The Greenwich Lane
Topping out is imminent at The Greenwich Lane development, with superstructure reaching the final floor of 155 West Eleventh Street. The 17-story, 82-unit tower is the tallest of the five building and five townhouse development in Greenwich Village on the site of the former St. Vincent's Hospital. Four of the hospital's former buildings are currently being converted into condo units as part of the development. Since the last update in December, the five townhouses on West 11th Street have started to rise above the construction fence. The entire development should reach completion by 2016.
West facade of 155 West Eleventh Street.
Southwest corner of 155 West Eleventh Street from 7th Avenue.
West facade.
South facade.
West facade of 155 West Eleventh Street.
South facade of 145 West Eleventh Street.
The Townhouses on West Eleventh Street.
Northwest corner of 160 West Twelfth Street.
West facade of 160 West Twelfth Street.
Looking north along Greenwich Avenue.
Architects: FXFOWLE; Interiors: Thomas O'Brien; Developers: The Rudin Family with Global Holdings; Public Relations: M18; Program: Residential; Location: West Village, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
Riverside Center
Progress continues at SLCE's 21 West End Avenue, the first tower of the 5-site megaproject, known as Riverside Center, on the far west side of Manhattan. Structure has surpassed the half way mark for the 43-story, 616-unit rental tower and curtain wall installation has begun on the smaller appendage off the main tower. The façade is composed of a fairly generic curtain wall system and tan opaque panels. Installation of the opaque cladding for the podium floors, future home to PS/IS 342M, has also begun. Offering Pre-K through 8th grade, the new public school will serve approximately 488 students in over 20 classrooms spread across four floors. Classes are expected to start by 2018.
Work has yet to reach above ground on the other four sites in the mega project. Next up should be One West End, a 41-story, 366-unit tower to the south of the first site under construction. This is the much debated "poor door" building with a separate entrance for its 118 affordable units. According to its teaser site, the building has been designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, not Christian de Portzamparc, as has been reported elsewhere. Though it has lost the design direction of the Pritzker prize winner, it does appear to be an upgrade in aesthetics over its neighbor to the north.
The remaining three sites will be carried out by Goldstein Hill & West, thus completely eliminating Portzamparc from the actual execution of his master plan. With the completion of the final three towers, Riverside Center will contain 2,500 units.
Southwest corner of Riverside Center with 21 West End Avenue (center).
Southern boundary of Riverside Center with 21 West End Avenue (right) and One Riverside Park (left).
Southeast corner of 21 West End Avenue.
Curtain wall facade detail.
Curtain wall facade detail.
Southeast corner of Riverside Center with 21 West End Avenue (center) and One Riverside Park (left).
Southeast corner of Riverside Center from 11th Avenue.
Southeast corner of 21 West End Avenue.
North facade of 21 West End Avenue.
Detail of north facade.
Northwest corner of 21 West End Avenue.
Architects: SLCE Architects (21 West End Avenue), Dattner Architects (Pre-K through 8 School), Pelli Clarke Pelli (One West End), Goldstein, Hill & West Architects (Buildings One, Three, and Four); Program: Residential, School (Riverside Center Building 2); Location: Upper West Side, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
252 East 57th Street
Superstructure has reached the seventh floor of SOM's 65-story tower, 252 East Fifty Seven, in the Midtown East neighborhood. The tower joins the already completed public schools PS 59 and the High School of Art & Design and a Whole Foods in an adjacent base completed in 2012. Originally designed by Roger Duffy of SOM as a signature angular tower that would have fit with the other wannabe icons sprouting up along 57th Street, the project later stalled before reemerging as a far more restrained, boxy tower. The new design has been revealed in mostly exterior renderings of the upper portion of the tower, showcasing curvy balconies and a concave slice through the center of the tower's facades. The condo portion of the tower starts on the 36th floor and contains 93 units. Rumors abound that 173 rental units will also be coming to the lower floors but no official announcements have been made at this time.
Northwest corner with earlier constructed public school and retail base (right).
Northwest corner with earlier constructed public school and retail base (right).
North facade from East 57th Street.
Northeast corner from 2nd Avenue.
East facade from 2nd Avenue.
Southeast corner from 2nd Avenue.
Looking south on 2nd Avenue.
