New York: The Latest Architecture and News

Architects: Fabrica 718 Project Team: Cara Solomon, Minyoung Song, Kim Letven, Michael Brehmer, Natalya Egon, Abigail Coover, and Corey Yurkovich Location: Soho, New York City, NY, USA Architect of Record: Melissa Cicetti, AIA MEP Engineer: D’Antonio Consulting Expediter: JAM Project area: 1,850 sq. ft. Project year: 2010 Photographs: Sean Hemmerle

It has become standard to check the stock market, book a flight, and find a restaurant using our phones…but to review building permits? Starting today, Mayor Bloomberg of New York announced the Quick Response code that will allow New Yorkers to simply scan the bar code located on construction permits to access information about a specific building or construction site. The information given will share the “approved scope of work, identities of the property owner and job applicant, other approved projects associated with the permit, complaints and violations related to the location,” explained the Mayor in a press release.

What do you think of this new feature? More about the latest app after the break.

As we reported last week, Interboro Partners’ “Holding Pattern” was selected as the winner of the 2011 YAP organized by the MoMA and the MoMA P.S.1. As usual, and in order to extend the debate, we are presenting you the running entries.

We present you “Ghost House” by London-based firm IJP Corporation Architects, a light-weight installation with a counter-intuitive material structure exuding an aura of mystery and wonder. A representation of contemporary living, to be built almost entirely with tensed rope to enclose spaces that relate to how we live.

More about Ghost House:

Last week, as the NY Times reported, the interior of 510 Fifth Avenue received landmark protection by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The building, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill back in the 1950s, served as a branch of the former Manufacturers Trust Bank (later the Chase Bank Building) and is situated on a dense Manhattan block near the New York Public Library, Cook+Fox’s recent One Bryant Park, and the park itself.

More about the landmarked interior after the break.

With the explosion of technology and social media, the overall quality of our communications has disintegrated. Preventable communication mistakes happen daily and the worst ones even make global headlines. Now, more than ever, our methods are overtaking our messages. In this program, we’ll examine how to communicate effectively, what works and what doesn’t, the best practices and the worst stories.

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce holds the annual Building Brooklyn Awards. Currently accepting nominations for the 11th Annual Buidling Brooklyn Awards, the event is a signature real estate industry event that recognizes recently completed new, and renovation construction projects, that have a positive impact on the borough’s economy and quality of life.

The event honors individuals who have made significant contributions toward enhancing the business conditions and economic climate of Brooklyn. This year’s awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 14, 2011, at the Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

More information and images from last year’s winners after the break.

The awkwardly shaped large site at West Side Highway and 57th Street is about to get a whole lot more attention. Bjarke Ingels and BIG will finally make their architectural debut in North America, with an unusual apartment building design in none other than New York City. The asymmetrical peak almost pyramid in shape is the result of blending the mismatched forms of a typical Manhattan tower podium and a low-rise apartment block European in style.

BIG’s reinvention of the ‘New York apartment building’ somehow is able to check all of the boxes, providing a connection to the waterfront and the Hudson River Park, acknowledging the surrounding context both in relationship to building size and neighbors’ views, and alleviating traffic noise. The leafy green courtyards that pop up within this new residential typology help to balance a steeply sloped facade, 450-feet at its peak. Designed for client Durst Fetner Residential, the building offers both a cultural and commercial program and will accommodate 600 residential units varying in size.

Follow the break for the architect’s description and more photographs.

+ 49

Architects: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group Location: Manhattan, New York, USA Partner in Charge: Bjarke Ingels Project Leader: Beat Schenk Project Architect: Sören Grünert Project Team: Thomas Christoffersen, Celine Jeanne, Daniel Sundlin, Alessandro Ronfini, Aleksander Tokarz, Alessio Valmori, Alvaro Garcia Mendive, Felicia Guldberg, Gabrielle Nadeau, Ho Kyung Lee, Julian Liang, Julianne Gola, Lucian Racovitan, Marcela Martinez, Maria Nikolova, Minjae Kim, Mitesh Dixit, Nicklas Rasch, Riccardo Mariano, Stanley Lung, Steffan Heath, Thilani Rajarathna, Xu Li Architect of Record: SLCE Architects Landscape Architects: Starr Whitehouse Structural: Thornton Tomasetti MEP: Dagher Engineering Civil: Langan Engineering Construction Manager: Hunter Roberts Transportation: Philip Habib & Assoc. Building Envelope: Israel Berger & Assoc. Marketing: Nancy Packes Vertical Transportation: Van Deusen & Assoc. Acoustical: Cerami & Assoc. Wind: CPP Environmental: AKRF Client: Durst Fetner Residential Project Area: 870,000 sqf Renderings & Animation: German Glessner