Archinect - News

Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Sheppard Robson's London Centre for Music replacement inches closer after planners grant local approval

2024-04-30T13:45:00-04:00

The revised Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Sheppard Robson-led scheme at the Barbican in Central London reportedly gained planning approvals from the City of London’s planning body. The news came last week (April 17th) after UK Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove remanded an Article 31 order calling on the local committee to pause its process in light of pushbacks against the planned demolition of the existing Bastion House and the former Museum of London that is an integral part of the scheme.

Previously on Archinect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro unveil designs for London Centre for Music replacement

Yahoo! Finance UK quoted a spokesperson from the group Barbican Quarter Actiorn as saying the demolition would be “injurious to the future of people and the planet,” adding, “We continue to believe that this great City can and should do better and that it should retain and adapt these fine buildings in line with its own policies on sustainable development.”

If approved by Gove’s o...

NYC approved zero new housing starts for Manhattan last month despite glaring crisis

2023-08-14T18:18:00-04:00

The borough of Manhattan, home to 1.7 million people, approved no new units of housing last month and just 10 buildings with 279 units in total were approved last month in the other four boroughs combined. City leaders are raising the alarm about the anemic pace of development.

The lack of new housing starts mirrors a nationwide dip that was recorded at 24% for the month of June, according to the latest Dodge Construction Network report. Manhattan has seen ruinous housing cost increases since the pandemic abated, irking those in power who feel the need to end a citywide crisis is being blocked by a lack of tax incentive support and prohibitive zoning measures. By way of comparison,1,208 new units were approved in the Borough in July of 2013.

In May, the city's chief Housing Officer, Jessica Katz, resigned in frustration over the ineptitude. Some 560,000 units are needed to meet demands by the end of the decade, a scant 14% of which is currently under development according to statistics released by the city in December along with its "moonshot" plan for 500,000 new affordable units within the same timeframe. One now has to question what happened to the "quantum leap in the creation of new homes" called for at the time by Department of City Planning Director...

The future of London's MSG Sphere may be getting clearer despite concerns

2023-01-24T17:42:00-05:00

[The] MSG Sphere, a new concert hall planned for Stratford in east London – which would be as wide as the London Eye and as tall as Big Ben – could soon move a step closer to reality. On Tuesday evening, the planning committee of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will meet to consider its developer’s plans for managing the advertising display and its impact.

Efforts to halt the development of the Populous-designed entertainment venue date back to late 2020, when the public consultation phase for the project was extended for a third time over concerns about light pollution. Plans were approved by the LLDC in March of last year contingent on an agreement for a five-year review of the giant billboard’s 25-year advertising consent, which was accepted at Tuesday’s meeting. The project will now go before London Mayor Sadiq Khan for final approval.

Madison Square Garden (MSG)'s revised plan reportedly calls for a “suite of mitigation measures” to combat the effects of what would be the world's largest LED display. The intense visual impact of its Las Vegas counterpart is already being seen as a hazard.

A statement from the opposition group Stop MSG Sphere can be viewed below.

We gave it our best shot (the statement we gave at the meeting tonight is below). We're deeply disappointed no one voted against the paltry 5yr review on the 25YR adver...

The project's ‘architect’ says he had no active role in Hudson Yards tower design

2022-06-13T13:48:00-04:00

But Mr. Schiffman said he had no active role in those projects, a statement that raises questions about whether the buildings were approved for construction without the oversight and involvement of a registered architect — a requirement in New York State to ensure that buildings are properly designed and do not pose a safety risk.

The New York Times has obtained a document showing that the credentials of a retired architect in his mid-80s were used to fake his approval of building designs that he did not review. Warren L. Schiffman has been designated as the architect of record on an under-construction, 642-feet-tall hotel rising in Hudson Yards, along with a hotel near LaGuardia Airport and dual high-rise residences in Queens. Each of these projects fall under developer Marx Development Group.

The document shows a contract Schiffman signed upon his retirement from Marx Development Group in 2016 that details how the company’s design firm, DSM Design Group, could continue to use his seal of approval following his absence. Signed shortly before Marx Development Group embarked on the three aforementioned projects, the contract called for Schiffman to provide his architectural stamp and signature to DSM Design Group when requested. However, Schiffman claims he was never asked to review any building plans.

