Barclays Center Green Roof
Installation of the sedum for the green roof atop the Barclays Center arena has begun. The underlying structure has been under construction for several months, but with the arrival of spring the vegetation has started to appear. Sedum will be installed in four mixes that allow for year round vegetation.
Whitney Museum of American Art
Ungainly and awkward, the Whitney's $422 million, 220,000-square-foot new home asserts its presence at the High Line's southern edge. Renzo Piano's addition to the Meatpacking neighborhood is indicative of the district's decade-long transformation from working class industrial to trendy tourist destination. What started in the previous decade with the conversion of unused elevated train tracks into the High Line elevated park, has culminated in a major new museum for the city in a neighborhood now dominated by buildings from an elite group of architects.
The Whitney Museum of American Art, begun with a collection of artwork amassed by Gertrude Whitney in 1908, has called several places home in its first century of existence. Most recently the museum was located on the Upper East Side, in a building designed by Marcel Breuer in 1966, at the corner of Madison Avenue and East 75th Street. Breuer's building, with its stone clad, inverted ziggurat form, was also considered at its opening to be awkward and panned for its unusual massing. With time, the building gained acceptance but was never able to adequately hold the museum's vast collection.
The Whitney Museum by Marcel Breuer, 1966.
Many attempts were made to expand the museum at its Upper East Side location, with designs from Norman Foster, Michael Graves, OMA, and finally Renzo Piano. Given the scale of the neighborhood and the historic value of buildings on site and adjacent, large scale expansion plans proved too contentious to realize.
With the advent of the High Line in 2009, properties that surrounded the park gained new value and the exodus of industrial businesses in the area left behind many sites ripe for new construction. Realizing the futility of its expansion plans at the Breuer building, the Whitney brokered a deal with the city of New York for a site at the southern entrance to the High Line and occupied by a meatpacking business. While the business has remained on the northern half of the massive site, the Whitney's deal with the city allows them to acquire the remaining half should the business relocate elsewhere.
Program study models.
Massing study models.
Presentation model of final design.
The Whitney Museum by Marcel Breuer, 1966.
Piano's building is arranged with gallery spaces and other public functions in the southern half, while offices for the museum's staff, education programs, and other support spaces occupy the northern half. At the primary public corner, where Gansevoort intersects Washington Street, the Whitney engages the public at both street level and the High Line as the building's form folds skyward at the corner of Gansevoort and Washington Street, creating a multi-story volume enclosed by vast expanses of glass. Piano uses this element in conjunction with the more solidly clad galleries cantilevered above to subtly invoke the Breuer building's iconic massing, a motif that will reoccur throughout. The folded facade also evokes Diller Scofidio + Renfro's overhaul of Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hull (renovated, 2009), where a double height entry is also formed by peeling up the building's original travertine facade. For the Whitney, this space houses Danny Meyer's latest restaurant, Untitled. Stretching along the restaurant's Gansevoort Street frontage, the open kitchen visually dominates the space. At night, the scene from the street is reminiscent of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, with the patrons spread out along the bar and the glow of Robert Indiana's illuminated word "EAT" artwork hanging above.
Southeast corner of the Whitney (left) and the southern entrance to the High Line (right).
Untitled restaurant from Gansevoort Street.
Restaurant entrance off of Gansevoort Street.
View of the restaurant bar from Gansevoort Street.
Main museum entrance from Gansevoort Street.
View of the museum shop at the southwest corner from Gansevoort Street.
Museum visitors enter mid-block off of Gansevoort Street into a glass enclosed 6,000 square-foot lobby that is adjacent to a free gallery and a museum shop consisting of open shelving to maintain visual porosity. Galleries on the upper floors can be accessed by a grand stair or by one of four elevators, featuring commissioned artwork in the elevator cab by the artist Richard Artschwager. Glazing above the elevator entry at ground level allows the visitor to see the machinery needed to operate, continuing an oft used theme by Piano. The concrete and steel of the stair serves as another subtle reference to the Breuer building.
Main museum entrance from Gansevoort Street.
Museum lobby.
Museum shop shelving.
