Archinect - News

Morris Adjmi Architects converts and expands historic textile building overlooking the High Line for office use

2020-08-13T13:31:00-04:00

The Warehouse, a seven-story 98,000-square-foot historic building expansion designed by New York-based Morris Adjmi Architects is officially ready for occupancy. Due to the pandemic, the developer will be hosting a series of virtual tours of The Warehouse to supplement a traditional launch event.

Rendering via Morris Adjmi Architects.

The building was formerly a four-story textile facility for the Haddad family's Carolina Manufacturing Company. James Haddad, Principal of Elijah Equities, the developer and owner of the building, said in a statement: "Being such an integral part of my childhood, it was important to me to preserve the original structure, have it flourish and appreciated by upcoming generations, but also to shepherd it into the modern era with a new aesthetically handsome addition."

5th Floor. Rendering via Morris Adjmi Architects.

7th Floor. Rendering via Morris Adjmi Architects.

Morris Adjmi Architects were tasked with reimagining the structure. The architects captured H...

A historic house with two faces in San Francisco

2019-06-16T10:43:00-04:00

Subtle historic restoration and bold reinterpretation have rarely combined on a site as well as they have in an oft-visited district San Francisco. A stone's throw from the Painted Ladies is a Victorian home built in 1889 which draws little attention to itself upon first glance.

Back Façade of Alamo Square Residence, by Jensen Architects.

A peek around the side, however, and one would note that not only has the façade been lovingly restored, but the back has been completely reimagined for a family with modern tastes. San Francisco-based Jensen Architects were tasked with a radical update for the 19th century home for an adventurous client. The floor plans have been completely reimagined to allow daylight in through the back façade, including a glass-encased elevator which doubly functions as a display for mechanical functions.

Back Façade of Alamo Square Residence, by Jensen Architects.

Drawing one's attention back to the historic façade, one can see a painstaking renovation carried o...

More details on Willis Tower's $668 million renovation

2018-09-17T15:10:00-04:00

Skyscraper owner Blackstone hopes Catalog, the centerpiece of the building's ongoing $668 million renovation, will set off a rush of foot traffic in the southwest corner of the Loop. [...] Anchoring Catalog will be Willis Tower's first food hall, a 14,000-square-foot location run by London-based food hall operator Urbanspace, as well as dining options Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, Luke's Lobster and Taylor Gourmet.

Moshe Safdie discusses the donut-shaped Jewel addition to the Changi Airport in Singapore

2018-05-31T15:47:00-04:00

A 250-meter-long bouncing net three stories above ground. A 50-meter-long suspended bridge with glass-panel flooring. Walking trails amongst a lush jungle of animal-shaped topiaries in a five-story terraced garden. A 40-meter-tall waterfall cascading from an opening in a vaulted glass roof canopy. An art sculpture made up of four giant, integrated slides. And that's just scratching the surface.

Safdie Architects's $1.27 billion Jewel Changi is the latest addition to Singapore's impressive Changi Airport. This donut-shaped structure will function as a central hub connecting three of the airport's current four terminals. Safdie's design features five stories of retail, gardens and restaurants, as well as a hotel with a five-story underground parking lot.

Safdie Architects's Jewel Changi addition to the Singapore Changi Airport. Image: Jewel Changi Airport Devt.

The domed structure consists of glass panel latticework framed in steel, producing a delicate covering over the space and allowing in plenty of light for the expansive gardens within.

Jewel Changi by Safdie Architects section view.

Jewel Changi also boasts a large mall within the gardens to attract both visitors and locals, further solidifying the airport as not only a function of travel but also a destination. T...

New gothic tower added to Westminster Abbey by architect Ptolemy Dean

2018-05-30T15:40:00-04:00

Nestled into an armpit of Westminster Abbey, hidden behind a flying buttress that leaps up to the chapterhouse, stands what appears to be a gothic space rocket. Sinuous bronze tracery loops its way up the faceted shaft, framing crystalline windows between bands of lead arrowheads, like go-faster stripes shooting towards the heavens.

British architect Ptolemy Dean's new addition to Westminster Abbey, The Weston Tower, is the first significant addition to the gothic structure since 1745. This new $30m tower provides the first public access to the church's triforium space above nave. Here visitors can climb to the attic and visit the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries housing royal and religious artifacts dating back thousands of years.

Building up, but not on, a house on a hill

2015-07-13T13:15:00-04:00

Todd Conversano never thought he'd be able to enlarge the 1950s ranch-style home he and his wife bought a decade ago. Two previous geological reports on the property north of Beverly Hills suggested that it would cause drainage problems or, worse, destabilize the steep slope above the lot. Instead, he came up with a smarter, cheaper and less intrusive solution. [...] "I figured out how to do it without touching the building,"

Using a "moment frame" as the platform, Conversano was able to lift the new addition to sit just above the existing house without adding any additional load to it. The new master suite was then connected to the rest of the house by a staircase, bridging the two structure's interiors. Conversano's intervention has been common in commercial projects, but residential projects rarely get this "bypass" treatment.

Rice Design Alliance’s "Additionally" tour highlights modern updates of 8 historic houses in Houston

2014-01-08T12:46:00-05:00

If you're in the Houston, Texas area and want to "add in" some well-in-advance weekend plans, Rice Design Alliance from Rice University will be hosting their 38th Annual Architectural Tour "Additionally" on March 29-30, 2014.

RDA is inviting its members and their guests for a weekend to visit eight historic houses originally built between 1885 to 1964 throughout Houston. Within the past 12 years, local architecture firms individually crafted modernized additions that complement each house's historic nature.

Check out some of the tour's destinations:

216 Avondale (1906); Addition: 2012, m+a architecture

707 Sabine (1885); Additions: 2000, Gary Eades; 2009, Janusz Design

3503 Audobon (1920); Addition: 2011, Interloop–Architecture

5503 Sturbridge; Additions: 1960, Marshall S. MacDougal; 2008, Dillon Kyle Architecture

For more info on the tour, head over to Bustler.

Images courtesy of Rice Design Alliance.

Hugh Hardy’s Tow Theater at Lincoln Center

2012-07-17T19:19:18-04:00

The new Claire Tow Theater, perched on top of Eero Saarinen’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, has been in operation for a few weeks now, and it’s a nimble addition to Lincoln Center with architectural benefits out of proportion to its size.