In this issue:
· Brooklyn Sets Standard for NYC Firehouses
· Something Old, Something New: 2 Residential Projects in Brooklyn
· Tribeca Condo to Feature Public Sculpture by Kapoor
· Hotel Summons Ghosts of Rat Pack Past

Brooklyn Sets Standard for NYC Firehouses

Engine Company 201 firehouse.

RKT&B

Construction has begun on a three-story firehouse designed by RKT&B for Engine Company 201 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The $6.8 million, 17,000-square-foot facility, which replaces a recently demolished firehouse, is one of the first to be built under the Design Excellence Program of the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC). The design had to address the needs of three different stakeholders: FDNY’s operational efficiencies; DDC’s requirement to set high design standards; and the community’s request for a building with a bold presence. Symbolic elements are integrated in the front façade, including the use of glazed red brick. A Maltese Cross — a symbol of protection and a firefighter’s badge of honor — is suspended in an illuminated glass lantern. In addition, part of the floor is transparent aimed to connect firefighters to the community.

Something Old, Something New: 2 Residential Projects in Brooklyn

An old firehouse-turned-condo on Dean Street.

Mark Gould Architect

Mark Gould Architect (MGA) has unveiled an adaptive re-use of an old firehouse on Dean Street in Brooklyn. Two stories were added to the building, transforming the firehouse into a seven-story condominium. Split-level floors from front to rear create private entries to each unit. MGA attempted to integrate with the existing environment by creating terraces at setbacks, yards, and roofs, and by designing cutout floors that allow light to fully penetrate the interiors. On Kingsland Avenue, MGA has designed a 16-unit asymmetrical building that integrates a rain screen façade system underneath a Mansard metal roof. The building incorporates open plan loft-like apartments, duplex penthouse units with roof terraces, and duplex cellar units.

Tribeca Condo to Feature Public Sculpture by Kapoor
Alexico Group has commissioned Turner Prize recipient Anish Kapoor to create a monumental public sculpture for the ground level of the new Herzog & de Meuron-designed, 57-story residential tower at 56 Leonard in Tribeca. The London-based sculptor’s work often manipulates form and the perception of space. He is best known in the U.S. for Cloud Gate, a 110-ton, highly polished stainless steel sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park, and Sky Mirror, a 35-foot-diameter concave mirror temporarily installed at Rockefeller Center in 2006. Herzog & de Meuron’s design will be revealed this fall. The project is expected to be complete in 2010.

Hotel Summons Ghosts of Rat Pack Past

The new central cabana at Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

Jeffrey Beers International

The Fontainebleau Miami Beach, designed by Morris Lapidus, was prominent on Collins Avenue in the 1950s, sometimes cited as the Rat Pack’s playground. The hotel is currently undergoing a $1 billion renovation/expansion under the architectural and design direction of NY-based Jeffrey Beers International. The hotel will incorporate 1,504 luxury guest rooms, a 40,000-square-foot spa, 11 restaurants and lounges, 58 meeting rooms, and a pool complex. The design team is also renovating the historic 45,000-square-foot lobby, with its bow-tie marble floor designs and grand “staircase to nowhere.” Updates include an infusion of color, customized chandeliers, blue-tinted mirrored walls, and a gold tile wall on the staircase.