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05.27.09
Now that the weather is nice, the city is enhancing its public spaces. The revamped Washington Square Park is fully open, and Broadway at Times Square and Herald Square are open to pedestrians. Be sure to check them out.
- Jessica Sheridan, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP
Event: Conference on SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION IN THE INFORMATION AGE: Role of Infrastructure in Metropolitan Development
Location: United Nations Headquarters, 05.13.09
Speakers: For full list of speakers, click here
Organizers: The United Nations Human Settlements Programme; Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID); AIA NY Chapter; Regional Plan Association
Sponsors: The Building and Social Housing Foundation; Forum for Urban Design; Novartis Corporation; The Levin Graduate Institute
Melbourne 2030, London’s Eco-towns Prospectus, and NYC’s PlaNYC are three groundbreaking proposals to make the world more sustainable.
(L-R): courtesy www.melbourne2030.vic.gov.au; courtesy www.communities.gov.uk; courtesy www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030
The second edition of the Conference on Sustainable Urbanization in the Information Age: The Role of Infrastructure in Metropolis Development, once again created a forum for a dialogue both among nations and between public and private spheres to achieve a more sustainable future.
Speakers from all corners of the world not only addressed the problems of rapid urbanization, but also attempted to vindicate the urban condition: “Urban centers are the ticking hearts of civilization” was the opening remark of Sarbuland Khan, executive coordinator of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Public Administration and Development Management Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (UN DESA DPADM GAID). This was later stressed by Alexandros Washburn, AIA, chief urban designer for the NYC Department of City Planning, in quoting Aristotle: “In a village you can live, but in a city you live well.” AIANY Executive Director Rick Bell, FAIA, added, “Living well is the only sustainability.”
Keynote speaker Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, UN Under-Secretary General and executive director of the UN Human Settlements Programme, noted that the common ground among those present is the way their cities are managed and infrastructure is built. In these times when infrastructure is supposed to save the world from the falling economy, she urged cities to consider this an opportunity to install sustainability principles in infrastructure development processes. “The challenge,” she said, “is to integrate economic, environmental, and social policies to make our cities economically more competitive, ecologically more sustainable, and socially more inclusive and gender responsive…. We need local action if we are going to achieve global goals.”
Continues…
Event: Design Awards Symposium — Architecture Winners
Location: Center for Architecture, 05.06.09
Moderator: Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen — Assistant Professor of Design, History, and Theory of Architecture, Yale School of Architecture
Speakers: Kevin Rice — Associate, Diller Scofidio + Renfro (Alice Tully Hall, Honor); Kyle Lommen — Principal, Allied Works Architecture (Dutchess County Residence — Guest House, Honor + The Museum of Arts and Design, Merit); Stephen Dayton — Partner, Thomas Phifer and Partners (Millbrook House, Honor) + Raymond and Susan Brochstein Pavilion at Rice University, Honor); David Mallott — Senior Designer, Kohn Pedersen Fox (Shanghai World Financial Center, Honor); Carlos Arnaiz — Associate Partner, Stan Allen Architect (Chosen Children Village Chapel, Merit); Joel Sanders, AIA — Principal, Joel Sanders Architect (House on Mount Merino, Merit); Marc Leff, AIA — Partner, Deborah Berke & Partners Architects (Irwin Union Bank, Creekview Branch, Merit); Nicholas Leahy, AIA — Principal, Perkins Eastman; William B. Fellows, AIA — Principal, PKSB Architects (TKTS Booth and Revitalization of Father Duffy Square, Merit)
Organizer: AIA New York Chapter
Sponsors: Benefactor: ABC Imaging; Patrons: Cosentino North America; The Rudin Family; Syska Hennessy Group; Lead Sponsors: Arup; Dagher Engineering; The Durst Organization; HOK; Mancini Duffy; Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects; Sponsors: AKF Group; Building Contractors Association; FXFOWLE Architects; Hopkins Foodservice Specialists; Ingram Yuzek Gainen Carroll & Bertolotti; JFK&M Consulting Group; KI; Langan Engineering & Environmental Services; MechoShade Systems; New York University; Pei Cobb Freed & Partners; Rogers Marvel Architects; Steelcase; Studio Daniel Libeskind; Tishman Realty & Construction; VJ Associates; Weidlinger Associates; Zumtobel Lighting/International Lights
Honor Award-winning Design Awards in Architecture (clockwise): Alice Tully Hall by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with FXFOWLE Architects; Millbrook House by Thomas Phifer and Partners; Dutchess County Residence by Allied Works Architecture; Susan and Raymond Brochstein Pavilion at Rice University by Thomas Phifer and Partners; Shanghai World Financial Center by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates.
Courtesy AIANY
Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen was preaching to the choir when she said that, in this economic climate, getting anything built, let alone creating a building at the level of design excellence, is “a heroic act.” Acknowledging her bias towards prevailing European ideas of making architecture a part of the cultural and social agenda, as well as setting aesthetic and environmental standards, she lamented that buildings as good as the 10 Architecture Design Award-winning projects are accessible to few in this country — the roster of projects consist of three private houses, a bank, skyscraper, museum, university building, urban plaza, and performing arts center.
Honor award-winning Alice Tully Hall, by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with FXFOWLE Architects, is the first realized piece of the master plan at Lincoln Center. The renovation has made the theater more open and accessible to urban life, said associate Kevin Rice. “Even If you don’t have money to buy a ticket, you can peek into the lobby and the concert-goers become actors… One does not need to be an architect to comprehend the building.”
The TKTS Booth and the Revitalization of Father Duffy Square by Choi Ropiha, Perkins Eastman, and PKSB Architects, and recipient of a Merit award, started when the Van Alen Institute held a design competition. “We knew Times Square could become a town square for New York,” said Nick Leahy, AIA, of Perkins Eastman, and that was the concept they pitched to a plethora of city agencies and clients. The result is an urban public space and outdoor theater — a place to watch and be watched, William Fellows, AIA, principal at PKSB Architects, observed. The glowing red steps that top the TKTS booth were based upon the idea of a flying carpet.
KPF Associates’ Shanghai World Financial Center, which won an Honor Award, was in the works for more than 15 years. At 101 stories, the building’s footprint is just under an acre and has a total of four million square feet. “We wanted to make it not just an icon,” said Senior Designer David Mallot, “but part of the city.” The design team also wondered how they could get the public to interact with the building and its components — retail, offices, conference spaces, a hotel, and several observation decks. During the planning stages, according to Mallot, the public had some input — the proposed circular shaped void at the top of the building reminded the Chinese too much of the Japanese flag, and to be “politically correct,” it was changed to the shape of an upside down trapezoid.
Continues…
Event: AIANY Joins AmeriCorps for Community Service Day: “Getting Green Done”
Location: Thomas Jefferson Park Recreation Center, 05.09.09
Organizers: AIANY Emerging NY Architects Committee; AIANY
Designers conducted a charrette about ideas to green NYC.
Jessica Sheridan
Can a group of architects and designers come together and make NYC buildings carbon neutral, and even bring them off the grid? This was the question posed at the launch of AmeriCorps Week on May 9. Throughout the day, community groups gathered to plant trees, clean up parks, and improve schools under the theme, “Getting Green Done.” AIANY with the AIANY Emerging NY Architects Committee (of which this author is the co-chair) hosted a design charrette at the Thomas Jefferson Park Recreation Center aiming to prove that architects are key to sustainability efforts in the city.