Special exhibitions are housed on the eighth floor, which currently features "America is Hard to See." The show serves as a means for the Whitney to reexamine American art since 1900 with works from their vast collection that has long gone unseen. The galleries at this level feature the typical white walls and reclaimed wide-plank pine flooring found throughout the museum. Because of its top floor location, Piano has designed the ceilings as a grid work that allows in light from the sawtooth skylights, resulting in a much brighter and inviting environment to wander the galleries than the Breuer building. There, the dark tones of the stone flooring and the concrete waffle ceiling gave the galleries a heavy and dark atmosphere. Although Piano's galleries are a sharp turn from the previous aesthetic, he continually references the Breuer ceilings with the varying take on grids created at each level of galleries. On some floors the ceiling grid is present but solid while other floors reveal the conduit and ductwork of necessary services in a modern building, a muted and vertical take on Piano's first museum, the Pompidou.
On floors six and seven reside the permanent collection galleries in spaces unmatched by their previous home. Now visitors can peruse the work in vast spaces that give the pieces enough real estate to stand on their own but still create a dialogue with adjacent works. With the added space comes spectacular moments of rest and reflection, where visitors can sit at one of two large walls of glass and take in the High Line in the morning light from the east facade or the setting sun from the west facade's window. Moments of connection to the surrounding neighborhood can even be experienced while in the midst of perusing the galleries, as slots of space cut through gallery walls leading to the facade's glazing.
Not to be outdone, the 13,000-square-feet of outdoor galleries and terraces provide additional opportunities to pause and reflect. Views of the city skyline serve as a backdrop to outdoor cafe seating and several large sculptures. On the fifth floor outdoor gallery, the Whitney has commissioned a site specific work by Mary Heilmann, Mary Heilmann: Sunset, which features colorful chairs scattered about the terrace that visitors can use. Also included is a projected film and panels of colorful shapes that mimic the stepping of the building's terraces.
At the northern half of the building, Piano has located the support space for the Whitney's staff, which has grown steadily in recent years. Like the galleries, these spaces are generous in size and provide ample light and views to the neighborhood.
With the opening of the Whitney, the city has gained another spectacular cultural destination. Yes, it's exterior is a quirky wrapper, more muscle than beauty, but the interior more than compensates with its spot on take on the contemporary museum. Piano expertly crafts a museum that accommodates the visitor with the right mix of galleries and leisure space, allowing the museum to coexist with, rather than be consumed by, the commercial program of contemporary institutions. Like the Breuer building, Piano's structure will likely be embraced by most over time, as visitors forgive its exterior clumsiness for the expertly crafted experience within.
Architect: Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Design Architect), Cooper Robertson (Executive Architect); Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates: MEP Engineer: Jaros, Baum & Bolles; Facade Consultant: Heintges; Landscape Architect: Piet Oudolf with Mathews Nielson Landscape Architect; General Contractor: Turner Construction; Client: Whitney Museum of American Art; Program: Museum; Location: Meatpacking District, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
12 East 13th Street
Construction scaffolding has started to come down at DHA Capital and Continental Properties' 12 East 13th Street in Greenwich Village, revealing its brick and glass facade. The former 8-story parking garage has been converted by CetraRuddy into eight residences, replacing the facade and adding a 4-story metal and glass penthouse.
A burnished orange-red Roman brick clads the 8-story primary street facade, punctuated by four bays of industrial-style windows grouped into vertical columns of two. The black metal spandrel that divides the windows contains a chevron motif inspired by a pattern from the original facade. With additional details like a depressed border of brick surrounding each window bay, the facade of the base building blends nicely with the brick and metal structures which surround it.
Northeast corner from East 13th Street.
Northeast corner.
North facade from East 13th Street.
Facade detail.
Northwest corner from East 13th Street.
Inside, most lower units occupy the full 4,816 square-foot floor plate while the upper floors feature a duplex and a triplex in the added penthouse structure. An open plan along the 67-foot street front accommodates living and dining spaces in one large great room. Industrial style black metal and glass sliding doors act as moveable partitions, allowing residents to close off the family room next to the kitchen. Existing steel columns have been preserved and featured in the living and dining area, complimenting the interior design's blending of modern and industrial. Much of the interior kitchen and bath cabinetry and door hardware have been custom designed by the architect and also reflect this aesthetic.
Living and dining space.
Living room.
Family room.
Move-able partitions and existing columns.
Move-able partitions and existing columns.
Family room.
Kitchen.
Bedrooms and accompanying bathrooms are located along the back half of the floor plate. Most units contain four bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as a powder room off the living space.
Powder room.
Powder room floor tile.
Secondary bedroom.
Secondary bathroom with custom white lacquer vanity including water resistant galvanized drawer fronts.
Detail of the water resistant galvanized drawer fronts.
Master bedroom.
Master bedroom.
