AIA, AICP.

Robert Santos, Assoc. AIA, works for Gruzen Samton Architects.

Event: Procrastinators’ Days
Location: Center for Architecture, 12.04-06.08
Organizer: AIANY

In an end-of-the-year effort to fulfill their credit requirements, 246 architects broke from their typical workdays to become students again. Trumping that of 2007, this year’s turn-out for the annual Procrastinators’ Days indicated that the economic downturn is not deterring architects from fulfilling their Continuing Education Unit requirements in a range of construction and design related issues, such as lighting technologies, and the use of wood, steel, and masonry. Some of the most popular sessions included Arup’s presentation on the changing city building codes.

Kicking off Saturday’s program, 2009 AIANY President Sherida Paulsen, FAIA, presented recent renovation work of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Other Chapter members offering presentations included: New Practices Committee co-chair Marc Clemenceau Bailly, AIA, presented 3-D fabrication tools and techniques; AIANY Secretary Abby Suckle, FAIA, LEED AP, and Mary Burke, AIA, IIDA, spoke on specifying furniture; Hector Guillen, AIA, David Peterman, PE, and Robert Paquette, ASI, showcased trading room design trends; Pat Sapinsley, AIA, presented green products; and Margery Perlmutter, AIA, explained new zoning regulations.

The average procrastinator attended a total of seven lectures over the course of three days. Considering the program’s success, some attendees requested additional mid-year Procrastinators’ Days, something the Chapter is considering as it begins to plan for increased day-time programming next year.

Melina Gills is the AIANY Communications Coordinator.