January 4, 2012
by: admin

In this issue:
· Frick Collection Opens New Portico Gallery
· A New Public School is on the Books for Riverside South
· Visitor and Education Center Looks Back to Past Life in the Lower East Side
· Bronx Psychiatric Center Starts Construction
· New Building Serves as Gateway to Hospital Campus
· Veterans Honored With a Memorial Plaza at Penn State


Frick Collection Opens New Portico Gallery

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The Frick Collection.

Davis Brody Bond

The Frick Collection recently opened the 800-square-foot Portico Gallery of Decorative Arts and Sculpture, the first major addition to the museum’s display spaces in nearly 35 years. As designed by Davis Brody Bond, details relate to the vocabulary of the original Beaux Arts mansion designed by Carrère and Hastings in 1914. The gallery was created by enclosing the existing bluestone-paved loggia in the garden. Floor-to-ceiling windows inserted between the existing Ionic columns frame views of the formal gardens. Currently on view is the gallery’s inaugural exhibition, “White Gold: Highlights from the Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain,” presented along with sculptures by Jean-Antoine Houdon, including “Diana the Huntress,” a signature work that will now be on permanent display.


Visitor and Education Center Looks Back to Past Life in the Lower East Side

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Tenement Museum Sadie Samuelson Levy Visitor and Education Center.

© Paúl Rivera/ArchPhoto

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum has completed a five-year expansion project with the opening of the Sadie Samuelson Levy Visitor and Education Center. Transformed by Perkins Eastman, the storefront reveals some of the former tenement building’s layers of history. Cast iron columns and historic signage were retained, while other architectural elements served as inspiration for modern flourishes. New tiles make use of circa 1800s colors and patterns, and a remnant of Victorian-era wallpaper serves as the design scheme for proposed future ironwork. The new space offers 10,000 square feet of additional operating space and includes “smart” classrooms for the museum’s education programs, a demonstration kitchen for programs on immigrant foodways, a theater space, a permanent gallery for visual art exploring immigration issues, and expanded retail space.


Bronx Psychiatric Center Starts Construction

Bronx Psychiatric Center.

Spector Group

Construction has begun on the new $350 million campus for the Bronx Psychiatric Center. Based on a master plan designed by Spector Group for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) and the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH), the project encompasses six new buildings on more than 50 acres, as well as the preservation of five existing buildings. The Spector Group is also designing the central services building, central utility plant, and residential village consisting of three outpatient buildings — a Safe Horizon Haven House with a 24-bed and 20-bed wing; a 96-bed transitional living residence; and a 48-bed studio residence. The project, which is designed to achieve LEED Silver, is slated to be completed in December 2013.


New Building Serves as Gateway to Hospital Campus

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North Shore LIJ Medical Center.

Photo © SOM

A new 300,000-square-foot patient tower at North Shore LIJ Medical Center in New Hyde Park on Long Island, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) with landscape design by Thomas Balsey, was recently dedicated. Creating an entry and arrival for the 48-acre campus, the building stacks two distinct programs — the Katz Women’s Hospital and the Zuckerberg Pavilion. The women’s hospital has its own dedicated entrance and two-story lobby, with four floors above containing 88 patient rooms, along with diagnostic and treatment services. The building is characterized by a curved glass façade. A syncopation of vertical elements is intended to reflect on the diversity of the interior functions. The project is compliant with the Green Guide for Health Care.


Veterans Honored With a Memorial Plaza at Penn State

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Veteran’s Plaza on the University Park Campus, Penn State University.

Ennead Architects

Penn State University selected Ennead Architects as the winner of a competition to design a new Veteran’s Plaza on its University Park Campus. The plaza, a gift from the class of 2011, honors veterans who attended the university. Preliminary plans call for a circular walkway and curved stone wall centered around an artistic representation of a warrior’s shield, symbolizing honor and sacrifice. The proposed shield form is a 10-foot-diameter disc carved in polished black “jet-mist” granite set to float above the grass, its surface carved to simulate rippling water to evoke a feeling of contemplation and tranquility. The curved wall, named in honor of an alumnus who posthumously received a Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan, is inscribed with a Greek phrase translated as “Either with it [your shield], or on it.” The plaza, designed in collaboration with Mark Mennin, a sculptor known for his monumental works, is the firm’s third project for Penn State.


THIS JUST IN…

The Landmarks Preservation Commission recently voted to approve a scaled-back version of proposed penthouse additions to the Puck Building, designed by PKSB Architects. The revised additions are now 20 feet shorter, and materials were changed from glass and metal to predominantly masonry and brick to match the existing building.

The National Academy’s Annual Exhibition features works by more than 100 artists and architects juxtaposing contemporary masters with emerging and mid-career artists. On view 01.25-04.29.12, architectural projects include work by NY-based Peter Gluck; Thomas Phifer, FAIA; Robert A. M. Stern, FAIA; Bernard Tschumi, FAIA; Billie Tsien, AIA; and Rafael Viñoly, FAIA.

The plan to redevelop Admiral’s Row passed at City Council. The property, now owned by the federal government, will be transferred to NYC to become a part of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Plans call for the construction of a 74,000-square-foot supermarket with 127,000 square feet of light industrial space above. Two of the 11 historic structures will be restored, and the others will be demolished.

The city of Newport, RI, has given the green light for the building of Maya Lin’s “The Meeting Place,” a public park in honor of Doris Duke. The design calls for three low-walled structures built around a square constructed of local stone to evoke foundations of houses built in the area.

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