by: Linda G. Miller
SCAPE Unveils Plan for 7.5-mile Path Along Hudson River
The Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail (HHFT) is a 7.5-mile linear path along the Hudson River shoreline that connects the communities of Beacon and Cold Spring in the Hudson Valley. Designed by landscape architecture and urban design practice SCAPE, the trail spans Putnam and Dutchess counties, offering six access points for visitors and connecting them to a number of highly trafficked hiking trails in Hudson Highlands State Park. The design represents a new approach that strikes a balance between environmental conservation and recreational access. The route will traverse four ecological zones—River’s Edge, Highlands, Forest, and Marsh. In each zone, the trail’s design and materials will shift to reflect the ecology of that specific area. The design is intended to protect the local ecology for the long-term by repairing erosion, managing invasive species, and replacing them with native ones, increasing shoreline resiliency to sea-level rise, and addressing flooding with new hydrology systems. The trail also aims to create a completely accessible experience for visitors, abiding by AGODA (Accessibility Guidelines for Federal Outdoor Developed Areas) and ADA accessibility standards. A majority of the trail will be constructed with AGODA-compliant crushed stone and short wood crossings for easy navigation, ensuring access for people using wheelchairs. At the riverfront, kayak launches with transfer benches are being planned to accommodate kayakers with disabilities looking to get onto the water. Twenty years in the making, HHFT represents the vision first conceptualized as a community-led solution to growing tourism to the region. Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, Inc. (HHFT) is a subsidiary nonprofit of Scenic Hudson, an organization devoted to sustaining and enhancing the Hudson Valley’s beauty and health. HHFT is responsible for the planning and construction of the trail and worked with a 20-entity steering committee to bring the project to life. Previously, visitors had to walk along a busy state highway to access state parkland and will now be able to access the trail directly from various Metro-North stations. The project is slated for completion in 2031.
DXA Studio Completes Maverick Chelsea Residences
DXA Studio’s completed Maverick Chelsea, located at 215 and 225 West 28th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, consists of two 20-story residential buildings, totaling 312,500-square-feet. The building on the east houses 87 condo units while the rental building on the west contains 112, including affordable housing and ranging from one to four-bedrooms. Wellness-focused amenity spaces include a fitness center, yoga studio, meditation room, steam, sauna, and massage rooms, 60-foot-long indoor pool, children’s playroom, billiards parlor, resident library, and an expansive rooftop terrace. The design takes advantage of having the low scale buildings of the Fashion Institute of Technology campus directly across the street and coveted southern light entering the units via large apertures. The facade also features light and dark-hued asymmetrical triangle patterns that add an expression of depth and interact with the changing light throughout the day. The project spans five separate zoning lots creating a single 200-foot-long site. To minimize the perceived scale of the building, the architects capitalized on zoning setback requirements and dormer allowances to break down the massing. After numerous studies, a tripartite division between the base, middle, and upper portions of the street-front facade was adopted. Beyond this massing strategy, the design of the south-facing street facade employs a faceted geometric framework of dark and light precast concrete, which is further refined on the condominium building with hand-painted bronze reveals. The two towers themselves through the materiality of their facades. DXA Studio collaborated with BPDL, an architectural and structural precast concrete fabricator based in Canada, to develop a modular system for the facades made up of 25-foot-wide precast faceted concrete panels. Lightly acid-treated white concrete with hand-painted bronze reveals make up the east facade of the condominium tower, and a contrasting, darker concrete is used for the rental tower. The divergent materials delineate the two addresses.
Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Announces New Luxury Resorts
The latest additions to NEOM, the sustainable 10,200-square-mile development taking shape in northwest Saudi Arabia, are the Treyam and Elenan resorts designed by Mark Foster Gage Architects. The resorts are located a few miles apart from each other along the Gulf of Aqaba, where the mountains meet the sea. Treyam is an active sports and health and wellness resort. The façade of its bridge-like architecture creates a sunset-like illusion from a distance. Hovering 118 feet above water, the bridge offers views of the tidal lagoon below and vast skies above, while maintaining the natural integrity of the shoreline. The resort’s 250 guest rooms are contained within the bridge and feature glass floors and ceilings. A 1,476-foot-long rooftop infinity pool tops the entire length of the bridge. Elanan is an exclusive and wellness retreat where architecture and nature merge to create a journey of discovery. Emerging from within lush oasis surroundings, fed by ancient natural springs, the resorts features 80 guest rooms and suites, a spa and wellness center, specialty restaurants, an infinity pool, gardens, nature walks and trails, and an observation tower for views of the surroundings.
