Archinect - News

MVRDV's vibrantly stacked Radio Tower and Hotel project tops out

2020-11-25T13:49:00-05:00

Previously covered by Archinect in November 2018, Winy Mass and the design team at MVRDV worked with developer Youngwoo & Associates to "design an innovative project that accommodates a large volume of program while fitting the surrounding context."

Project render (2018). Image courtesy of MVRDV

MVRDV's principal and co-founder Winy Mass shares in a statement, "Our intention with Radio Tower & Hotel was to become a part of – to strengthen, even – the character of a neighborhood that is wonderful in its color, diversity, and atmosphere." As the firm's first high rise project located in the US, the stacked volumes of this mixed-use building is also the first of its kind in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood.

Color diagram Image © MVRVD

Image © Youngwoo & Associates/MVRDV (Nov 2020)

"Washington Heights is the fifth largest New York neighborhood with a population of 150,000 inhabitants, a mixed-use building like Radio Tower & Hotel is a first for this neighborhood", Mass cont...

Architect Kimberly Dowdell uses her hometown of Detroit as a catalyst for teaching equitable urban design practices

2019-08-14T17:00:00-04:00

In her lecture, entitled “Diverse City: How Equitable Design and Development will Shape Urban Futures,” Dowdell drew on her experiences growing up in Detroit and her work in real estate development.

Earlier this year, architect, Detroit native, and current National Organization of Minority Architects president Kimberly N. Dowdell presented a lecture discussing the importance of equity in design and development. With her multi-disciplinary background in real estate development, education, and architecture, Dowdell explains, "equity, if I boil it down to its most essential element, is making it right,"adding, "Cities can experience trauma, and when you make it right, they can become more resilient."

Thanks to coverage of the lecture by Danielle J. Kranchalk from The Harvard Crimson, we get a view into Dowdell's presentation at Harvard GSD, which showcased her strategy for revitalizing various Detroit neighborhoods.

Her passion and commitment for creating thriving cities are marked by an approach that prioritizes what can be done to think outside the box. As Dowdell poignantly explains, "both people and cities go through cycles of trauma, equity, and resilience." She continues t...

The ABC's of Gentrification

2019-05-07T19:19:00-04:00

When bad things happen, we look around for someone to blame. And when it comes to gentrification, which is loosely defined as somebody not like you moving into your neighborhood, there’s no shortage of things to blame.

Depending on where you live it isn't difficult to notice specific changes happening within your neighborhood. From trendy housing developments, boutique shops, and independent cafes gentrification affects more than a neighborhood's curb appeal. A buzzword many have become familiar with these shifts in housing and businesses have appeared as controversial hot topics in politics and urban planning. However, what exactly does gentrification mean? If gentrification is something seen by all, why is it that so few understand the variables and details that go into this process?

For residents who have lived in older neighborhoods gentrification is understood as sever change and displacement. With the urban landscape continually changing all over the globe major cities are becoming denser and denser by the minute. Residents are being pushed out and forced to adjust to changes they're expected to understand. Thanks to the City Observatory, a website providing a data-driven analysis of cities...

MVRDV's first US project is an explosion of color and function for the city

2018-11-15T18:33:00-05:00

Underutilized space is an unfortunate yet reoccurring issue that takes place in densely populated cities, Manhattan being no exception. When Youngwoo & Associates decided to take on a large underutilized space at the intersection of Amsterdam Ave and Washington Bridge, the team at MDRDV took to the challenge and created the plans for Radio Tower & Hotel.

Street view Image © MVRDV

Built on one of the major linking areas between Manhattan and New Jersey, the multi-leveled, multi-purpose building is set to tackle a main design challenge: navigating a way to create a large volumed structure while still keeping its relevance and contextual nature. Standing at 22 stories tall, this "vertical village" takes the typical composition of a small block to be taken apart and reassembled into a stack. The asymmetrical arrangement of these stacked volumes are designed to appear like separate buildings. Each stacked volume, measuring roughly the same size as the others, is finished with a different...

Los Angeles honors President Obama with renaming of two roads

2018-09-05T16:13:00-04:00

Rodeo Road will be renamed after President Barack Obama, city leaders decided this week. But it’s not the first roadway in LA that lawmakers agreed to name after the 44th president. In 2017, the state legislature approved a resolution to designate the stretch of the 134 freeway that runs between Pasadena and Eagle Rock as the President Barack H. Obama Highway. A year later, however, there’s little evidence of that decision.

A 3.7 mile stretch of road in Los Angeles, now called Rodeo Road, will be renamed Obama Boulevard honoring the country’s first African American president. Located in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw neighborhood, the road was chosen for its significance in the black community and its relation to a 2007 rally site Obama held at the beginning of his campaign.

