Archinect - News

New York City's last remaining public payphone has been removed

2022-05-24T17:32:00-04:00

Located at Seventh Avenue and 49th Street, the removal of the payphone kiosk marks the end of an era. It was the last of its kind in operation in New York, following a sweep of the city’s 8,178 active public payphones starting in 2015. Replacing the former payphone sites have been LinkNYC kiosks that were first introduced by tech company consortium City Bridge in 2014 following a competition launched by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reimagine the payphone. A more modern take on the long-standing payphones, LinkNYC kiosks offer Wi-Fi, USB charging ports, and the ability to make free nationwide calls.

There still remain some private payphones on public property, however, along with four permanent, full-length booths all located on the Upper West Side. The “last” payphones removed yesterday will not be scrapped though. Instead, they are heading to the Museum of the City of New York as part of its new exhibit Analog City: NYC BC (Before Computers).

Peter Marino to be honored by the Museum of the City of New York

2017-05-26T12:27:00-04:00

Peter Marino, leather-clad provocateur, will be honored at the Museum of the City of New York and presented the 2017 City of Design Award. The Award honors “creative entrepreneurs who have made New York City the design capital of the world and who inspire future generations of designers to bring their talents to our great.” Previous recipients include Jonathan Adler, Jacques Grange, Ralph Pucci and Simon Doonan.

Marino is the principal of Peter Marino Architect PLLC, a 160-person firm based out of New York. He is know, in particular, for projects like The Getty and Hublot in New York and the Louis Vuitton store in Los Angeles, among many other works.

Marino has also faced a fair share of controversy. Last year, he was accused of making homophobic slurs—ironic enough considering the LGBTQ-associations of his garb. The year before Marino was accused of sexism and racism. Both accusations were lodged by former employees.

"Soundscape New York" captures the sounds of NYC's iconic buildings

2015-03-18T14:13:00-04:00

Karen Van Lengen, who created the installation with her husband, James Welty, says to really soak in a building, you need to listen to it. 'If you close your eyes, what you're going to hear are things that you can't hear with your eyes open,' says Van Lengen, an architecture professor at the University of Virginia.

You can also find more about the exhibition on Bustler.

Norman Foster, Daniel Libeskind, Guy Nordenson to speak at Innovators talk series at the MCNY

2014-05-05T17:44:00-04:00

Mark your calendars! Some popular architects will be speaking in the upcoming "Innovators" talk series at the Museum of the City of New York, starting tomorrow May 6 at 6:30 p.m... Accompanying the current "Palaces for the People" exhibition, each talk will explore the influence of the Guastavino Company, led by a Catalan father-son team whose architecture, construction, and design practices helped shape NYC's built landscape.

Below is the panelist line-up:

May 6 - Innovators: Building Design and Construction: Guy Nordensen (Guy Nordenson Associates); Valentine Lehr (Lehr Consultants International); Jill Lerner and Marianne Kwok (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates); and Corie Sharples (Shop Architects)

May 14 - Innovators with Norman Foster: From Guastavino to the Moon: Lord Norman Foster and his engineering partner Roger Ridsdill Smith

July 7 - Innovators: The Uses of Tiles Today: Suzanne Stephens (writer, critic, and deputy editor of Architectural Record) as moderator; Daniel Libeskind (Studio Daniel Libeskind), Ingeborg Rocker (Harvard University GSD, Rocker-Lange Architects); and Matthew Karlin (president of Nemo Tile Company).

Find more details about the series on Bustler.

First major Guastavino exhibition opening at MCNY on March 26

2014-03-25T14:05:00-04:00

The upcoming "Palaces for the People: Guastavino and the Art of Structural Tile" exhibition will showcase the works of Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino and his son Rafael Jr. that helped shape the architectural identity of New York City.

Opening at the Museum of the City of New York on March 26, the exhibition will share the story of the Guastavinos, whose family legacy graces the vaulted and tiled ceilings of over 200 historic NYC buildings like the Grand Central Terminal, Ellis Island, Carnegie Hall, and the Bronx Zoo's Elephant House.

The exhibition was first organized by MacArthur Fellow John Ochsendorf from MIT before MCNY expanded it to feature 20 major Guastavino projects throughout NYC's five boroughs. The exhibition will include never-before-seen drawings and materials, an 11 ft x 15 ft replica of a Guastavino vault, contemporary photos by Michael Freeman, and a video gallery installation that lets viewers "visit" Guastavino spaces.

"Palaces for the People" will run until...

Major exhibition on polymath designer Norman Bel Geddes to open at MCNY

2013-09-06T13:38:00-04:00

The "Norman Bel Geddes: I Have Seen the Future" exhibition will open at the Museum of the City of New York starting Oct. 16. Presented by MCNY and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, it will be the first major exhibition to explore the life and multi-faceted career of the man whose futuristic designs shaped the image of modern America during the early half of the 20th century.

This event is also in promotion through Archtober, a festival of architectural and design programs, exhibitions, and activities happening throughout New York City in the month of October.

Curated by MCNY's Donald Albrecht (Curator of Architecture and Design), the five-part exhibition will begin with Bel Geddes' birth in 1893 and the early stages of his creativity, then delve into his prime decades from the 1920s-1940s, and finally end with his post-war-period works until his death in 1958.

Receiving barely any academic training, Bel Geddes created revolutionary theatrical, indus...