April 2, 2014
by: Linda G. Miller
1 - Ciao Bella SophiaCredit: Biber Architects
1 - Ciao Bella SophiaCredit: Andrew Bordwin
1 - Ciao Bella SophiaCredit: Andrew Bordwin
1 - Ciao Bella SophiaCredit: Andrew Bordwin
2 - Memorial Museum Embraces Memory, Authenticity, Scale, and EmotionCredit: © Red Square Design
2 - Memorial Museum Embraces Memory, Authenticity, Scale, and EmotionCredit: David Brody Bond
2 - Memorial Museum Embraces Memory, Authenticity, Scale, and EmotionCredit: © Amy Dreher
2 - Memorial Museum Embraces Memory, Authenticity, Scale, and EmotionCredit: Red Square Design
3 - Stadium Scores a GoalCredit: Woods Bagot
3 - Stadium Scores a GoalCredit: Woods Bagot
3 - Stadium Scores a GoalCredit: Woods Bagot
4 - A Cure for Fair FatigueCredit: © Andy Ryan
4 - A Cure for Fair FatigueCredit: © Andy Ryan
4 - A Cure for Fair FatigueCredit: © Andy Ryan
4 - A Cure for Fair FatigueCredit: © Andy Ryan
5 - Central Harlem's Sweet AdelineCredit: Perkins Eastman
5 - Central Harlem's Sweet AdelineCredit: Perkins Eastman
5 - Central Harlem's Sweet AdelineCredit: Perkins Eastman
5 - Central Harlem's Sweet AdelineCredit: Perkins Eastman

(Slideshow Above)

In this issue:
– Ciao Bella Sophia
– Memorial Museum Embraces Memory, Authenticity, Scale, and Emotion
– Stadium Scores a Goal
– A Cure for Fair Fatigue
– Central Harlem’s Sweet Adeline

Ciao Bella Sophia
Pizza Vinoteca, a new restaurant designed by Biber Architects, recently opened in 15 Union Square West; the 12-story zinc and black-glass condo tower that envelops the bones of an 1870 building designed for Tiffany & Company. The entrance to the 3,000-square-foot, two-level restaurant leads to the take-out sectionand exhibition kitchen. A red glass backdrop alludes to the heat of the grill and, perhaps, to the intensity of some of the ingredients used. The cork floor and ceiling are a nod to wine corks and reference the establishment’s wine list. A 15-foot-tall tile mosaic of Italian screen goddess Sophia Loren beckons patrons to the second floor, which is reserved for dining. All ordering, upstairs and down, is done via iPads; black-and-white recycled plastic lumber (manufactured out of recycled milk bottles), laid sideways, resembles bar codes, alluding to digital commerce. Graphic design firm MEMO collaborated on the design of branding elements, such as ordering screens, the menu wall, wine displays, and order-tracking monitors. The original building, designed by John Kellum, and completed in 1870, was stripped of its original cast iron façade in the 1950s. The new building, designed by ODA Architecture with Perkins Eastman as architect-of-record, preserved the cast iron arches of the original John Kellum-designed five-story construction, the 16-foot ceilings, the decorative ring in the restaurant’s dining room, and its sky-lit glass roof.

Memorial Museum Embraces Memory, Authenticity, Scale, and Emotion
The National September 11 Memorial Museum, designed by Davis Brody Bond, is scheduled to open on 05.21.14. The entrance is through a glass pavilion designed by Snøhetta located between the two reflecting pools of the 9/11 Memorial, designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker and Partners, with Davis Brody Bond as associate architect. Visitors then descend 70 feet down to the bedrock level where the sheared base columns of the original World Trade Center towers are revealed. This procession, dubbed “the ribbon,” recalls the ramp used to remove debris from the site in the aftermath of the attack, and offers multiple views of the slurry wall, the original retaining wall that was built to withstand the lateral forces of landfill and river, which survived the collapse of the Twin Towers. At the end of the ribbon, the descent continues down along the Vesey Street Stairs, also known as the “Survivors’ Stairs,” which were used by hundreds to escape to safety on 9/11. The stairs ultimately lead to two exhibition spaces and Foundation Hall, a cathedral-like space that houses the last column to be removed from the site. The primary exhibition spaces are at bedrock: the North Tower footprint area houses a historical exhibition, designed by Layman Design, and the south footprint area contains a memorial exhibition, education center, and excavation of the original structure, designed by Thinc Design with Local Projects.