Architects: SOM (Design Architect), SLCE (Architect of Record); Interior Architect: Daniel Romualdez; Engineer: WSP; Developers: World Wide Group and Rose Associates; Program: Residential; Location: Midtown East, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
166 Avenue of the Americas
Construction scaffolding has started to come down at the newly renovated and expanded headquarters of the charity God's Love We Deliver, which delivers meals to the sick and homebound. The charity's original two-story, brick building at Spring Street and Avenue of the Americas, on the fringes of the SoHo neighborhood, has been expanded into a six-story structure containing a volunteer lounge and terrace on the third floor setback and a rooftop garden. A rendering posted on the construction fence was not very promising aesthetically, but there was hope that the reality would prove more appealing. Unfortunately, with the recent reveal of the brick and metal facade, there has been no improvement over the rendering. A highly reflective metal facade, patterned by a pressed running bond, comes across like cheap cladding that completely disregards the fabric of the neighborhood's surrounding buildings. One Vandam, the new structure rising directly to the north, employs a limestone and glass curtain wall that proves to be a more successful strategy for introducing a contemporary facade into the historic SoHo neighborhood. Though we applaud the expansion of a charity with a wonderful mission like God's Love We Deliver, an opportunity has been lost to add to the architectural heritage of the neighborhood at such a prominent corner.
Southwest corner of 166 Avenue of the Americas (right) and One Vandam (left).
West facade of 166 Avenue of the Americas (right) and One Vandam (left)..
Detail of the west facade.
Facade detail.
West facade from Avenue of the Americas.
West facade from Avenue of the Americas.
Northwest corner from Avenue of the Americas.
Architects: Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel; Program: Office; Location: SoHo/Hudson Square, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
71 Laight Street - The Sterling Mason
Façade installation continues at Morris Adjmi's The Sterling Mason, a 32-unit, six-story condo in Tribeca. Developed by Taconic Investment Partners, the project consists of an existing coffee and tea warehouse structure, built in 1905, with a new structure fronting on Greenwich Street. The existing red brick and terracotta structure will be fully restored and converted into its new residential use, while the new building is conceived as a mirror image, both in size and proportion, of the existing warehouse structure. To further this idea, the new structure is clad in an aluminum prefab panel skin with a plasma finish that emulates a brick façade while adding a shimmering effect.
Northeast corner at Greenwich and Laight Street.
North facade from Laight Street.
Northwest corner from Laight Street.
Northeast corner from Greenwich Street.
Northeast corner from Laight Street.
Facade detail.
East facade from Greenwich Street.
Southeast corner from Greenwich Street.
Architects: Morris Adjmi Architects; Interiors: Gachot; Landscape Architect: Deborah Nevins & Associates; Developer: Taconic Investment Partners; Program: Residential; Location: Tribeca, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
860 Washington
Superstructure has surpassed the halfway mark at James Carpenter's 860 Washington, an office tower at the High Line. The 10-story, 113,848-square-foot mixed use building adjacent to the High Line in the Meatpacking district has reached the 7th floor with its concrete structure. Retail will occupy the first two floors of the building, with the second floor at eye level with High Line visitors. The eight office floors feature ceiling heights of 11'-3" and column-free perimeters provided by the 15-foot cantilever from column to the edge of slab. A side core layout, with elevators and stairs located along the northern edge of the site, allows for full exposure along the east, south, and west facades. In stark contrast to the predominantly brick facades of much of the surrounding context, 860 Washington's facade will be an all glass curtain wall system, more akin to the newer office towers at the World Trade Center. The building is targeting LEED silver and is projected to open in the third quarter of 2015.
Construction Progress Diagram.
Southeast corner from Washington Street.
East elevation from Washington Street.
Southeast corner detail.
Northeast corner from Washington Street.
South elevation from West 13th Street.
Southwest corner from West 13th Street.
Southwest corner from the High Line park.
South elevation framed by the High Line spanning Standard Hotel.
Looking north on Washington Street.
Looking north on Washington Street.
Architects: James Carpenter Design Associates; Developers: Property Group Partners with Romanoff Equities; Program: Office, Retail; Location: Meatpacking District, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage & Salt Shed
Work is well underway on the DSNY's Spring Street salt shed, a faceted concrete structure by Dattner Architects to house 4,000 tons of salt. Rising to nearly 70 feet, the heavy, abstract form will contrast with the reflective, metallic surfaces of the new Manhattan Districts 1/2/5 Garage directly across the street, also by Dattner. The garage looks to be ready to open sometime in the first half of 2015 with the salt shed wrapping up at the end of the year.
Looking north on West Street.
Google Street View, June 2011.