Master bathroom vanity featuring rift-cut white oak cabinetry and a countertop of polished Calacatta Borghini marble.
Freestanding 6 foot soaking tub.
Master bathroom shower.
Custom door hardware in the master bathroom.
Half of the units will contain outdoor space, including an 807-square foot terrace on the third floor, a 1,760-square foot terrace on the ninth floor for the duplex, and space on the tenth floor for the triplex.
Amenities for the building include the much touted automated parking system that allows residents to enter the building in privacy while their car is parked robotically on the second floor garage. Additional amenities include gym, bike storage, and private storage unit.
Architects: CetraRuddy; Developers: DHA Capital and Continental Properties; Public Relations: M18; Program: Residential, Retail; Location: West Village, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
10 Bond
The terracotta facade installation at 10 Bond has reached substantial completion, with only the penthouse and ground floor awaiting their facade treatment. Selldorf Architects' 7-story, 11-unit condo in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan features shaped terracotta panels, with concave elements at the vertical piers and scalloped horizontal panels at the spandrels below the windows. Construction scaffolding is still up at the neighboring 372 Lafayette Street, a rental building by Morris Adjmi Architects. Both buildings are slated to finish sometime this year.
South facade from Bond Street.
Southeast corner from Lafayette Street.
Detail of southeast corner facade.
Detail of facade.
East facade from Lafayette Street.
Northeast corner from Lafayette Street.
Northeast corner of Morris Adjmi Architects' 372 Lafayette Street (right) and 10 Bond (left).
Architects: Selldorf Architects; Developers: SK Development, Ironstate Development and the Chetrit Group; Program: Residential, Retail; Location: NoHo, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
22-22 Jackson Avenue
ODA's jumble of concrete boxes in Long Island City, 22-22 Jackson Avenue, has topped out. The 11-story, 175-residential-unit mixed-use building is composed of an exposed concrete exterior wall, a growing trend in New York. A playful massing of concrete residential modules randomly extrude from the facade on the north and east facades, while the south and west facades are more conventional flat surfaces. Window installation is also underway on site, with progress reaching the fifth floor. The windows feature a maroon frame. Amenities for the project are housed in the two story base and include a lobby, lounge, library spaces, gym, indoor pool, and a landscaped courtyard on the 3rd floor roof deck.
Looking south from the 7 train subway station.
Looking southwest on Jackson Avenue.
Northeast corner from Jackson Avenue.
Northeast corner from Jackson Avenue.
Northeast corner from Crane Street.
Facade detail.
Facade detail.
East facade from Crane Street.
East facade (background) and the former 5 Pointz site (foreground) from Davis Street.
Southeast corner from Crane Street.
North facade from Jackson Avenue.
Northwest corner from Jackson Avenue.
860 Washington
Superstructure has reached the final floor, marking the topping off, at 860 Washington in the Meatpacking District. Designed by James Carpenter, the ten-story, 113,848-square-foot structure flanks the High Line park's eastern edge at West 13th Street. When completed, the low rise tower will bring eight floors of office space and two floors of retail at the base. Given the all-glass composition of the exterior wall on all but the northern facade, building occupants will have dramatic views of the High Line and the surrounding Meatpacking neighborhood. The building is targeting LEED silver and is projected to open in the third quarter of 2015.
Southeast corner from Washington Street.
East facade from Washington Street.
East facade from Washington Street.
Northeast corner from Washington Street.
South facade from the Standard Hotel plaza on West 13th Street.
Southwest corner from the High Line park.
Southeast corner of the Standard Hotel (far left), 860 Washington (left center) and the Caledonia (center) from the High Line park.
Architects: James Carpenter Design Associates; Developers: Property Group Partners with Romanoff Equities; Program: Office, Retail; Location: Meatpacking District, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
Columbia University Manhattanville Campus
With exterior work wrapping up on the Jerome L. Greene Science Center, much of the progress since the last update is focused on the Lenfest Center for the Arts, the smaller, adjacent building. Also designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), the Center for the Arts houses galleries, performance spaces, a screening room, and offices into an eight-story structure. Currently, the steel superstructure has topped out and installation of the exterior wall is underway. The structure looks to be clad in a unitized panel system of white metal and glass similar in appearance to RPBW's almost completed Whitney Museum at the High Line.
The third RPBW building in Columbia University's master plan for the Manhattanville campus, the Academic Conference Center, has yet to start up after the initial site demo completed. Located south of the Science Center, it will house a 400-seat auditorium and state-of-the-art seminar and meeting rooms inside a five-story structure.