Stadium Scores a Goal
Italian soccer club AS Roma recently unveiled plans for its new, privately-financed stadium and multi-purpose entertainment venue scheduled to open for the 2016-17 Serie A season. Designed by the New York office of Woods Bagot, the Stadio della Roma, located halfway between downtown and Fiumicino airport, will seat 52,500 spectators, and can be expanded to 60,000 for major events. The design features a steel and concrete seating bowl wrapped in a ”floating” stone scrim, evocative of the rhythmic façade of the Roman Colosseum.The polycarbonate-clad roof is reminiscent in form to the historic retractable fabric canopy that once covered the upper tiers of the ancient arena. The architecture enables the stadium, scheduled to open for the 2016-17 Serie A season, to be easily configured to multiple stage configurations, including retractable stage canopies, rigging, and turf protection systems.

A Cure for Fair Fatigue
For the third consecutive year, Brooklyn-based Bade Stageberg Cox (BSC) has designed the Armory Show, a 250,000-square-foot space spanning both Piers 92 (Armory Show Modern) and 94 (Armory Show Contemporary). Featuring art from around the world, the fair is organized as a grid of blocks, punctuated by open spaces that encourage social exchange. The simple, single-loop circulation offers lounge and dining spaces integrated into the gallery plan, making the show easier to navigate. Lounges are anchors around which galleries are organized and serve as landmarks and points of orientation. The stair tower connecting the two shows is wrapped in a lightweight scrim with strategically-placed openings that allow select views of the fair. The entry to the Pier 94 VIP Lounge also uses a fabric screen to filter light and provide views into the exhibition area. BSC also designed and fabricated locally a furniture series to give each lounge a distinctive experience. These included “Home Made,” an experimental plywood furniture project installed in the Pier 94 Coffee Bar, and “Estragon,” a furniture piece based on a character in Waiting for Godot in the China Focus Lounge. A public lounge sported “Planar Chairs,” fabricated in plywood using advanced digital tools and composed of four planes which lock together, without glue or fasteners, like a wooden puzzle. The Pier 94 Mile End Deli was decked out with “Street Seats,” a collection of 50 chairs found on city streets, refurbished, and painted taxi cab yellow, and first seen in the 2012 show.

Central Harlem‘s Sweet Adeline
Designed by Perkins Eastman for L+M Development Partners, The Adeline at 23 West 116th Street is currently under construction. The 12-story condominium is clad with two blends of grey clay-coat brick with a light palette on forward surfaces and darker tones on setback segments, accentuating the layered geometries of the building. The building contains 83 one- to four-bedroom market-rate units. It features high-end finishes and amenities such as a 5,800-square-foot landscaped central courtyard, a 2,300-square-foot common roof deck, a children’s playroom, resident fitness room, and a large resident lounge with a workspace, screening area, and a kitchenette. The condo tower is part of a 276,000-square-foot, mixed-use development that includes a nine-story, 111-unit affordable apartment building fronting West 117th Street, and ground-floor retail space and parking in a common podium. The project was initiated by former principals of GreenbergFarrow prior to joining Perkins Eastman. Occupancy is expected by Fall 2014.

This Just In

Rice University has selected Diller Scofidio + Renfro to design a 600-seat opera theater that is scheduled to open in 2018.

Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects has begun construction on the West 125th Street Corridor Project, which was commissioned by the NYC Economic Development Corporation and dovetails with the West Harlem Masterplan. The project will provide better connectivity to West Harlem Piers Park, and prepares for the future development of Columbia University’s Manhattanville expansion.

GEPPAUL Architects has designed the city’s first-ever dog park in a domestic violence shelter for the Urban Resource Institute. The park in a former alleyway features a ramp, tunnel, bridge, and platform for dogs to play and exercise, and overhead trellises to ensure privacy and security.

The 420-square-foot LifeEdited apartment is up for sale, and this video shows how the owner of the apartment makes the most of every square inch.

The Rockwell Group designed a temporary theater with 16 seating options for TED2014 held at the Vancouver Convention Center. The structure was built nearby in 600 pieces, and assembled onsite in just 4.5 days; it was disassembled and stored for future use.

Built/NYC has selected Mateo Paiva, AIA, and Louis Lim of Studio a+i to design custom gallery seating for the SculptureCenter in Long Island City, Queens; and Todd Bracher and Marius Myking of Todd Bracher Studio to design a gallery bench prototype for the Staten Island Museum

If you happen to be in L.A., catch the West Coast premiere of architect/playwright Oren Safdie’s new play Final Solutions starring Daniel J. Travanti. It’s Safdie’s third in a series of plays set in the world of contemporary architecture, and runs at the Santa Monica Playhouse from 04.24.14 through 05.11.14.

Attention aspiring architects and practitioners with interns! NCARB is launching a new campaign called “Destination Architect: Getting It Done!” that will help to streamline the path to licensure. They will be outlining opportunities in a live webinar on Thursday, 04.03.14 at 3:00 PM EST.


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