After a general tour of the Robert Moses-commissioned bath house-turned-recreation center, designers and one engineer from Arup (”to keep us honest,” quipped Margaret Castillo, AIA, LEED AP, AIANY Vice President of Public Outreach) broke out into three groups tackling themes of energy, envelope, and program. Ideas included: inserting skylights and operable windows for cross ventilation; adding a green roof with photovoltaics; installing thermal solar hot water heaters and low-flow showerheads; re-using gray water from rain and the pool; insulating the walls; installing vertical shades; and providing opportunities for users to learn about the systems implemented. The programming team focused on limiting circulation so the maximum amount of space can be used for various activities. There was a small proposal that adjusted the existing circulation, medium-sized proposal that made the center more accessible, and a large proposal that sunk additional program below grade under earth berms.
After an afternoon of brainstorming, the team proved that it would not take much more than creative thinking to achieve carbon neutrality at the recreation center. While there are many engineers currently conducting everything from energy audits to mechanical system overhauls, they demonstrated that architects should also be called upon to conduct sustainability surveys of existing buildings. Perhaps if this team continues to grow, the success of PlaNYC will be possible by 2030.
Event: Unfinished Spaces: Cuba’s Architecture of Revolution, trailer screening and panel discussion
Location: Center for Architecture, 05.08.09
Speakers: Alysa Nahmias, Assoc. AIA — Co-Director/Producer, “Unfinished Spaces”; Ben Murray — Co-Director, “Unfinished Spaces”; John Stubbs — Vice President for Field Projects, World Monuments Fund; Luly Duke — President, Fundacion Amistad; Belmont Freeman, FAIA — Former President, Storefront for Art & Architecture & Principal, Belmont Freeman Architects
Moderator: Noushin Ehsan, AIA — Chair, AIANY Global Dialogues Committee
Organizers: AIANY Global Dialogues Committee
Sponsors: Brooklyn Brewery; Zafra Cuban Kitchens
“Unfinished Spaces,” 2010, film still. Location: School of Modern Dance by architect Ricardo Porro. Havana, Cuba.
Alysa Nahmias and Ben Murray
“Unfinished Spaces: Cuba’s Architecture of Revolution” (Anja Film. 2010), a film directed by Arnold W. Brunner Grant recipient Alysa Nahmias, Assoc. AIA, and Ben Murray, documents the story of Cuba’s National Art Schools, commissioned by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in 1961. The design of the five-discipline institute was deemed counter-revolutionary and halted in mid-construction. However, the schools’ program progressed as planned and classes have been held for the last 40 years amidst the rapidly decaying structures. Looted for material in the 1990s, the schools embody Cuba’s cultural heritage, radical architecture, regional building technologies, and restored hope for Cuba’s future. In 1999, they were placed on the World Monuments Fund Watch List, which calls attention to endangered cultural heritage sites.
In 1999, Castro invited the schools’ three original architects to complete construction on the complex and restore the Modern campus for its original use. In 2008, Cuban funding totaling USD$20 million accomplished restoration on two of the five schools that comprise the institute, and the project continues to progress. “Unfinished Spaces” explores the history of the project through interviews with the aging architects — Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti, and Roberto Gottardi — who must now acknowledge the change within the architectural world in which their cultural experiment was begun. Those who have played integral roles in what can be termed the “soft” revolution of the National Art Schools narrate the historical legacy of this project, its controversy during Castro’s regime, and its potential impact for the future of Cuba.
The film, intended to be a catalyst for public awareness, is currently in post-production and scheduled for release in 2010. Tax-deductible contributions to the production can be made through the Women Make Movies Fiscal Sponsorship website or by contacting info@ajnafilm.com.
Jacqueline Pezzillo, LEED AP, is the communications manager at Davis Brody Bond Aedas and a regular contributor to e-Oculus.
Event: Objects, Environments, People, Stories: Building the blurring line between the physical and the virtual.
Location: Center for Architecture, 05.11.09
Speakers: James Tichenor & Joshua Walton — New Media Leads, Interaction Lab at Rockwell Group
Organizers: AIANY Technology Committee
Sponsors: ABC Imaging
Hall of Fragments.
Courtesy of the Rockwell Group
“Our physical spaces do not reflect our virtual selves anymore,” explained James Tichenor and Joshua Walton, new media leads of the Interaction Lab at Rockwell Group. Instead, they believe the physical and the virtual blend through interactive experiences augmented with digital technology, and it is important for the designers to remove people from the electronic world of handheld devices and place them into the space around them.
Tichenor and Walton see each project as a “storytelling” opportunity. At the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto, for example, friezes hang above the heads of the guests, reacting to the movement of those who pass below with digital renderings of natural forms like leaves, butterflies, flowers, waves, and snow. Similarly, the “Hall of Fragments,” designed in collaboration with jones | kroloff for the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale, was an interactive entrance installation that distorted movie clips into prisms, which are then projected onto screens.
Each project is “like a landscape,” Tichenor and Walton explained. They need to be maintained after they are created. And just as in any landscape, there are aspects that cannot be controlled. While creating the pieces, the designers ask themselves questions such as, “How will people relate to objects? What stories will people tell? How will people relate to each other?” The answers come only when the project is built and people start using it. In a way, all of the projects are “props” that contribute to stories that have yet to be conceived.
Melissa Simonetti is an architectural designer at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates.
Event: Jump-Start Your Marketing Effort
Location: Center for Architecture, 04.28.09
Speakers: Marketing Communications: Richard Staub, FSMPS — President, Richard Staub Marketing Services; Sally Handley, FSMPS — President, Sally Handley Inc.; Business Development: Nancy Kleppel — Co-chair, AIANY Marketing & Public Relations Committee, Principal, Nancy Kleppel Consulting; Maxine Rhea Leighton, Assoc. AIA — Principal, Business Development/Director of Marketing, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects; Public Relations: David Grant — President, LVM Group; Joann Gonchar, AIA, LEED AP — Senior Editor, Architectural Record & GreenSource; Interviews/Presentations: Chris Strom, AIA — Director of Project Development, Mission Critical, Skanska USA Building, Inc.; Kathy Kleiver — Director of Business Development, H3Hardy Collaborative Architecture; At Large: Kirsten Sibilia, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP — Chief Marketing Officer, JCJ Architecture; Gretchen Bank, Assoc. AIA — Co-chair, AIANY Marketing & Public Relations Committee, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Selldorf Architects
Organizers: AIANY Marketing & Public Relations Committee
Sponsors: Skanska USA Building, Inc.; Stuart-Lynn Company
The take-away: “Advertising is what you pay for and PR is something you pray for.” David Grant, president of LVM Group, didn’t invent that line, but he imparted those words of wisdom at the first program of the AIANY’s reconstituted Marketing and PR Committee. Inspired by the work of the Not Business as Usual initiative and recognizing the issues of marketing and public relations were not being adequately addressed by other committees, the committee presented a workshop geared to provide firms of all sizes a comprehensive introduction to going about their marketing and PR efforts.