Obama Boulevard is not scheduled to be fully renamed until Presidents Day in 2019. Another Obama named stretch of road in Los Angeles is also awaiting new signage. A stretch of the 134 freeway running between Pasadena and Eagle Rock has been approved to be named the President Barack H. Obama Highway, however the money for new signage has yet to be raised.

Residents sue to stop Sutton 58 high rise construction in NYC

2018-08-29T15:05:00-04:00

Sutton Place residents filed a lawsuit Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to stop a luxury condo tower from rising on East 58th Street. The plaintiffs, a group called the East River Fifties Alliance, are residents from the surrounding neighborhood, including condo owners whose views would be blocked by a roughly 800-foot tower under construction at 430 E. 58th St.

Construction on NYC's Sutton 58 condo project was previously halted after Sutton Place residents secured a rezoning proposal. The rezoning mandated squatter buildings making Sutton 58 noncompliant. Since then a city zoning board granted the project a reprieve, resulting in the resident's lawsuit to stop construction.

62-acre site along Chicago River to be developed with potential for Amazon's HQ2

2018-05-14T15:13:00-04:00

A hardscrabble half-mile stretch along the Chicago River's South Branch would become a vibrant neighborhood of cutting-edge architecture, parks and a riverwalk in the plans a developer unveiled Thursday for the last big piece of empty land near downtown. Developer Related Midwest plans a transformation of the vacant, relatively isolated 62-acre site into a vibrant neighborhood of homes, restaurants, cultural institutions and businesses...

The currently undeveloped site along Chicago's river has been named "The 78", declaring its scale large enough to add to the city's official number of 77 neighborhoods. The site is also rumored to be a contender for Amazon's HQ2 if the city is chosen, which would require reworking current plans.

Current 62-acre riverfront site in Chicago. Image: Mark Segal/Related Midwest.

Plans for the massive development include 13 million square feet of building space for residential, office, educational and other uses. 12 acres would be dedicated to parkland or public riverwalk with a performance venue. Related Midwest stated that affordable housing was an important part of its housing development.

Rendering of the education hub and riverwalk. Image: Related Midwest.

The new site would also extend three existing city streets through the property to create through routes for bikes. A metro stop would be added to the Red Line, as well as potentially adding a Water Taxi stop.

...

Brussels-based BOB361 contributes to a Parisian neighborhood's revitalization with this eco-friendly housing project

2018-05-07T15:43:00-04:00

A new housing project in Paris was recently redeveloped by the Brussels-based firm BOB361. The apartment complex, Orteaux, is part of a larger revitalization project for a Parisian neighborhood located near the Père Lachaise cemetery.

Orteaux by BOB361, located in Paris. Image: BOB361.

As part of this revival, the building consists of 21 apartments and functions as a sustainability pilot project for the city. It is the first project in Paris to receive the Écoquartier label. The entire redevelopment consists of 109 dwellings (75 of which are newly built), a public garden, and a range of commercial premises.

Orteaux by BOB361, located in Paris. Image: BOB361.

The entire housing block is located in a heavily built-up, and neglected area within the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Initially scheduled for demolition, the block was saved as a result of local protests. The city of Paris then opted for partial renovation, sanctioning new b...

Small and mid-size cities are attracting more millennials

2018-05-04T15:24:00-04:00

Mid- or second-tier cities, loosely defined as those under a million people that aren’t regional powerhouses like Austin or Seattle, are increasingly seen as not just places to find a lower cost of living, easier commute, and closer connections with family, but also a more approachable, neighborhood-oriented version of the urban lifestyle that sent many to the larger cities in the first place.

Census data shows that smaller metros are seeing more migration from millennials while larger cities are experiencing slower growth. These smaller cities have been attracting new growth in part due to investing in green spaces and parks, upswings in local tech hubs, and downtown redevelopment.

Building a gentrification early warning system with big data

2017-08-30T19:05:00-04:00

But what if there were a way to see gentrification long before the coffee shops, condos and Whole Foods appear? What if city planners and neighborhoods had an early warning system that could sniff out the changes just as they begin? [...] neighborhood advocates would have the opportunity to implement policies ranging from reserving affordable housing units to educating residents of their renting rights to helping small businesses negotiate long-term lease extensions.

In his NPR piece, astrophysics professor Adam Frank explains how various big data sets, like housing prices, eviction records, census data, or social media usage, can be utilized for "predictive analytics" to detect early onsets of gentrification for specific neighborhoods at an increasingly high resolution — and what significant perils come with it.

