by: Linda G. Miller
Event: Design Awards Symposium — Interiors Winners
Location: Center for Architecture, 05.18.09
Speakers: Stephen Yablon, AIA — Principal, Stephen Yablon Architect (Betances Community Center and Boxing Gym); Susan T. Rodriguez, FAIA — Design Partner, Polshek Partnership Architects (Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum); Margarita McGrath, AIA, LEED AP — Partner, noroof architects (Finger Apartment); Sommer Schauer — Senior Assoicate, a+i architecture (Malin + Goetz); Christian Lynch & Simon Eisinger — Partners, Lynch Eisinger Design (Nike Genealogy Of Speed); Juergen Riehm, FAIA — Principal, 1100: Architects (NYPL Francis Martin Library); Lyn Rice, AIA — Founding Principal, Lyn Rice Architects (Sheila C. Johnson Design Center); Jonathan Marvel, AIA — Principal, & Vince Lee, Associate, Rogers Marvel Architects (W57th Street POP (Privately Owned Public) Space)
Moderator: Johanne Woodcock — Director, AAS Interior Design Program, Parsons The New School for Design
Organizers: AIANY Design Awards Committee
Sponsors: Benefactor: ABC Imaging; Patrons: Cosentino North America; The Rudin Family; Syska Hennessy Group; Lead Sponsors: Arup; Dagher Engineering; The Durst Organization; HOK; Mancini Duffy; Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects; Sponsors: AKF Group; Building Contractors Association; FXFOWLE Architects; Hopkins Foodservice Specialists; Ingram Yuzek Gainen Carroll & Bertolotti; JFK&M Consulting Group; KI; Langan Engineering & Environmental Services; MechoShade Systems; New York University; Pei Cobb Freed & Partners; Rogers Marvel Architects; Steelcase; Studio Daniel Libeskind; Tishman Realty & Construction; VJ Associates; Weidlinger Associates; Zumtobel Lighting/International Lights
(L-R, top): POP Space by Rogers Marvel Architects; Finger Apartment by noroof architects; NYPL Francis Martin Library by 1100 Architects; Betances Community Center and Boxing Gym by Stephen Yablon Architect; (L-R, bottom): Sheila C. Johnson Design Center by Lyn Rice Architects; Nike Geneology of Speed by Lynch Eisinger Design; Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art by Polshek Partnership Architects; and Malin + Goetz by a+i architecture.
Courtesy AIANY
Of all the AIANY Design Award categories, Interiors was the most competitive with 118 entries. The jury awarded no honor awards, but eight interiors won merits.
The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, has won numerous awards already, including an AIANY Design Award in the Projects category in 2007. Lyn Rice Architect took four adjacent buildings, each with its own labyrinth of circulation, and stripped them down to their shells. Then, as Lyn Rice, AIA, explained, “The program evolved in the process.” With found space that was formerly a maintenance shop, he created an urban quad, developed a new identity for the school, and tied it into the fabric of the city. By placing window benches inside and out of the glass façade, and pouring concrete floors at the same level as the street, student works are on view to passersby.
There was originally no budget and no program for the Nike installation, and according to Christian Lynch of Lynch Eisinger Design, “That was not a comfortable zone to be in.” The partners decided to build the “idea” of speed by playing with metal, letting the material tell the story. The curved metal wall was not welded together, but rather molded. Despite looking like a high-ticket project, which was a drawback for the jury, the installation cost only $125/square foot, including before/after demolition.
There were so many different parties Stephen Yablon, AIA, had to satisfy for the Betances Community Center and Boxing Gym. He particularly wanted to make this community in the Bronx feel like they owned the building. Yablon united two structures, raised the roof to create a triple-height space that topped the ring, added “punches of color,” and designed a building that used boxing as a metaphor for success and survival. Yablon thanked the NYC Department of Design & Construction for recognizing the importance of safe places for kids while upholding a high level of design.
The New York Public Library was interested in innovative ideas, according to Juergen Riehm, FAIA, principal of 1100: Architects. His firm was attracted to the Francis Martin Library because it is housed in a semi-modernist building with an unusual shape. The firm gave the second floor children’s library an open layout by getting rid of most of the partitions. The kids can see their own reflections in a shiny white membrane. Bright color accents were added and a “wall of fame” highlights notable Bronx natives.
Malin + Goetz had outgrown its flagship store in Chelsea and hired a+i architecture to design an expanded space for the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of skincare products. Konyk Architecture originally designed the front of the space is just a few feet wide. Since the apothecary was launching a new line, a new look for what had been the back office was in order. The outcome is a sensual environment with room for the client’s collectibles in a dark wood centerpiece. The space will become a prototype for the line in department stores.
Built they way they were intended to be, privately owned public spaces can be welcoming, engaging places that enhance urban living. But the through-block passageway at the Metropolitan Tower was just the opposite. The new owner asked Rogers Marvel Architects to remedy the situation by enlivening the space. The firm carried the sleekness of the black façade of the building into the lobby area. An LCD strip that runs the length of the space carries text and digital art, and a color-changing LED reception desk draws people to it.
The only award winning residential interior was noroof architect’s Finger Apartment, named such because of its configuration: public spaces in the front, private in the back, and bath and kitchen in between. The home to two adults, one a gourmet cook who likes to entertain, and two kids, is a mere 540 square feet. Yet, the building seems to satisfy the family’s needs by creating space where none seems to be available. According to the firm’s partner Margarita McGrath, AIA, LEED AP, the client’s nine-year-old says the apartment is a ship! The architects turned fireplaces into storage bins, designed a desk that transforms into a bed, and created built-in storage under the floors.