The opening session focused on marketing communications, business development, public relations, presentations, and the interview process. After a brief overview, the entire group was divided into four smaller sections, grouped by common experience or firm size. Each team of two speakers delivered their presentations separately to each group.
A post-program survey showed that attendees found the business development session most valuable, with a number of action items suggested. Active listening: put down all devices; don’t try to answer before you hear; be prepared to paraphrase what you have heard. Enhancing your relationships: pick one client or prospect to get to know better; do something social. Networking: go to an event; go out with a colleague or peer. Gathering information: add a new publication or media outlet to your regular list; read a broad-based selection of information for at least one hour per week. “Go/no go”: review or create your own questionnaire.
“Our objective,” said committee co-chair Nancy Kleppel, “was to present useful information to firm principals and technical and professional staff, and to enable them to take on some of their own marketing efforts. While we are welcoming to marketing professionals, we hope to have an ongoing dialogue with architects, offering them the tools and information they need to succeed. Going forward, we hope the professional community, the membership, will see the revived marketing committee as a resource.”
Comments by a cross-section of attendees were:
Debra Pickrel, Principal, Pickrel Communications: “I believe that there is strength in numbers — by sharing our insights with others, we develop both individual and collective vision, which benefits our profession at large.”
Ariel Wilchek, Focus Lighting: “I was able to share and absorb trade secrets to focus my efforts on getting published, gaining new clients, and making effective presentations.”
Peter C. Budeiri, AIA, Peter Budeiri + Associates: “The seminar made the point that my firm’s marketing and communications efforts should be focused on the client’s needs and interests, and that they should send a consistent message based on an accurate understanding of our strengths.”
Event: Landmarks Preservation Commission Process: Designation and Regulation
Location: Center for Architecture, 05.20.09
Speakers: Sarah Carroll — Director of Preservation, Landmarks Preservation Commission; Elise Quasebarth — Principal, Higgins Quasebarth & Partners
Organizer: AIANY Historic Buildings Committee
The Diane von Furstenberg Headquarters, designed by WORKac, is a successful example of the LPC process.
Jessica Sheridan
Architects often view the process of filing with the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) as an arduous one. Sarah Carroll, director of preservation for the LPC and Elise Quasebarth, principal of preservation consultant Higgins Quasebarth & Partners, presented what every architect working on a landmarked project should know, offering examples of successful renovations and additions.
The LPC includes 11 commissioners, who are appointed by the mayor. By law, at least three of these must be architects in addition to a historian, a city planner or landscape architect, a realtor, and a resident of each of the five boroughs. Landmarks in the city fall under four categories, and they include: 1,230 individual landmarks; 110 interior landmarks, which must be publicly accessible spaces; 95 historic districts plus 13 extensions; and 10 scenic city-owned landmarks. To make modifications to a landmark, architects must apply for the appropriate permit, filing with the LPC first before filing with the NYC Department of Building (DoB). The more complete the application, Carroll explained, the smoother the filing process becomes.
What architects don’t often realize is that scheduling a public hearing is typically a four- to six-week process, Carroll explained. Before a hearing can be scheduled, the architect must present the project to the local community board. Carroll offered some reassurance: projects aren’t usually denied outright at LPC public hearings; designers usually can revise the design to comply.
Quasebarth offered suggestions for architects who are building a case for an LPC application. While a tax photo — a historical photo of a building or space — is a good start, other sources of information include old maps, which can convey traffic patterns and previous block configurations, as well as old DoB filings. She suggested simply walking around the neighborhood to better understand the context. “It is important to understand the story and the specifics of the place you are working in,” she stated.
One example of this was when a client wanted to convert the Met Life Building to residences and change the double-hung windows to single-pane windows. Research revealed that a “modernization” project in the 1960s fitted the building with single-pane windows, so the LPC approved the return to this aesthetic.
The crystalline addition to the roof of the new Diane von Furstenberg Headquarters in the Meatpacking District, designed by WORKac, was deemed appropriate for its context given the pattern of quirky roof additions in the neighborhood. Likewise, the controversial design for Hearst Magazine Tower, by Foster + Partners, relied on precedents such as the Merchant Exchange Building and the firm’s expansion of the Reichstag in Berlin. The design was ultimately approved since the original Hearst building was constructed as a base, but never expanded due to the financial crisis in the 1930s.
While navigating the LPC filing process can be tricky, architects should focus on preparing a solid argument for the proposed changes that is based on historical precedents and a lot of research. When in doubt, ask questions: “Communication is key,” Carroll explained; she encourages architects to maintain an open dialogue with LPC staff. “They are there to help you through the process.”
Murrye Bernard is a freelance writer and contributing editor to e-Oculus.
Event: NYPL Live: Frank Gehry and Esa-Pekka Salonen in conversation with Barbara Isenberg and Alex Ross
Location: New York Public Library, 05.11.09
Speakers: Frank O. Gehry, FAIA — Principal, Gehry Partners; Barbara Isenberg — Associate Director, Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, & Author, Conversations with Frank Gehry (Random House, 2009); Alex Ross — Music Critic, The New Yorker; Paul Holdengräber — Director of Public Programs, Research Libraries of the New York Public Library (substituting for Salonen, composer and former conductor, Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Organizers: New York Public Library
Esa-Pekka Salonen in front of Gehry Partners’ Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Photo by Mathew Imaging, courtesy LA Philharmonic
Listeners anticipated a breathtaking game of brain tennis between Frank Gehry, FAIA, designer of LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, the innovative conductor who has made it the home base for his orchestra’s experiments. Due to a back injury forcing a last-minute cancellation by Salonen, the speakers, instead, improvised on a range of topics — the importance of play in composition, the emigrant community in Los Angeles, the phenomenal tone achieved in Disney Hall by acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, the limits of “faceless” museum design despite many artists’ preference for it, and the oddity of the inquiries Gehry has received from neuroscientists about the nature of inspiration, including whether it’s more likely to occur in round or square rooms.
Music has long commanded and focused Gehry’s attention, and his remarks took on particular animation during interchanges with music writer Alex Ross about Salonen’s mission to strengthen audiences’ understanding of 20th-century modernist music, particularly its continuities with earlier tonal forms. (The precision and logic of Bach’s Goldberg Variations appeals strongly to Gehry.) Paul Holdengräber, director of public programs at the NY Public Library’s research libraries, elicited several remarks on process: though his firm’s use of digital design technology has revolutionized the field, Gehry favors hand sketching and fears that computers are eroding that skill among younger architects. He explained his tendency to revise sketches extensively, or nearly indefinitely, to incorporate evolving program, site, and budget information into an initial idea (”It’s like a crystal; I keep it liquid as long as I can”). He also addressed the local-interest question raised by several audience members, the status of his contribution to the stalled Atlantic Yards complex in Brooklyn — he maintains a glass-half-full position.
Gehry differs from several of his Pritzker-laureate peers in being reluctant to offer general theories. His public statements reveal a reactive intellect, and he is relaxed enough to play along with self-effacing anecdotes such as his cartoon-mediated appearance on The Simpsons, turning a discarded sheet of crumpled paper into a concert-hall design for Springfield and pronouncing himself a genius. Ross played an excerpt from Salonen’s Wing on Wing, a site-specific composition that references the sail and fish shapes that inspired Disney Hall and includes samples of Gehry’s voice (including the phrase “Why the fish?” — to which orchestra members invariably reply in rehearsal, “Because there’s no beef”). There is nothing fishy about Gehry’s imagination.