MVRDV's Ilot Queyries blends history + modern sustainable density in Bordeaux, France

2017-06-16T19:10:00-04:00

How can architects create livable, breathable spaces that not only honor the history of a region, but anticipate the global population increase? This is partly the mission of MVRDV's 300-unit residential apartment/mixed use Ilot Queyries, which is located adjacent to the ZAC Bastide-Niel masterplan East of the River Garonne, and is designed to create a new neighborhood that prizes density and green, sustainable features while organically integrating the history of the region.

Aerial view

As MVRDV's Winy Mass explains, "For the Bastide Niel master plan we make an update of the European city: based on the values of the historic city that is intimate, dense and mixed, whilst at the same time proposing new objectives like sunlight for all, even on the ground floor, new energy supplies with solar panels, integrated water system and more green spaces. The concept of the cuts of the volumes is introduced here at Ilot Queyries which can be interpreted as a pilot project of the master plan Ba...

Airbnb reveals its top 17 trending city neighborhoods for travel

2016-12-15T18:09:00-05:00

The hottest Airbnb deals are—surprise!—a little bit out of the way. The home-and-room rental platform has revealed the top 17 neighborhoods whose bookings grew the most this year, based on 140 million arrivals at 3 million homes. Peppered throughout are terms like “off the usual tourist path” or “a tranquil outpost” and “though detached from city proper.” [...] While smaller than many of Airbnb’s major markets, these neighborhoods could be in for even more growth in 2017.

In a data analysis report unveiled yesterday, Airbnb summarizes what travelers are allegedly looking for this year:

"In cities like Miami and Seoul, travelers to this year’s trending neighborhoods can connect with Experience hosts for local access you won’t find in typical tourist guides: In Miami’s Midtown neighborhood, guests can experience the fun, mindful side of Miami with yoga by the beach, paddleboarding and fresh dining; near Daehangno in Seoul, visitors can book a journey through the underground food scene, getting front and center in the kitchens of some of the best restaurateurs in the country. Coming soon are Experiences in New Orleans, Seattle, Toronto, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Prague, Madrid, Dublin, Provence, Sydney, Bangkok and Osaka [...]."

Looking at the travel patterns of more than 140 million total guest arrivals at 3 million homes on Airbnb from 2015 to 2016, these city neighborhoods are reported as the 17 most trending for travelers in 2017:

Milneburg in New ...

"War of the Shrubbery:" when HOA disputes turn ugly

2016-07-29T14:05:00-04:00

It’s the all-too-common hazard that buyers of multimillion-dollar homes often overlook: Disagreements between homeowners can turn even the nicest neighborhoods into war zones. These disputes can happen anywhere, but in wealthy communities, the tendency to lawyer up quickly can ignite small sparks into all-consuming conflagrations. Collateral damage to neighbors can include legal costs, a soured neighborhood feeling and more difficulty in selling homes.

A blind New Yorker identifies the city by scent

2016-05-05T12:26:00-04:00

I’m blind, so my nose tells me what neighborhood I’m in. My dog and I – we walk. We’ll walk from 125th down to Houston. The smell of Harlem is definitely different now. It’s more open. There’s a new class of people. The whole thing feels like someplace else.

To navigate a vast city, people often develop a set of idiosyncratic markers: personal landmarks, favorite coffee joints, or in Craig Taylor's case, the smell of a particular section of town. Should designers start thinking in terms of creating signature scents to help identify their work for a populace that can't "see" projects traditionally?

For all the best in the smells of architecture:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx on the troubled relationship between infrastructure and race: "We ought to do it better than we did it the last time"

2016-04-28T13:53:00-04:00

As a child, Anthony Foxx knew he couldn’t ride his bike far from home without being blocked by a freeway. By the time he became U.S. transportation secretary he understood why. “We now know — overwhelmingly — that our urban freeways were almost always routed through low-income and minority neighborhoods, creating disconnections from opportunity that exist to this day,” [...] “I really believe that this is an issue that has been on the shelf collecting dust for a long time,” Foxx said.

Interdependent city design video game Block'hood launches Thursday

2016-03-09T20:03:00-05:00

The complexities of designing at the scale of a city could take years to enumerate, but with Block'hood, a game where players design neighborhoods in various modes of complexity with over 80 pre-set blocks, it takes only minutes to start encountering these challenges first hand. Developed and designed by Jose Sanchez and Gentaro Makinoda, Block'hood's players are encouraged to think "ecologically," which is to say, designing an environment that not only sustains itself but can work interdependently with other neighborhood designs. If a design does not have enough resources, it can become victim to decay.

