In this issue:

· Synagogue Sees the Light at the End of Construction Tunnel
· Philadelphia’s City Center Rises 33 Stories
· Arts Center Melds New Technologies with Industrial Aesthetics
· Allegheny College Advances the Arts
· Super Tower Will Scrape South Korean Sky
· W Hotel Opens in Santiago

Synagogue Sees the Light at the End of Construction Tunnel

Lincoln Square Synagogue.

CetraRuddy

Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side recently topped out its new synagogue and community center, approximately 100 feet south of its current structure. The three-story, 50,000-square-foot building, designed by CetraRuddy, reinterprets historical spiritual forms and materials in a contemporary way. The façade incorporates five undulating glass ribbons that represent the five books of the Torah, bordered by stone panels that feature a pattern resembling a prayer shawl. The building will house a 450-seat sanctuary, a 75-person prayer space, 10,000 square feet of classrooms, a 500-seat ballroom, and administrative offices. This is the first new synagogue built on the west side of Manhattan since the construction of the original Lincoln Square Synagogue in 1970.

Philadelphia’s City Center Rises 33 Stories

10 Rittenhouse Square.

Robert A.M. Stern Architects

Rising 33 stories above the park, 10 Rittenhouse Square, a new 135-unit luxury building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, is the last new building that will be built on the historic square. The building’s red brick and limestone façades recall early 20th-century Philadelphia buildings. The lobby has two entrances — one through the preserved façade of the adjoining Rittenhouse Building and another facing a garden courtyard. Nearly all of the residential units feature high ceilings, large bay windows, and balconies or terraces. Other amenities include a shared roof garden with adjacent pool, spa, and fitness center, business center, a marquee restaurant, guest suites, and valet parking; a Barney’s Coop has already moved into the new Rittenhouse Club.

Arts Center Melds New Technologies with Industrial Aesthetics

Bryants Art Center.

Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners

The art department at Denison University in Granville, OH, is now united under one roof with Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners’ renovation and expansion of an existing neoclassical building. Originally built in 1904 as a gymnasium, the redesigned 45,000-square-foot Bryants Art Center includes expanded classrooms, studio and gallery space, faculty offices, and common areas, all specially-designed to support the department’s interdisciplinary pedagogy and culture. A 15,000-square-foot studio addition rises above an existing one-story base on the east wing; a north addition provides new space for offices, archives, and research facilities; and a small foundry rises from the hillside on the northeast corner. The scale and massing respects the original aesthetic, while a reinterpretation of traditional materials such as brick and zinc give the building contemporary character. The existing timber-frame interior was replaced with a steel structure, allowing upgrades to circulation, lighting, ventilation, and technology. A four-story central atrium is open to skylights above and directly connects the students and faculty working on different floors. At the center of the atrium, the wooden floor of the original painting studio was salvaged to create a colorful canvas.

Allegheny College Advances the Arts

Vukovich Center for Communication Arts.

Polshek Partnership Architects

The new $23 million Vukovich Center for Communication Arts, designed by Polshek Partnership Architects, is a space dedicated to teaching theater, television, and related communication arts at Allegheny College, in Meadville, PA. The 40,000-square-foot facility completes a quadrangle creating an arts precinct on campus. The building’s scale and use of zinc, glass, and red and dark gray iron-spot brick respond to that of the surrounding older buildings and signal the school’s progressive arts program. The center contains a 250-seat black box theater, rehearsal and instructional spaces, technologically advanced video production facilities, scene and costume shops, dressing rooms, a green room, and faculty offices. A roof garden provides space for study and relaxation and also makes the building more energy efficient.

Super Tower Will Scrape South Korean Sky

Lotte Super Tower 123.

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) has completed the conceptual design for Lotte Super Tower 123, a mixed-use project in Seoul, South Korea. The firm was selected earlier this year after an international design competition organized by owner/developer Lotte Group for its corporate headquarters. The design for the light-toned glass structure, accented with a metal filigree, is a blend of modern aesthetic with historic Korean art forms, including ceramics, porcelain, and calligraphy. The building’s first six floors will contain retail; offices will occupy floors 7 through 60, followed by 25 floors of residential, and a 7-star hotel above. The top four stories have been earmarked for extensive public use and entertainment facilities including an observation deck. When completed in 2014, the 555-meter (1,821 feet), 123-story tower will be the world’s second tallest building after the Burj Dubai, and the tallest in Asia.

W Hotel Opens in Santiago

W Santiago.

Handel Architects

Starwood’s W Hotel brand is set to launch in South America with the opening of the W Santiago Hotel and Residences, part of the mixed-use project called Isidora 3000 designed by Handel Architects. The 31-story project makes it one of the city’s tallest buildings, containing 196 hotel rooms and suites with 46 condominiums above. In addition to the 243,000-square-foot five-star hotel and convention center and 86,000 square feet of residential condominiums, the project contains 93,000 square feet of retail and 134,000 square feet of office space. The project is located downtown on a half city block facing a major public square where the residential fabric of the city meets a shopping and business district.