Bill Millard is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in OCULUS, Icon, Content, The Architect’s Newspaper, and other publications.
Event: Now What Architecture?
Location: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 05.14-15.09
Speakers: Urban Spaces: Anthony Vidler — Dean, School of Architecture, Cooper Union School of Architecture (Moderator), Amale Andraos — Principal, WORKac, Adriaan Geuze — Principal, West 8; Thomas Krens — Senior Advisor for International Affairs, Guggenheim Foundation; Personal Spaces: David van der Leer — Assistant Curator of Architecture and Design, Guggenheim Museum (Moderator); Phil Allsopp — President & CEO, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation; David Adjaye, Hon. FAIA — Principal, Adjaye Associates; Toshiko Mori, FAIA — Principal, Toshiko Mori Architect; Shared Spaces: Julie Iovine — Executive Editor, The Architect’s Newspaper (Moderator); Beatriz Colomina — Director of Graduate Studies, Ph.D. Program & Director, Program in Media and Modernity, Princeton University; Stan Allen, AIA — Principal, Stan Allen Architect; Reinhold Martin — Associate Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Organizers: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation on the occasion of “Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward”
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY. 1943-59.
2009 The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Scottsdale, Arizona.
In conjunction with the Guggenheim’s 50th anniversary and exhibition, “Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward,” this symposium sought to answer Wright’s seminal question, “Now what architecture?” Depending where emphasis is placed, this statement can take on several meanings. Likewise, the panelists expressed diverse perspectives while examining Wright’s influence in defining urban, personal, and shared spaces.
Wright’s approach to urban space is often contrasted with Le Corbusier’s, but Amale Andraos, principal of WORKac, finds several similarities. The designs for Wright’s Broadacre City and Le Corbusier’s Radiant City both combine infrastructure with public space, a similar concept applied in recent projects such as the High Line. Additionally, Wright and Le Corbusier each provided shared farm space for inhabitants — a solution that is practical today in urban environments. Andraos cited the Red Hook Farm and WORKac’s design for Public Farm for P.S.1 as examples.
Most evident in his residential designs, Wright sought to “create architecture that resonates with the human spirit,” said Phil Allsopp, president and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Like Wright, David Adjaye, Hon. FAIA, principal of Adjaye Associates, proposes that home designs should be “bespoke” rather than industrialized. He advocates re-using the existing fabric and invites the challenge of transforming an imperfect lot into a luxurious repose for his client.
Before Toshiko Mori, FAIA, became familiar with Wright’s work, she was surprised to find that her residential plans were similar to his designs. Since Wright designed for modern life, his layouts are still relevant, she believes. Mori recently designed a visitor’s center for Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo. Rather than emulate the house, she sought to contrast it by creating a simple glass pavilion that provides uninterrupted views.
Stan Allen, AIA, explained that Wright found freedom in horizontality: he even considered the Guggenheim to be a one-story building. However, contemporary trends for defining shared space, Allen believes, have shifted to the reconsideration of the vertical surface. “There is an emerging trend towards ‘landscape buildings,’” Allen noted, referring to recent projects including MVRDV’s Hannover Pavilion Expo and SANAA’s EPFL Learning Center.
Wright designed spaces to accommodate and enhance the lives of inhabitants — from small-scale residences to vast urban planning. Now, what architecture!
Murrye Bernard, LEED AP, is a freelance writer and a contributing editor to eOculus.
(L-R): Bowery Poetry Club, New Museum, Fruit Stand at Bowery and Grand.
Fran Leadon
Note: Be an AIA Guide scout! If you know of any buildings or parks not mentioned in previous editions of the Guide that you think should be included in the fifth edition, send the following information to Fran Leadon at franleadon@yahoo.com: title of project, exact address (including cross streets), architect, and date of completion. Photos are not necessary.
On Sunday, May 10, I set out to photograph the Bowery for the upcoming fifth edition of the AIA Guide to New York City (Oxford University Press, 2010). I had just re-read Low Life, Luc Sante’s 1991 social history of 19th-century Manhattan and was curious to walk the Bowery’s length, from Chatham Square in Chinatown north to Cooper Square, and see what had changed since the Guide’s last edition in 2000. I knew that the infamous old McGurk’s Suicide Hall had been torn down in favor of a new project by Arquitectonica, but I was curious to see what else was still there from the old days, and what was being built that was new and interesting.
De Bouwerie had originally been an Indian trail, then a bucolic lane winding through the farms, but it had become virtually synonymous with skid row by the 1850s, mythologized in comics and dime novels (and later in films) as a seedy district of flop houses, brothels, vaudeville theaters, and pawn shops. Today, little of the old skid row Bowery remains. The southern end of the Bowery is mostly discount jewelry outlets, Chinese jitneys (Fung Wah Bus at 139 Canal), and electronics stores. I passed a vacant lot at the corner of Hester Street, where the Music Palace Theater, reportedly designed by McKim, Mead & White, was recently demolished. Known in its later years as the Chuan Kung Theater, it was the last of the neighborhood’s Chinese language cinemas. Covered with sheet metal and murals, who knew a McKim, Mead & White building lurked underneath?
The Lighting District starts as the Bowery crosses Grand Street, and the Restaurant Supply District begins in earnest just north of Kenmare Street (Chairs! Tables! Stools! Dishes! Pots! Pans!). Colorful, wordy signs are the main feature here, but there are some architectural treasures as well, notably two landmark banks: Stanford White’s 1895 Bowery Savings Bank, just north of Grand, and Robert Maynicke’s 1898 Germania Bank, at Spring Street.
I began noticing more and more hipsters as I walked north, and new modern buildings began appearing in quick succession: Keith Strand’s skinny condo at 195 Bowery, SANAA’s stacked mesh New Museum, and the shiny glass boxes of Arquitectonica’s Avalon development on both sides of East Houston Street. In the midst of all the new glass and steel, I noticed the Bowery Mission, at 227, still soldiering on, helping the homeless since 1879.
Just to the east of Bowery and East 1st Street, surrounded by the Avalon development, I peeked into Extra Place, a notorious little alley, formerly cobble-stoned and garbage-strewn, now paved and cleaned up (but still empty). Extra Place is just outside the back door of what used to be CBGB’s, at 315 Bowery. That renowned club closed in 2006, and while the building is still there the energy is not. Across the street is the Bouwerie Lane Theatre in Henry Engelbert’s old Bond Street Savings Bank at 330 Bowery. (Much recent building behind the theater on Bond Street, but that is another story.)
Further north at East 3rd Street is the fritted-glass and steel Cooper Square Hotel, swelling at its middle, by Carlos Zapata, and finally the buildings of Cooper Union, including the main 1859 building by Frederick A. Peterson facing Cooper Square, and an exciting new building behind it by Morphosis, all peeling steel scrims, just nearing completion. At Cooper Square the Bowery disappears, splitting into Third and Fourth Avenues, so I caught the IRT at the Astor Place station, crowned by Rolf Ohlhausen, FAIA’s replica cast-iron kiosk.
