Archinect - News

Michael Kimmelman looks for signs of hope in Penn Station’s proposed renewal

2023-07-07T13:17:00-04:00

The only thing everyone seems to know for certain is that nothing meaningful ever really happens to improve North America’s busiest and most miserable train hub, despite decades of demands and promises. Hope has long gone to die on the 6:50 to Secaucus. But now may actually be different.

Kimmelman complimented the new PAU/HOK/ASTM North America P3 plan as “the disruption needed to get Albany moving", and one that “lets daylight, dignity and circulatory logic replace the rat’s maze beneath Madison Square Garden.”

“ASTM’s architecture at this early stage is a little stiff and self-serious but it clearly conveys the all-important point that a gateway worthy of New York, and of the millions of working people who rely on it, needs to offer more than high ceilings, clear signage and hot bagels. It needs to be a source of public pride," he added.

Juxtaposed to this is the more bland but Albany-backed MTA plan (with drawings from FXCollaborative) whose full details won’t be unveiled until next year. The West Side native says the scheme presents a vexing problem over the involvement of Madison Square Garden, which he predicts would lead to crippling lawsuits if the MTA's adversarial position remains unchanged.

HOK and PAU reveal rival 'P3' Penn Station renewal proposal

2023-07-03T12:19:00-04:00

A new proposal from HOK and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) has been unveiled as the competition to design a more modern and accessible update to Penn Station continues just days after New York State Governor Kathy Hochul officially scaled back the project due to economic concerns and pushback from local residents.

The two firms’ split proposal would supposedly be delivered in six years and at a cost of $6 billion using a combination of grants, state, and federal money, in addition to a $1 billion capital investment from ASTM North America.

The plan calls for the addition of a new open-air plaza as well as open-air terraces and two new entrances along Eight Avenue.

Image courtesy of ASTM, PAU, and HOK

HOK’s President Carl Garlioto describes: “The New Penn Station will bring much-needed light into two new train halls, including a grand new Eighth Avenue hall with 55-foot ceilings above the passenger concourse and a glass-wrapped mid-block hall with a sunlit passage betwe...

Italian firm proposes glass-wrapped alternative to Penn Station redevelopment

2023-04-05T13:10:00-04:00

The race to author an alternative solution to the recently-halted redevelopment of Penn Station may now have a top contender after the Italian firm ASTM Group released its plans for a proposal that would radically alter New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden.

Last week, the New York Times reported on the newly-proposed alternative, which calls for the storied sporting “Mecca” to be wrapped in an aluminum-and-steel curtain while replacing the existing station with a two-hall glass-enclosed structure at its podium. The plan is said to be less expensive than the state’s Vornado-backed original proposal, and, if approved, would be completed no later than the year 2030.

According to the Times, several officials have already voiced their support for the alternative, making it into a “frontrunner” among those in power.

Last month, Vornado called off the already-maligned redevelopment scheme, citing economic conditions as a decisive factor in their postponing of the plan that would h...