TALEA Beer Opens New ALA Studio-designed Locations
On the heels of opening TALEA Beer Co.’s West Village Taproom, ALA Studio has completed the fourth taproom for the Brooklyn-based brewing company at 22 West 40th Street on the ground floor of the Park Terrace Hotel across from Bryant Park. Like its West Village and two Brooklyn counterparts, the Bryant Park taproom features bright variations of TALEA’s signature jewel tones including greens, pinks, oranges, and purples. Whereas the 1,500-square-foot taproom at 102 Christopher Street is a take on the saloon concept, the 1,650-square-foot Bryant Park location celebrates the beer garden. The 74-seat space features an arcade of powder-coated steel arches that progress along the depth of the space and is flanked on both sides with niches covered in acoustic PET felt. Upon entering the room, an elongated quartz bar lines the entire left side of the space and a backbar lined in taupe tiles serves as a neutral background to display TALEA’s colorful cans and glassware, framed by the arched niches of the steel arcade. Opposite the bar is an array of high and low-top tables for all sizes of groups. Found beyond the archway is a private dining room lined with built-in oak veneer wood banquettes along the perimeter. In addition to the West Village taproom, the Bryant Park location marks the second collaboration between ALA Studio (formerly known as Alda Ly Architecture), the female-and-BIPOC-owned Aerial Design & Build, and TALEA, the first female and veteran-owned production brewery in New York City.
Body Lawson Associates Completes Adaptive Reuse Design of LaGree Baptist Church
Body Lawson Associates Architects and Planners has completed the adaptive reuse of a 31,000-square-foot, three-story, former brick-clad manufacturing building, transforming it into a home for the LaGree Baptist Church in the Melrose section of the Bronx. The church contains a 211-seat sanctuary and a fellowship hall with a table seating capacity of 152 that can be arranged as needed. The architect worked with BDB Construction to stabilize the building while also integrating new and modern elements. The design recaptures the original concept of the wood-framed structure and has reinvented the interiors to suit a house of worship. The renovation allows for new commercial and rental spaces on the ground and third levels to be used by community groups. Original detailing of the industrial loft structure was recovered and elements such as its large arched windows on the first floor were enhanced with fireproof translucent glazing. Behind the arching openings, the sanctuary welcomes worshipers with wood finishes, an acoustical ceiling installation, and all-new audiovisual systems so that church leaders can broadcast services and events to homebound or traveling parishioners. Beyond the sloped volume of the sanctuary’s 34-foot clear span, which occupies about half of the first floor, the project team created adjacent retail storefront spaces. On the second and third floor are church offices, rentable spaces, and the fellowship hall, which lead to a planted green rooftop and a playground on the fourth level to promote outdoor social activities and community wellness. Two new elevators and stairwells allow for comfortable circulation and egress, an active design feature encouraging healthful activity for churchgoers. The church will open its doors to congregants later this year.
In Case You Missed It…
Gensler is designing a new men’s and women’s basketball 50,000-square-foot practice facility at St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens. It will contain courts, locker rooms, training and strength areas, office and film rooms, and interactive recruiting spaces and is expected to be completed by Spring 2027. They are concurrently renovating the school’s Taffner Field House, which is scheduled to open in Fall 2028.
Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn Campus is performing a gut renovation of the surrounding and underlying infrastructure of East Hall and the renovation of East Hall Plaza in order to remove the building’s existing boilers and install high efficiency models. The SCAPE-designed plaza renovation will incorporate sustainability through a new drainage system that will mitigate future flooding. The redesign includes trees and gardens in an ample square that opens the campus, improves walkability, and increases options for gathering and community.
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) have completed the City-funded in-house design and renovation of the Fourth Arts Block’s Downtown Art Community Center located in a four-story building at 70 East 4th Street. The project brings improvements to the cultural center’s second and third floors, including a new performing arts studio with a sprung wood floor assembly, mirrors, and modern lighting, along with an open office area with shelf partitions.
Pelli Clarke & Partners has completed the Mori JP Tower, Japan’s tallest skyscraper. At 1,067-feet tall, the mixed-used tower is Tokyo’s first supertall skyscraper. It is also the centerpiece of the new Azabudai Hills district in Tokyo, an urban regeneration project.
The New York Landmarks Conservancy will award 14 projects the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards, the Conservancy’s highest honors for outstanding preservation on April 10th.
Check out the architectural highlights of the Whitney Biennial: Even Better Than the Real Thing, via World-Architects.
Renderings for ODA with SLCE Architects designed as the The Torch, a mixed-use 52-story supertall at 740 Eighth Avenue, reveal it containing an 825-room hotel on the lower half and a public outdoor observation deck with a drop-ride attraction above. The property will also feature lower-level retail space, a restaurant on two of the upper floors, a VIP lounge, and a pool deck for hotel guests.
Studio Zewde is designing a major new landscape project at Dia Beacon, giving the museum an additional eight acres of nature access. The design will cover land behind Dia’s main building, the former Nabisco Box Factory, with new landscaping that considers time, water, and Indigenous movements through the land.
KGA (Kostow Greenwood Architects) has completed The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater on 15th Street in Harlem, marking the first physical expansion in The Apollo’s 90-year history. The project features two flexible, black box theaters, gathering spaces, exhibition space, and administrative offices all within what was the original Thomas Lamb-designed Lowe’s Victoria Theater which opened in 1918.