Norval White, FAIA, is an architect, architectural historian and professor. He has designed buildings throughout the U.S., and in addition to the AIA Guide to New York City, is the author of The Architecture Book and New York: A Physical History. He currently resides with his wife Camilla in Roques, France.
Elliot Willensky, FAIA, (1934-1990) was an architect and architectural historian. He served as vice chairman of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, and was the official Borough Historian of Brooklyn. He also wrote a popular history, When Brooklyn Was the World, 1920-1957.
Fran Leadon, AIA, is an architect and professor at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York. He lives in Brooklyn.
The new pedestrian walk in Times Square.
Jessica Sheridan
This past weekend marked a major decongestion experiment in the city. Times Square and Herald Square opened Broadway to pedestrians, re-routing all traffic. As I could only imagine as kid, I went to Times Square to see what it felt like to stand in the middle of the avenue. Maybe because it was Memorial Day, what I found was that it did not feel much different from a weekend street festival.
Lounge chairs were strewn about, street performers tap danced and played instruments, and throngs of people moved through in a lazy daze. All in all, the experience was novel, but it seemed temporary. If the city is going to determine the experiment’s staying power, more needs to be done to make it feel permanent.
Despite the chairs and performers, the street still felt like a street. Painting it green, like other pedestrian-designated lanes carved out of the city’s avenues, is not enough. I think there should be a design competition for street furniture; artists should be commissioned to paint or tile the street. Broadway is so wide it should be divided into paths designated for different speeds of movement. There could be zones designated for slow shoppers, halted loungers, flexible space for performers, and express lanes for people passing through.
It is about time that something is being done to alleviate overcrowding in Times Square and Herald Square. Pedestrians no longer have to fight with taxis over space. I hope that traffic patterns adjust as Mayor Bloomberg predicts — a 30% reduction in congestion. And I hope this experiment endures so its potential can be fully realized.
In this issue:
· Broadway Will Be Green With Envy
· Justice — and a New Office — for All
· Ice Rink Completes Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
· Westchester School Adds Classrooms, New Sports Field
· Brooklyn-Based Architect Wins the UK’s Art Fund Pavilion 2009
· Korea Will Have a Park Dedicated to Taekwondo
Broadway Will Be Green With Envy
Henry Miller Theater.
Cook + Fox
The Henry Miller Theater will open its doors to the public in September with a revival of “Bye Bye Birdie.” The theater, which is incorporated into the Cook + Fox-designed Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, is the first newly built Broadway house in more than 20 years, as well as the first to be LEED certified. The approximately 50,000-square-foot, 1,055-seat theater, also designed by the firm, preserves Henry Miller’s vision for a new American theater in its intimate scale and emphasis on the direct relationship between audience and actors. The building’s landmarked 1918 Neo-Georgian façade by Allen, Ingalls & Hoffman was fully restored, and the new theater was constructed behind it. The theater now meets technical requirements of modern Broadway productions, with a fully functional fly-tower, deeper stage, and updated stage lighting. In addition, the theater is structurally separated from office tower above and below to maintain acoustic isolation. The theater was designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, and with its use of sustainable materials, water conservation measures, and energy efficiency, provide the best possible environmental quality for patrons and staff.
Justice — and a New Office — for All
New space for The Bronx Defenders.
Levien & Company
Project management firm Levien & Company has completed a 20,000-square-foot renovation project for The Bronx Defenders, a group of not-for-profit attorneys, social workers, investigators, parent advocates, and support staff. Designer Alta Indleman designed a new office space in what was once a restaurant, including the installation of a spiral staircase and the integration of glass blocks throughout to create better lighting. The lobby features murals painted by elementary school students from nearby P.S. 29, a participant in The Bronx Defenders’ Community Arts Exchange program. The artwork reflects the perspectives of neighborhood youth on the richness and diversity of their community, embodying the long-time motto of the organization’s youth programs: “In defense of justice in our community.” Jack Green & Associates, engineer, and Excel Contracting completed the team.
Ice Rink Completes Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Almost 10 years in the making, the World Ice Arena at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Natatorium and Ice Rink recently opened. GF55 Partners completed the entire interior build-out, which includes all the new locker rooms for the hockey teams, figure skaters, and coaches, the pro-shop, bleachers, food service and skate rental areas, offices, and ticket counter. Ekstein Development was awarded the contract to run the World Ice Arena, and this is the second ice rink facility that GF55 Partners has designed for them — the first being City Ice in Long Island City. The entire pool/rink complex, designed by Handel Architects in association with Hom + Golman Architects, spans more than 100,000 square feet, with an exterior of pre-cast concrete panels with an extensive use of glass panels that allow natural light into the pool area. Its shape and design reflect the pavilions built in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park for both the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs.
Westchester School Adds Classrooms, New Sports Field
Tuckahoe Middle and High School.
Peter Gisolfi Associates
Construction was recently completed on a new addition to the Tuckahoe Middle and High School in Westchester County, NY. The three-story addition, designed by Peter Gisolfi Associates, blends with the existing building to reflect the structure’s Art Deco exterior. The new interior space and renovations maintain the building’s original stylistic language. The 21,000-square-foot addition contains 10 new classrooms and a lobby entrance with an elevator, and connects to the three wings of the existing building, enclosing two new exterior courtyards. A series of changes to the existing structure aims to clarify the organization of the entire building. Also included in the project is a new sports field with bleacher seating, synthetic turf, a press box, and a sub-surface drainage system to retain storm water on the site.
Brooklyn-Based Architect Wins the UK’s Art Fund Pavilion 2009
The Lightbox.
Tina Manis Associates
Tent London, a multi-disciplinary design consultancy and The Lightbox, a gallery and museum space designed by Marks Barfield Architects in Surrey, England, has selected Brooklyn-based Tina Manis Associates to design the semi-permanent Art Fund Pavilion 2009. The design is composed of two identical halves that reflect each other. The sinuous form suits the courtyard site with expanses of windows offering views over the canal and channeling visitors through the space. The pavilion, designed for the UK’s leading independent art charity, will first be shown during the festival and then travel home to The Lightbox.
Korea Will Have a Park Dedicated to Taekwondo
Taekwondo Park World Headquarters.
Samoo Architecture
NY-based Samoo Architecture with project lead Samsung C & T and Samoo Architects & Engineers in Seoul, Korea, has won the commission to construct the new Taekwondo Park World Headquarters in Muju, Korea. Located on 570 acres of mature woodlands, natural streams, and valleys, the park and associated building complexes will become a world cultural heritage site emphasizing the spirit, beauty, and sport of Taekwondo. In addition to housing the headquarters of various Taekwondo organizations, the park will contain a sports arena, visitor and exhibition centers, and training and lodging facilities.
In this issue:
· AIA Supports National Transportation Program Authorization
· AIA Supports Legislation for Schools, Green Housing
· NCARB BOD Takes Action Against ARE Violators
AIA Supports National Transportation Program Authorization
The AIA is part of Transportation of America, a broad coalition calling for the renewal of our national transportation program for the 21st century. While seeking to align national, state, and local transportation policies with numerous national priorities, the coalition’s shared goal is the development of a modernized infrastructure to support a thriving economy and healthy communities. Goals of the Transportation for America platform include:
· Establish accountability for transportation agencies for investments that deliver safe, efficient, and economical transportation.
