429 Kent Avenue - Oosten
Northwest corner from Kent Avenue and South 8th Street.
Construction is wrapping up at the Oosten, a residential development in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn. Developed by XIN Development and designed by Piet Boon, the seven story structure occupies an entire block near the East River waterfront and the Williamsburg Bridge. On the exterior, a collaborative design between Boon and Think Architecture, changes in material help to break down the building into more discreet volumes, addressing the small scale of the neighborhood.
All four corners of the site feature floor to ceiling glass accented by vertical metal fins for sun mitigation and visual interest on the facade. Smaller bays of similarly detailed glass walls march along the mid-block portions of the facade, along with brick and punched window piers.
Close-up of the south facade from South 9th Street.
Close-up of the southeast facade from South 9th Street.
Close-up of the southeast facade from Wythe Avenue.
Lobby entry.
Residents of the Oosten will have access to an array of amenities, including two lobbies, a 24-hour concierge, lounge, children’s playroom, interior courtyard, landscaped rooftop with splash pool and outdoor grill, indoor lap pool, and fitness center with spa. Private parking will also be offered to residents along with bike storage.
Courtyard.
Residential corridor.
Inside, the building contains 216 units developed from seven different typologies, ranging from townhouses and duplex homes to lofts, one-, two- and three-bedrooms to duplex penthouses. Boon designed the Oosten’s interiors in the Dutch tradition with a light and dark palette of finishes to choose from. The floor-to-ceiling glass and high ceilings, starting at 10 feet, provide lots of natural light and views out, either to the street or to the large interior courtyard.
Living room in a residential unit.
Bathroom in a residential unit.
Living room in a duplex residential unit.
View of the Williamsburg Bridge from a penthouse terrace.
Panoramic view of Williamsburg from a penthouse terrace.
Looking east from a penthouse terrace.
View of the courtyard and the Lower Manhattan skyline from a penthouse terrace.
Architect: Piet Boon; Developer: XIN Development; Program: Residential; Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY; Completion: 2016.
432 Park Avenue
East façade of the retail building from Park Avenue.
Construction is wrapping up at 432 Park Avenue, the supertall residential tower from developers CIM Group and Macklowe Properties. Designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects, the tower stands 1396 feet tall and features a gridded façade of 10 feet by 10 feet windows set into an exposed concrete exterior.
Cladding of the retail spaces is almost complete and now the residential entry plaza off of East 56th Street looks ready for the residents of the 122 units located within the tower.
Looking up at the south façade.
Southeast corner of the tower base and residential plaza.
Residential entry off of East 56th Street.
Residential entry off of East 56th Street.
Residential entry off of East 56th Street.
Southeast corner of the residential tower.
Architects: Rafael Vinoly Architects (Design Architect), SLCE Architects, LLP (Executive Architects); Interior Design: Deborah Berke Partners, Bentel & Bentel, Rafael Vinoly Architects, Lilla J. Smith, Harry Macklowe; Landscape Design: Zion Breen & Richardson Associates; Master Planner: Handel Architects LLP; Developers: CIM Group, Macklowe Properties; Program: Residential, Retail; Location: Midtown East, New York, NY; Completion: 2015.
Hunters Point Community Library
West facade from a pier at Gantry Plaza State Park.
Situated among the recent crop of towers on the waterfront in Hunters Point, a new library from Steven Holl Architects is taking shape in Long Island City. The project broke ground in the summer of 2015 after spending nearly a decade in planning and topped out this past summer.
Southwest corner.
Standing 104 feet tall, the library's rectangular volume is defined by concrete exterior walls that will be covered with a metallic paint that will shimmer in the sunlight. Previous design iterations of the concrete's treatment included cladding the surface with metal panels or casting the concrete with a bubble wrap-like formwork to create a pattern of round indentations on the surface. To provide light and views to the interior, the concrete facade features organically shaped openings of various sizes that often follow the circulation path found within. At night, the light will shine through the openings, creating a dramatic lantern on the Queens waterfront visible to the community and Manhattan.
Close-up of a facade opening on the west facade.
Southeast corner from Center Boulevard.
East facade from Center Boulevard.
Northwest corner.
Southwest corner of the park and library support building adjacent to the main library building.
East facade.
Close-up of facade openings on the east facade.
On-site facade mockup of earlier concrete surface treatment design.
Inside, the building will embrace the library typology's new role as community hub with a diverse array of programs totaling approximately 22,000 square-feet. Visitors will enter at the center of the building, with a meeting room on the north and offices on the south end of the first floor.
West Entry.
Meeting Room.
At the second level, a stepped adult reading area will rise along the northern half, with dramatic views of the Manhattan skyline and Gantry Plaza State Park from the organic façade opening that follows the multi-level space.
Looking up at the Adult Reading Room from the Ground Floor Entry.
Looking up at the Adult Reading Room from the Ground Floor Entry.