Southeast corner from the 1 train subway platform.
South facade of the Science Center from the 125th Street subway station.
South facade of the Science Center from Broadway.
South facade 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.
West facade of the Science Center (right) and the Center for the Arts (left) from West 125th Street.
View of the Manhattanville Campus from Riverside Drive.
Southwest corner of the Science Center (right) and the Center for the Arts (left) from Riverside Drive.
View of the Manhattanville Campus from Riverside Drive.
Northwest corner of the Science Center (left) and the Center for the Arts (right) from Riverside Drive.
Northwest corner of the Science Center (left) and the Center for the Arts (right) from West 131st Street.
North facade of the Science Center (left) and the Center for the Arts (right) from West 131st Street.
North facade of the Science Center (left) and the Center for the Arts (right) from Broadway.
East facade of the Science Center.
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.
400 West 113th Street - Enclave at the Cathedral
Concrete superstructure continues to rise at the residential towers adjacent to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The towers, designed by Handel Architects, have reached the 12th story on the west tower and the 15th story on the east tower, its final floor. Each structure features an exposed concrete structure with shaped concrete piers at the primary façade along West 113th Street. These piers reference the buttresses of the cathedral directly behind and animate the façade with their pattern of sloping from floor to floor. Windows with black metal frames will be inset between the concrete piers and have begun installation on the east tower at the second floor. When completed, the two towers will bring 428 residential rental units to the Morningside Heights neighborhood and a revenue stream to the church from the lease of the land.
Southwest corner of the cathedral (right) and the west tower (left) from Amsterdam Avenue.
Southwest corner of the west tower from Amsterdam Avenue.
Northwest corner of the west tower from Amsterdam Avenue.
Northeast corner of the west tower from West 113th Street.
Detail of the concrete structure of the west tower.
Northwest corner of the east tower from West 113th Street.
North façade of the east tower from West 113th Street.
Northeast corner of the east tower from Morningside Drive.
Northeast corner of the east tower from Morningside Drive.
East façade of the east tower from Morningside Drive.
East façade of the east tower.
Southeast corner of the cathedral (left) and the east tower (right).
Looking west towards the cathedral (left) and the site (right) from Morningside Park.
Northeast corner of the east tower from Morningside Park.
Architect: Handel Architects; Developer: The Brodsky Organization; Program: Residential; Location: Morningside Heights, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
56 Leonard Street
Curtain wall installation continues at 56 Leonard, the 145-unit, 830 foot tall residential tower designed by Herzog & deMeuron and located in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan. Since January's update, five more floors of glass exterior wall have been added to the tower, reaching the 33rd floor.
Superstructure progress appears to have slowed down with the pouring of the final 11 floors, where the floor plates are the most varied. While the majority of the tower's floor plates alternate the balcony locations on every other floor in an A/B pattern, the upper floors of the tower are designed with a less homogeneous variation. Each of the final 11 floor plates should be unique, creating variations in how each floor overhangs or recedes from the other.
Looking south on Church Street.
Northeast corner from Church Street.
Northeast corner from Leonard Street.
Northeast corner.
East facade from Church Street.
Southeast corner from Church Street.
South facade from the Laight Street bridge.
North facade from Leonard Street.
Northwest corner from Leonard Street.
West facade from West Broadway.
Northwest corner from West Broadway.
Northwest corner from the Laight Street bridge.
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.
50 West Street
Curtain wall installation has begun at Helmut Jahn's 50 West, a 64-story, 780-foot residential tower in Lower Manhattan. The panels enclose floors 2 to 6 and include the curved glass units at the southeast and southwest corners. Use of curved glass curtain wall on high rise construction in New York has recently increased, with towers such as 7 Bryant Park and 252 East 57th Street also employing the shaped glass. Meanwhile, the superstructure continues to rise, reaching the 27th floor.
The completed tower will feature 191 condo units, some of which will offer duplexes and double height living rooms. Amenities in the building include a pool, private fitness center, an entertainment floor, a landscaped rooftop observatory, and office condominiums on the third floor available for purchase by the residents.
Looking north on West Street.
Southwest corner from West Street.
Detail of curtain wall at the southwest corner.
West facade from West Street.
Northwest corner.
East facade from Washington Street.
Detail of curtain wall with curved glass units.
Architects: Jahn; Interiors: Thomas Juul-Hansen; Developer: Time Equities Inc.; Program: Residential; Completion: 2016.