· Make infrastructure investments that will enable the U.S. to compete economically in the 21st century.
· Address investment for multiple payoffs to solve energy, air quality, and climate challenges.
· Reward and support smart local land use planning.
· Set health and safety targets of the National Transportation Objectives.
· Develop new funding strategies for transportation and infrastructure projects.
AIA Supports Legislation for Schools, Green Housing
21st Century High-Performing Public Schools Act
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would provide $6.4 billion in grants to state and local school districts to renovate, repair, and modernize schools. The 21st Century High-Performing Public Schools Act (H.R. 2187) directs funding to projects nationwide that will improve health, safety, energy efficiency, and the overall learning climate of schools. The AIA has long-supported a federal commitment to school modernization and the AIA actively lobbied for this legislation, which the House approved by a vote of 275-155. Under the bill, each state would receive funding that would then disperse those funds to local school districts for modernization projects. Eligible projects include replacing building systems, lighting, doors, and other modifications that would improve the teaching and learning environment. The bill has been referred to the Senate; however, it is unknown how quickly they will move to advance the legislation. To contact your Senator and urge them to take up the bill, please follow the link to the AIA’s Memorial Day Recess page.
The Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act
Recently, sweeping legislation designed to promote energy efficiency in our nation’s residential buildings was introduced. The Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act (The GREEN Act, H.R. 2336) will provide incentives to lenders and financial institutions to offer lower interest loans and other benefits to consumers who build, buy, or remodel their homes to make them more energy efficient. The bill also will expand the uses of Energy Efficient and Location Efficient Mortgages and, for the first time, require state and local housing agencies to assess the impact of transportation planning on housing as a condition of receiving HUD funding — proposals advocated by the AIA. The legislation, already with 14 co-sponsors, is Congress’s most far-reaching attempt to promote energy efficiency in the residential sector. The bill has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee, and Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) has indicated that the committee will hold a hearing on the bill in the coming weeks. To learn more about the bill or find out how it could potentially affect you and your business, please e-mail the AIA Government Affairs team.
Change Proposed to Make Retainage Optional
Federal procurement officials have proposed a regulatory change that would affect how federal agencies pay architects and engineers who contract with them. Currently, the Federal Acquisition Regulation requires contracting officers to withhold 10% of the payment for architecture and engineering contracts until they determine the performance as satisfactory, at which time, they may pay the full amount. The proposal, from the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council, would allow contracting officers to judge the appropriate amount of the retainage, up to 10%, to “protect the Government’s interests.” The AIA has made reforming the retainage clause a top advocacy priority, and the Federal Relations team is still analyzing this proposed rule.
NCARB BOD Takes Action Against ARE Violators
Recently, eight Architectural Registration Exam (ARE) candidates — four of which are from New York — had their testing privileges suspended and scores canceled by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) for posting exam content and/or questions on the Internet. The actions taken by the NCARB Board of Directors against the four New York candidates are as follows: one received a five-year suspension of exam testing privileges; two received three-year suspensions of exam testing privileges; and one received one-year suspension of exam testing privileges and two exam scores were canceled (Construction Documents & Services and Pre-Design). All disciplinary actions become a part of each individual’s permanent NCARB Record.
When candidates disclose exam content, NCARB works with its test development consultant to determine the impact on the exam. If NCARB finds that it is necessary to turn off substantial amounts of content, their ability to continuously deliver the ARE is jeopardized. The Council also faces significant financial ramifications because of the need to replace the exposed content and retain attorneys to defend the exam’s copyright and integrity.
Due to the actions of several of the candidates noted above, NCARB has turned off selected content in one division of the ARE. Should additional content be disclosed, NCARB will need to evaluate the impact and will consider extending the mandatory six-month waiting period between failed divisions until the content can be replaced.
What do you think of the new AIANY Chapter's website?
Note: Results from this poll are non-scientific.
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In celebration of National Preservation Month, which is in May, the U.S. General Services Administration has launched a new website and poster series highlighting its historically and architecturally significant inventory of federal buildings. The site features interactive exhibits on the history, geography, and architectural style of GSA public buildings in the U.S. Virtual visitors can also browse through images, films, and architectural descriptions for more than 200 GSA buildings. GSA also offers the 2009 Historic Building Poster and Brochure Series online. The series highlights more than 100 of GSA’s most significant historic buildings.
Hospitality Design Awards (HD Awards) winners include — in the following categories — Luxury/Upscale Hotel Finalist, Morgans Hotel by R Wade Johnson Design; Luxury Guestrooms or Suites Winner, Miraval by Clodagh Design (with Mithun); Luxury Public Spaces Winner Smyth Tribeca by Brennan Beer Gorman / Architects; Fine Dining Restaurant Winner, Corton by Stephanie Goto, and Finalists, Scarpetta by S. Russell Groves, and Adour Alain Ducasse by Rockwell Group; Casual/Quickservice Restaurant Finalist Delicatessen by RKT&B with NEMA Workshop; Hotel or Day Spa, Sense Spa at the Carlyle Hotel by Zeff Design; and Nightclub, Bar, or Lounge Finalist, Greenhouse by bluearch architecture + interiors…
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) selected the 20 recipients of the 2009 Small Project Awards, including Mobile Chaplet by Moorhead & Moorhead…ACE New York City “Team 8″ won first place for its entry, Cullian III London 2012 Olympic Stadium, in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program’s 3rd Design Competition…The Access to the Region’s Core trans-Hudson tunnel project and NYC Design & Construction chief David Burney, FAIA, are this year’s award recipients of the Professional Engineers in Construction, a division of the New York State Society of Professional Engineers…
Steven Holl Architects with JM Architects has been shortlisted with 6 other finalists in the competition to design a new building for the Glasgow School of Art…The New York chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council has a new look and a new name: Urban Green Council…
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced that Evan Douglis, chair of the Undergraduate Department in the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute and principal of the contemporary architecture and design firm Evan Douglis Studio, will join Rensselaer as dean of the School of Architecture…
05.12.09: The Center for Architecture hosted an exhibition opening and reception honoring the life and work of J. Max Bond, Jr., FAIA, organized by Davis Brody Bond Aedas and the Center for Architecture.
A view into the Center for Architecture at the reception.
Sam Lahoz
(L-R): Richard Franklin, AIA, Davis Brody Bond Aedas; Jean Bond, wife of the late J. Max Bond, Jr., FAIA; and Rick Bell, FAIA, AIANY executive director.
Sam Lahoz
(L-R): Philip Freelon, FAIA, principal of The Freelon Group: Architects, with Sherida Paulsen, FAIA, 2009 AIANY President.
Sam Lahoz
05.09.09: Margaret Castillo, AIA, LEED AP, AIANY Vice President of Public Outreach, presented Gov. Paterson with a pre-publication copy of the cultureNOW map of Harlem at the launch of AmeriCorps Week. During the day, AIANY and the AIANY Emerging NY Architects committee hosted a design charrette to make the Thomas Jefferson Park Recreation Center carbon neutral and take it off-the-grid. See “Architects Get in the Green Game,” this issue.
Brandon Cook
05.18.09: At this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), Pratt Institute received the Editors Award for best Design School exhibiting at the Javits Center.