Southwest corner of the salt shed.
Northeast corner of salt shed.
Northeast corner of salt shed (right) and the New York Land Ventilation Building for the Holland Tunnel (left).
Looking east on West Street towards the site of the salt shed (right) and the garage (left).
Southwest corner of the garage from West Street.
West facade of the garage from Pier 34.
Looking east from Pier 34 towards the garage (left).
West facade of the garage from West Street.
Looking south on West Street towards the garage (left).
Architects: Dattner Architects with WXY Architecture + Urban Design; Program: Infrastructure; Location: Hudson Square, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
50 West Street
Superstructure has reached the 17th floor at Helmut Jahn's 50 West Street. The 64-story, 780-foot residential tower will bring 191 condo units to Lower Manhattan. Some of the condo units will feature duplexes while others offer double height living rooms with skyline views. Amenities in the building include a pool, private fitness center, an entertainment floor, a landscaped rooftop observatory, and office condominiums on the third floor that residents can purchase for the ultimate home office.
Construction progress diagram. Rendering © dbox.
Looking north on West Street.
Southwest corner from West Street.
Southwest corner from West Street.
West facade from West Street.
Northwest corner from West Street.
Southeast corner from Washington Street.
Northeast corner from Washington Street.
East facade from Washington Street.
View from the Rector Street Pedestrian Bridge.
Architects: Jahn; Interiors: Thomas Juul-Hansen; Developers: Time Equities Inc.; Program: Residential; Completion: 2016.
56 Leonard Street
The shifting floors continue to rise at Herzog & de Meuron's 56 Leonard tower in TriBeCa. Structure has reached the 50th floor and the glass window wall has been installed up to the 28th floor. The iconic tower already asserts its striking presence from many points in the city and the effect will only increase as the final 11 floors, where the shifting is most pronounced, takes shape. When completed, the condo tower will include 145 units, each with their own unique layout thanks to the architects' shifting floor plate strategy.
Construction Progress Diagram. Rendering © Herzog & de Meuron.
North facade from Church Street.
South facade from Church Street.
Northeast corner from Church Street.
Northeast corner detail from Leonard Street.
Northeast corner detail from Church Street.
Northeast corner from Church Street.
North facade from Leonard Street.
South facade from Worth Street.
Northwest corner from Leonard Street.
West facade from West Broadway.
Northwest corner from West Broadway.
Northwest corner from West Broadway.
Northwest corner from the Laight Street bridge.
Lower Manhattan skyline with 56 Leonard (left), 30 Park Place (center), and One World Trade Center (right) from Pier 34.
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron with Goldstein Hill & West Architects; Structural Engineers: WSP; Developers: Alexico Group, Hines; Program: Residential; Location: Tribeca, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
Jerome L. Greene Science Center & Lenfest Center for the Arts
Construction continues on the first phase buildings for Columbia University's Manhattanville Campus expansion to the north of the main campus. Two buildings by Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) are fully underway, the Jerome L. Greene Science Center and the Lenfest Center for the Arts. Since the last update, glass façade panels have been installed on the first floor of the Science Center. At the Center for the Arts, work on the steel structure continues while awaiting for curtain wall installation to begin. Demolition is complete on the site of RPBW's third building, the Manhattanville Academic Conference Center. The five-story, 60,0000-square-foot building will house a 400-seat auditorium and state-of-the-art seminar and meeting rooms.
Southeast corner from the 1 train subway platform.
Detail of the rooftop mechanical equipment.
Northeast corner of the Science Center.
Future site of the Academic Conference Center.
South façade of the Science Center from the 125th Street subway station.
South façade of the Science Center from Broadway.
Southeast corner of the Science Center.
Southeast corner of the Science Center.
South façade of the Science Center (right) and the Center for the Arts (left) from West 125th Street.
Southwest corner of the Science Center (right) and the Center for the Arts (left) from West 125th Street.
Southwest corner of the Science Center (right) and the Center for the Arts (left) from West 125th Street.
View of the Manhattanville Campus from Riverside Drive.
South façade of the Science Center (right) and the Center for the Arts (left) from Riverside Drive.
Northwest corner of the Science Center (left) and the Center for the Arts (right) from Riverside Drive.
View of the Manhattanville Campus from Riverside Drive.
Architects: Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Davis Brody Bond LLP (Science Center and Center for the Arts), RPBW with Dattner Architects (Academic Conference Center); Program: Education; Location: Manhattanville, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