The perpetually evolving game, which has its public launch March 10th, has five modes: "Sandbox," which allows players to build a resources-constrained neighborhood without any particular goal in mind, "Challenge" which limits the number of blocks and resources a player can use to construct a neighborhood, "Education" which focuses on real-world city problems, "Research" which incor...

So gentrification is just a myth after all?

2015-01-19T14:22:00-05:00

It’s time to retire the term gentrification altogether. Fourteen years ago, Maureen Kennedy and Paul Leonard of the Brookings Institution wrote that gentrification “is a politically loaded concept that generally has not been useful in resolving growth and community change debates because its meaning is unclear.” That’s even truer today. Some U.S. cities do have serious affordability problems, but they’re not the problems critics of gentrification think they are.

What's your take on John Buntin's Slate piece?

Can NYC Create a New Neighborhood Without Displacing an Old One?

2014-12-11T14:03:00-05:00

With a nod to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plans, New York City’s Department of City Planning is inventing a “new neighborhood” to take what it thinks is a promising section of the Bronx from parking lots to high-rises. While the city has promised to make community outreach a cornerstone of its plans, the idea of a “new neighborhood” has left many who live there seeing Brooklyn-infused foreshadowing.

Hearing begins for "modernist" North Carolina home threatened with demolition

2014-08-26T14:38:00-04:00

Today is day two in court for architect Louis Cherry and his wife, Marsha Gordon, for the hearing that will decide the fate of their new home in the historic Oakwood neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina. Back in March, a neighbor complained that the "modernist" style of Cherry's home didn't jive with the neighborhood's tone, and successfully appealed to have the building's permits revoked. Construction was halted, and now the decision of whether the house can be finished, demolished, or forcibly modified to local design standards has been brought to court.

We first covered this issue back in May and July, and the preservationist-NIMBYism that it's raised. Opening statements for the case were held yesterday, although it could take months for the judge to issue a final decision.

UPDATE: The hearing has been adjourned, according to @RaleighReporter, Colin Campbell (reporter for The News & Observer, North Raleigh News and Midtown Raleigh News).

@NCMHTweets reported from inside the court...

Don’t Like Your Neighbors’ House? Sue Them.

2014-07-14T13:32:00-04:00

“Words like ‘holocaust’ have been used in reference to the idea that our house could inspire a rash of tear-downs which could then be replaced with modern homes. I designed my house specifically within the design guidelines of this historic district and to be compatible, a good neighbor. But the term ‘modernism’ just clicks a switch in people’s brain and they can’t see the house for what it is.”

Previously: Architect Fights for His Home

Now on auction in Detroit: Homes starting at $1,000

2014-05-19T13:57:00-04:00

No absentee landlords or faraway investors allowed. Only Michigan residents and businesses [...] The idea is to lure neighbors, not investors or opportunists (#NeighborsWanted is the city's hashtag for the program). And that does not include out-of-state urban homesteaders dreaming of cheap property in Detroit. Right now, the land bank is focusing on otherwise intact neighborhoods, as opposed to those parts of town where vacant parcels outnumber the residents who've stuck around.

America’s Top ArtPlaces 2013

2013-01-07T19:52:00-05:00

America’s Top Twelve ArtPlaces is a new annual ArtPlace initiative recognizing neighborhoods in the largest 44 metropolitan areas in the country where the arts are central to creating places where people—residents and visitors—want to be.

America’s Top 12 ArtPlaces for 2013 are:

Brooklyn, NY / The intersection of Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope and Prospect Heights
Dallas, TX / The Dallas Arts District, with parts of Deep Ellum and Exposition Park
Los Angeles, CA / Central Hollywood
Miami Beach, FL / South Beach
Milwaukee, WI / East Town and a portion of the Lower East Side
New York, NY / Manhattan Valley
Oakland, CA / Downtown, including Chinatown, Old Oakland and Jack London Square
Philadelphia, PA / Old City
Portland, OR / The Pearl District and a portion of Downtown
San Francisco, CA / The Mission District
Seattle, WA / The Pike-Pine Corridor
Washington, DC / The intersection of Adams Morgan, U Street, and Dupont Circle

'Popuphood' aims to bring new business to Old Oakland

2012-05-01T02:13:00-04:00

You've heard of popup stores, right? Companies setting up storefronts that might only be around for a week or a day or even just a couple of hours. [...] In Oakland, Calif., they've taken it to the next level. A handful of stores have popped up all at the same time -- with no plans to close. It's called a popup hood. And Andrew Stelzer reports, it may be coming soon to a hood near you.