Jessica Sheridan
The NY Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS-NY) celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Union Square Ballroom. Award winners included (l-r): Sharon Greenberger, president and CEO, New York School Construction Authority (SCA), Public Sector award; David Umansky, CEO and co-founder, Civic Builders, Developer award; Eileen Della Volle, vice president of business development, KS Engineers, PC, Marketing Achievement award; David Bonifacic, PE, LEED AP, managing principal, WB Engineers | Consultants PLLC, Marketing Champion award; and Linda Barr O’Flanagan, managing editor, Real Estate Weekly/Brokers Weekly, Media award. With them are Lauren Hlavenka, president of SMPS-NY; Stephanie Lin, director of special events for SMPS-NY; and Patricia Neumann, president-elect of SMPS-NY.
Courtesy SMPS
05.08.09: Fifth graders from P.S. 50 partnered with the non-profit organization PENCIL and Radhi Majmudar Aziz, a principal at engineering firm ISSE and adjunct professor at Pratt Institute, on a structural engineering project to help enhance the school curriculum and increase interest in the field. Almost 100 students worked in small groups on proposals for a sculpture or climbing structure to be built at the school.
(From rear, left) Radhi Majmudar Aziz; Honorable James Oddo, Councilman, Staten Island; Michael Haberman, President, PENCIL; P.S. 50 Principal Sharon Fine; and (front) two fifth-grade students.
Courtesy PENCIL
Students exhibited a total of 26 proposals.
Courtesy PENCIL
Think-tank brainstorming the future of Swiss design brought 10 U.S.-based designers on a tour of contemporary Swiss design and manufacturing. The group looked at architecture, design, education, and exhibitions throughout Switzerland. Chapter member Illya Azaroff, AIA (left), and Graphic Designer Simon Johnston (right) toured the new Rolex Learning Center at EPFL in Lausanne Switzerland by SANAA Architects.
Sibylle Ambühl
2009 Oculus Editorial Calendar
If you are an architect by training or see yourself as an astute observer of New York’s architectural and planning scene, note that OCULUS editors want to hear from you! Projects/topics may be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based. The themes:
Fall Issue: Carbon Neutral Now. The new green frontier, carbon neutrality, researched, explored, planned, and designed at all scales by New York architects.
06.01.09: Suggestion Deadline
Winter Issue: Health & Architecture. Architecture designed to promote fitness, health, and wellness will be profiled. Projects selected from within this growing field will demonstrate sensitivity to generational and demographic issues, sustainability, and technology.
08.01.09: Suggestion Deadline
If you have suggestions, please contact OCULUS editor-in-chief Kristen Richards.
08.28.09 Call for Entries: 2010 AIA Honor Awards - pdf
09.01.09 Call for Entries: Building Re-Skinning Competition
09.16.09 Call for Submissions: AIA Diversity Recognition Program Issues
09.16.09 Call for Applications: 2009 Fitch Foundation Grant
Center for Architecture 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
The Global Polis: Interactive Infrastructures
May 15 - August 29, 2009
What is infrastructure? For much of the twentieth century, the answer to this question was guided by the ideology of functionalist urbanism, a school of thought that said that all healthy cities served four major needs – work, housing, recreation, and transportation. Today, we no longer take this view for granted, for it is a perspective that makes no provisions for community, identity, or history. At the same time, we still lack an alternative model for visualizing the city that can deal adequately with the public health and quality-of-life issues that the early functionalists sought to address. Our capacity to balance urban development with the demands of ecological imperatives and social needs has only worsened in recent decades, and this exhibition asks whether the trend can be reversed.
Global Polis: Interactive Infrastructures documents a series of contemporary experiments in planning, architecture, and design that treat cities and their environments in holistic terms, as a complex social, political, and ecological matrix – not just as an assembly of buildings, roadways, bridges, pipes, and tunnels (although each of these is important). Infrastructure cannot be divorced from the structure of democracy, from the environment at large, and the contributions to this exhibition highlight the important role that community, communication, participation, and the sharing of knowledge can play in informing understanding of the urban fabric.
This spring and summer, a series of workshops and public programs will be held to generate discussion and debate about civic participation, urbanism, and design. Drawings and diagrams produced in the workshops will be incorporated into the exhibition as an evolving presentation of ideas.
Exhibition and related programs organized by AIA New York in partnership with Architecture for Humanity New York (AFHny) , The Austrian Cultural Forum, and the American Institute for Graphic Arts New York (AIGA NY).
Curator: Nader Vossoughian
Exhibition Design: Project Projects
SPONSORS
Underwriter:
Center for Architecture Foundation
Lead Sponsor:
Supporter:
Consulate General of The Netherlands
Friend:
Times Square Alliance
Helfand Spotlight Series:
Max Bond 1935 - 2009
May 12 - June 11, 2009
Max Bond: 1935 - 2009 was organized by AIA New York with Davis Brody Bond Aedas to commemorate the life and work of J. Max Bond, Jr., FAIA
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of ABC Printing and Davis Brody Bond Aedas.
Max Bond: 1935 - 2009 is presented as part of the Margaret Helfand Spotlight Series.
SPONSORS
Supporters:
ABC Imaging
Davis Brody Bond Aedas
Friends:
IBEX Construction
The Margaret Helfand Fund
2009 Design Awards and Building Type Awards
April 23 — June 13, 2009
AIA New York’s Annual Design Awards Program is the largest competition held to recognize excellence in architectural design for projects in New York City and by New York City architects worldwide. The 2009 Design Awards Program also includes the Building Type Awards in collaboration with the Boston Society of Architects to honor excellence in architectural design in Housing and Health Facilities.
The thirty-two winners of these awards will be on display at the Center for Architecture beginning April 23 and through June 13.
For the full list of winners, please visit the AIANY Awards Web site.
Exhibition organized by: AIA New York
Exhibition design by: Remake with Corey Yurkovich
Benefactor
Patrons
Lead Sponsor:
Arup
Dagher Engineering
The Durst Organization
HOK
Mancini Duffy
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Sponsors:
AKF Group
Building Contractors Association
FXFOWLE Architects
Hopkins Foodservice Specialists
Ingram Yuzek Gainen Carroll & Bertolotti
JFK&M Consulting Group
KI
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services
Mechoshade Systems
New York University
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects
Rogers Marvel Architects
Steelcase
Studio Daniel Libeskind
Tishman Construction Corporation
VJ Associates
Weidlinger Associates
Zumtobel Lighting/International Lights
Friend:
Associated Fabrication
Related Events
May 18, 2009, 6:00 — 8:00pm
Interiors Winners’ Panel Discussion
May 28, 2009, 6:00 — 8:00pm
Housing Winners’ Panel Discussion
June 3, 2009, 6:00 — 8:00pm
Project Winners’ Panel Discussion
June 10, 2009, 6:00 — 8:00pm
Health Facilities Winners’ Panel Discussion
Through 05.29.09
GSAPP End of Year Exhibit
Courtesy Columbia University
The exhibit showcases some of the most innovative research and design work produced by students of architecture, historic preservation, real-estate development, urban design, and urban planning in the past academic year. Students transform most of the public spaces of Avery and Buell Halls into one of the largest annual exhibits devoted to the built environment.