A similarly stepped children's area will occupy the southern half from levels two to four and is defined by a curving structure that transitions from wall to roof. To mitigate sound, the form will be clad in an acoustical bamboo, a warm contrast to the concrete exterior.
Children's Area.
Underside of the Children's Area and Main Entry.
A view of the Manhattan skyline from a future glazed opening above the Main Entry space.
A view of the Hunters Point waterfront from a facade opening adjacent to the Children's Area.
A view of the Manhattan skyline from a future glazed opening on the upper floor of the Children's Area.
Looking southwest from the upper floor of the Children's Area.
Looking south from the terraced section of the Adult Reading Area.
Looking south from the terraced section of the Adult Reading Area.
Looking west from the Adult Reading Area.
Looking south from the Adult Reading Area.
A panoramic view of the East River waterfront from the Adult Reading Area.
Worker's install a stair between the west facade and the Adult Reading Area.
Looking north from the Adult Reading Area with Staff Offices above.
Looking towards the Children's Area volume and the Cyber Center above.
Looking towards the Children's Area volume and the Cyber Center above.
View of Gantry State Park and the East River waterfront from the Adult Reading Area.
On the upper levels, space will be provided for a teen area and a cyber center.
Looking north from the Cyber Center.
Cyber Center above the Children's Area.
An organic-shaped opening frames the Manhattan skyline.
Looking south towards the Cyber Center and the MEP space.
Staff office space with a view of the East River waterfront.
Teen Area with a view of the Manhattan skyline.
Looking south from the Teen Area with the Outdoor Stepped Terrace above.
Looking down on the Central Atrium from the Teen Area.
A café will occupy the roof level, along with an outdoor terrace that features a stepped seating area, the slope of which is registered on the west façade with a void cut into the concrete.
Outdoor Stepped Terrace.
Rooftop Cafe.
Outdoor Stepped Terrace.
Completion is slated for sometime next year.
Architect: Steven Holl Architects; Client: New York City Department of Design and Construction, Queens Library; Program: Library; Location: Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, NY; Completion: 2017.
160 Leroy Street
Concrete superstructure has reached above ground at Ian Schrager's curvy, 12-story condo building on the Hudson River waterfront. Designed by Herzog & deMeuron, architects of Schrager's 215 Chrystie and 40 Bond, the building features a curved façade of exposed concrete and floor to ceiling glass. The completed project will bring 49 condo units to its West Village neighborhood.
Architects: Herzog & deMeuron (Design Architect), S9 A Perkins Eastman Affiliate Company (Executive Architect); Developer: Ian Schrager Company; Program: Residential; Location: West Village; Completion: 2017.
Construction Update: 53 West 53rd Street
Curtain wall installation is underway on the iconic diagrid of Jean Nouvel's 53W53 tower in Midtown. Planning for the tower, from developers Hines and Pontiac Land Group with financing from Goldman Sachs, began in 2006 and was unveiled to the public in November of 2007. Since then, there has been a height reduction from 1250' down to 1050' and Diller Scofidio + Renfro have been tapped to design the tower's included expansion of MoMA.
The tower's signature identity comes from its diagrid structure, the diagonally criss-crossing of normally vertical concrete columns at the tower's perimeter. Solid metal panels break up the glass of the curtain wall, expressing the diagrid on the tower's facade.
When completed, the 82-story tower will include 145 residential condo units ranging from one- to five-bedrooms, the largest of which will be a 7,892-square-foot duplex penthouse. The tower's unique shape impacts the design of each unit, ensuring that each has a unique floor plan. Interiors for the apartments and amenites are designed by Thierry Despont.
Architects: Ateliers Jean Nouvel (Design Architect), SLCE (Executive Architect); Interiors: Office of Thierry Despont; Developers: Hines, Pontiac Land Group, and Goldman Sachs; Program: Residential, Retail, Musuem; Location: Midtown, New York, NY; Completion: November 2018.
The New York City Aids Memorial Park at St. Vincent's Triangle
Construction is underway on the New York City AIDS Memorial at St. Vincent's Triangle in the West Village. The memorial is located across from the former St. Vincent’s Hospital campus, which housed the city’s first and largest AIDS ward. Studio a+i won the memorial competition in 2012 and since then the design has evolved as the project moved towards completion. The memorial consists of an 18-foot-tall canopy structure created by three metal triangles. Under the shelter of the canopy, visitors can reflect and meditate amongst a granite engraved text installation by artist Jenny Holzer and a water feature.
Completion is expected later this year.
Design: Studio a+i with Esteban Erlich RA; Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates; Lighting Designer: Fisher Marantz Stone; Artist: Jenny Holzer; Landscape Designer: M. Paul Friedberg and Partners; Graphic Designer: 2x4 and Pablo Alabau; Program: Memorial; Location: West Village, New York, NY; Completion: late 2016.