Columbia University, Avery and Buell Halls
1172 Amsterdam Avenue, NYC
Through 06.26.09
FROM THE GROUND UP: Innovative Green Homes
Live Work Home by Cook + Fox and Terrapin Bright Green.
Courtesy Van Alen Institute
Based on a design competition of the same name, the exhibition, sponsored by Syracuse University School of Architecture in collaboration with Van Alen Institute, features the winning designs for 1,100-1,500-square-foot single-family homes that can serve as cost efficient, green prototypes for formerly vital, urban residential neighborhoods throughout the United States.
Van Alen Institute
30 W. 22nd Street, 6th Floor, NYC
Through 07.17.09
2009 Young Architects Forum: Foresight
Courtesy The Architectural League of New York
The Architectural League’s Young Architects Forum winners were chosen through a portfolio competition and are participating in a lecture series and exhibition. This year’s theme, “Foresight,” asked entrants to consider how architectural ideas might resonate beyond professional boundaries — particularly for younger practices that are more apt to consider cross-fertilizations from other disciplines and to incorporate new tactics and techniques into their work. Further, entrants were encouraged to address how to align the ambitions and capacities of architecture with the needs and desires of a diverse and changing world.
Urban Center
457 Madison Avenue
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.
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(Continued from above)
The speakers’ underlying assumption throughout was that rapid growth was coming whether we wanted it or not, and that dense city dwelling reduces our ecological footprint — provided the integration of affordable housing and an efficient public transportation network. (There is a reason why NYC has a small ecological footprint, and would be even less if it were not for New Yorkers’ addiction to flying.)
The call to seek the benefits of urbanization while mitigating its disadvantages was made by Cheick Sidi Diarra, UN Under-Secretary-General and high representative for the Least Developing Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States. He noted that poor planning enhances natural disasters and the required action must go beyond upgrading slums through comprehensive urban planning.
Some of the common problems that were identified by speakers like Roberto Villareal, chief of the development management branch of the UN Division for Public Administration & Development Management, and Peter Woods, Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments, Asia Pacific, included the need to de-bureaucratize the systems to actually allow some field of action. Overregulation and governance conflicts between national and sub-national authorities are restricting technological innovation, the need for civic engagement, and the reinforcement of public/private partnerships. The slow uptake of innovative techniques and absence of relevant skills, along with financial restrictions and the eagerness to reactivate the economy, is leading to poor and irresponsible planning.
Despite NJ Institute of Technology Dean of the School of Architecture Urs Gauchat, AIA’s gloomy note reminding us we are witnessing how daunting science fiction predictions of the past are becoming a reality (exemplified by George Orwell’s Big Brother), there was room for hope in the examples that are being implemented globally, including those that link water supply, public health, affordable housing, and physical development.
Tibaijuka mentioned Eco-efficient and Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Development in Asia and Latin America, a project promoting eco-efficiency as key criterion for sustainable infrastructure development and as a basis to expanding infrastructure financing opportunities, being developed in partnership with the UN regional commissions of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). H.E. Tina Intelmann, the permanent representative of Estonia, presented the re-thinking of urban planning in her country, where they are paying attention to energy savings, improving computer literacy, using technology to help enhance sustainability, and reducing the use of paper for elections, healthcare, and education, among others.
Professor Lyndsay Neilson, director of urban planning in Melbourne, presented Melbourne 2030, with a plan characterized by carefully delineated urban growth boundaries. James Vine, head of UK Housing Policy and Practice for the Building and Social Housing Foundation, spoke about the UK’s environmental commitments to reduce carbon emissions 60% by 2050. Summarized in the “code for sustainable homes” and eco-town proposals, one of the main requirements is that 50% of the commutes be made by foot, bicycle, or public transport. Another plan proposes that every home be sited within 800 meters of a primary school.
Washburn spoke of how the implementation of the 153 ideas in PlaNYC can lead to our ability to “live well.” The private sector also had its say: Patrick Lobdell, AIA, an architect at pharmaceutical leader Novartis, who announced the firm’s goals to achieve 10% energy reduction and lessen carbon dioxide and landfill waste.
There is much to be done and unprecedented challenges require unmatched measures. The first step is to start the dialogue and to re-think priorities.
Mariana Rodríguez Orte received her architecture degree in Uruguay in 2005 and a Masters degree in urban design at CUNY in 2008. She has worked in architecture offices in the UK, Uruguay, and NY, and is currently interning with The Architect’s Newspaper.
(Continued from above)
In one of the most prominent and contentious locations in Manhattan, Allied Works Architecture redesigned the Museum of Arts and Design, recipient of a Merit Award. According to Principal Kyle Lommen, their goal was to “open the building up to its context, and the primary act was one of subtraction.” They connected gallery spaces vertically, provided a connection to Central Park and beyond, and brought light in through cuts in the floors and exterior walls. What everyone can see, even those who don’t go inside, is a façade of glazed terracotta tiles that create an iridescent surface designed to play with the light.
Pelkonen noted that Honor Award-winning Thomas Phifer and Partner’s pavilion at Rice University is so ethereal that it makes you wonder whether it’s an apparition. How do you build a glass building on a neo-Byzantine campus that’s also suited for the climate in Texas? The answer, according to Partner Stephen Dayton, was with a sheltering trellis system that provides shade and perforated “sklylight scoops” to bring light and air into the building.
Situated on the fringes of Columbus, IN, a city known for its Saarinen buildings, the Merit Award-winning Irwin Union Bank branch building is in a mall with big box retail. To distinguish the building from its neighbors, Deborah Berke & Partners Architects designed a “light box” that serves as a canopy, a unifying element, and a beacon that can be seen by motorists 1/4-mile away. The light box “is the opposite of a bleak, fluorescent lit Wal-Mart,” according to Partner Marc Leff, AIA.
“The Chosen Children’s Village Chapel arrests you with its origami-skin,” Pelkonen said. There also happens to be a human-interest aspect to the project. Carlos Arnaiz, associate partner at Stan Allen Architect, had volunteered as a youth in the village that is home to kids with disabilities. When the founders of the non-profit organization needed an architect to design the chapel, they called upon him. The firm and all other professionals involved worked pro-bono on this Merit Award winning-project. The chapel has no mechanical systems and the building, according to Arnaiz, “exploits the plasticity of concrete.” It needed to be thin and compact to handle seismic challenges, and the walls were designed like a ceiling with movable beams.
Three of the winning projects are private residences uniquely integrated into theie landscapes on acres of private property. Allied Works’ Dutchess County Guest House sits on a natural shelf in the landscape and, with its articulated framing of steel tubing, binds the house to the surroundings. Thomas Phifer and Partners’ Millbrook House is at the end of a forested road that leads to a sheltered meadow. The residence was designed to appeal to the owner’s affinity towards a Japanese aesthetic and incorporates an indoor and outdoor environment. Both projects garnered Honor Awards. Joel Sanders Architect’s Merit Award-winning House on Mount Merino is embedded into a hillside with panoramic views. Inspired by the Hudson River School of painting, the house has framed, static views — like a movie camera viewfinder.
All of these projects share a certain formal semblance with early Modernism. They feature simple, geometric forms, have an abundance of light-filled, open spaces, and many have a lot of glass and steel. Pelkonen aptly summed up her remarks by saying, “When you see these buildings, you know you are in a presence of great architecture and you are moved.”
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