30 Hudson Yards and Retail Building
Looking up at the northeast corner of 30 Hudson Yards from 10th Avenue.
Hudson Yards' second office tower at the eastern rail yards, 30 Hudson Yards, continues to make significant progress with steel superstructure nearing the 1/3 mark and curtain wall installation ongoing on the lower floors. Designed by KPF, the 90-story, 1,296-foot tower will house Time Warner Inc. and feature an open-air observation deck.
Close-up of the curtain wall going up on the east façade.
Looking up at the east façade of 30 Hudson Yards from 10th Avenue.
Close-up of the north façade of 30 Hudson Yards.
Northwest corner of 30 Hudson Yards (foreground) and 10 Hudson Yards (background) from West 34th Street.
Northwest corner of 30 Hudson Yards (foreground) and 10 Hudson Yards (background) from Hudson Park.
Curtain wall panel lowering into place at 30 Hudson Yards.
Façade installation is also underway on the retail building located in between the two office towers of 10 and 30 Hudson Yards. Scalloped and perforated metal panels have started to go up on the more solid east façade facing 10th Avenue, while the more transparent west façade has yet to receive its cladding. The 1,000,000 square feet retail structure is designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and will be anchored by the Nieman Marcus department store chain.
Looking up at the east façade of the retail building from 10th Avenue.
Close-up of the metal panels at the east façade of the retail building.
Architects: KPF (30 Hudson Yards, Retail Building); Developers: Related Companies, Oxford Properties Group; Program: Office, Retail; Location: Hudson Yards, New York, NY; Completion: 2018 (Retail, Public Square), 2019 (30 Hudson Yards).
16 West 40th Street - The Bryant
Northwest corner from Bryant Park.
Superstructure has topped out and window installation has reached approximately the half way mark at the Bryant, a 33-story mixed-use tower in Midtown from HFZ Capital Group. The tower is designed by David Chipperfield Architects in their signature modernist style that emphasizes a rationalist grid of windows and structure. Rather than rely on the exposed concrete structure, as seen in similar towers like 432 Park Avenue, the structural members are instead clad in precast concrete terrazzo panels. The windows, one of which has been installed on the north facade, are actually full-height sliding doors with a metal railing of vertical pickets.
Precast concrete terrazzo cladding at the north facade.
North facade detail.
West facade detail.
The tower will offer a mix of uses including a 230-key hotel on floors 2 through 15, 57 condominium apartments on floors 16 through 33, and ground floor retail and restaurant. Amenities in the tower include lobby lounge, fitness center, bike storage and hotel specific amenities.
Northwest corner from West 40th Street.
Looking up at the north facade from West 40th Street.
Facade detail with windows and railings.
Architect: David Chipperfield Architects; Developer: HFZ Capital Group; Program: Residential, Hotel, Retail; Location: Midtown, New York, NY; Completion: 2017.
152 Elizabeth Street
Looking west on Kenmare Street.
Concrete superstructure is above ground at developers Sumaida + Khurana and Nahla Capital's 152 Elizabeth in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan. Designed by Pritzker Prize-wining architect Tadao Ando, the 7-story residential project features his signature concrete minimalist aesthetic.
North facade from Kenmare Street.
The façade will feature Ando's signature architectural concrete intersected by a metal and glass volume at the corner of Kenmare and Elizabeth Streets. Plantings will cover the south facing party wall.
Close-up of the concrete superstructure.
North facade from Kenmare Street.
Northwest corner from Kenmare Street.
Northwest corner from Elizabeth Street.
Southwest corner from Elizabeth Street.
Architect: Tadao Ando; Interiors: Gabellini Sheppard Associates; Developers: Sumaida + Khurana and Nahla Capital; Program: Residential; Location: Nolita; Completion: 2017.
42 Crosby Street
South facade from Broome Street.
Exterior wall installation nears completion at Selldorf Architects' 42 Crosby Street in the heart of the SoHo neighborhood. The seven story residential condo building is being developed by Atlas Capital Group. Selldorf's facade includes floor to ceiling sliding doors, glass guardrails, metal mesh spandrel panels, and round steel fins that define the window bays.
Close-up of the south façade (right) adjacent to the cast iron façade of the E. V. Haughwout Building built in 1857.
Close-up of the southeast corner.
Looking up at the east facade from Crosby Street.
Close-up of the facade.
Nine residential condo units, each with three bedrooms, will occupy the primary structure. A duplex penthouse will occupy the top two floors, with a rooftop structure setback 20 feet from the lot line and an occupiable terrace. Retail and a residential lobby will be located at the ground floor. Underground, ten parking spots are available to the tenants and priced at one million dollars each.
Looking south along Crosby Street.
Close-up of the southeast corner.
Architect: Selldorf Architects; Developer: Atlas Capital Group; Program: Residential; Location: SoHo, New York, NY; Completion: 2016.
KPF · Midtown East · 2027