In addi...

Planning approval has been granted to PLP Architecture and Adjaye Associates’ Whitechapel Estate overhaul

2022-05-13T13:55:00-04:00

Tower Hamlets Council has granted planning permission to PLP Architecture and Adjaye Associates’ amended plans to overhaul the Whitechapel Estate in east London. PLP masterplanned the development and designed seven buildings, while Adjaye Associates designed five of the six buildings on the west of the site. The duo first submitted plans for the estate in 2015, which were rejected by Tower Hamlets Council but later approved on appeal.

The revised plan was finally approved after an affordable housing plot was relocated “to a better setting” outside of the scheme, which also is now serviced by more energy-efficient heat pump technology. One-third of the scheme’s now 529 residences are still considered affordable under the approved update.

Adjaye Associates are continuing on a banner year in the face of a recent UK High Court decision to halt the planned Holocaust Memorial in London. The firm has been named to several major development projects internationally in the past six months, including a mass timber design for the Toronto Quayside project and Cleveland’s plan to create an entirely new mixed-use district called the Cuyahoga Riverfront.

New Amazon HQ2 gets green light from Arlington County officials

2022-04-27T14:31:00-04:00

Amazon will begin transforming an undeveloped swath of Arlington County into the largest piece of its second corporate headquarters [...] County lawmakers on Saturday unanimously endorsed the expansion of Amazon’s footprint at the 10.4 acre site in Pentagon City, known as PenPlace. Plans include three corporate office buildings, retail pavilions, a futuristic glass Helix, a child-care facility and about 2.75 acres of open space.

Designs for the second phase of Amazon's $2.5 billion Arlington HQ2 campus, including its much-debated tree-covered and helix-shaped centerpiece tower, first appeared on Archinect in February 2021. Updated designs were released by the company and its architect NBBJ later that year.

Previously on Archinect: Amazon updates design for its $2.5 billion headquarters project in Arlington, Virginia

Holocaust Museum LA expansion takes another step forward

2022-01-28T14:09:00-05:00

Holocaust Museum LA's proposed $45-million expansion has taken a small, but important procedural step forward. Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks issued a notice of exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act for the proposed Jona Goldrich Campus, which would expand upon the museum's existing subterranean building in Pan Pacific Park.

The proposed Belzberg Architects-designed project includes the expansion of the existing museum and the construction of a new pavilion. The pavilion will include a new learning center, a dedicated theater to showcase an installation by the USC Shoah Foundation, a 200-seat theater, two classrooms, a 2,500-square-foot exhibit space, and a pavilion housing a boxcar from the Majdanek concentration camp in Poland. Concession areas, administrative offices, and restrooms are also included.

Previously on Archinect: Hagy Belzberg provides a personal touch with new Holocaust Museum LA expansion

According to Urbanize Los Angeles, the expansion is expected to increase the museum’s annual capacity to 500,000 by 2030. It is reported that around $22 million has so far been raised to begin construction. A groundbreaking is set to commence later this year.

LA’s Olympic Tower clears final hurdle in yearslong development saga

2021-12-03T13:32:00-05:00

In a unanimous consent calendar vote, the Council approved a master conditional use permit and a transfer of floor area rights agreement for Olympic tower, which would replace the Downtown Car Wash located at the northwest corner of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street - directly north of L.A. Live.

The Olympic Tower development is one of a slate of exuberant high-rise tower projects planned for LA's downtown area in the next decade. The Nardi Associates-designed building will top out at 57 stories and play host to a mixture of hotel accommodations, condos, retail, and 33,500 square feet of office space, the balance of which is expected to be purchased from the city at a cost of $23.1 million according to Urbanize LA.

Image: Nardi Associates.

First proposed in 2015, the Figueroa & Olympic Boulevard intersection development was, for a long time, home to a now-defunct car wash and has slowly been building progress toward this week’s final approval. There is no groundbreaking scheduled at press time. A city planning document has stated the construction period is expected to last 34 months.

The New York City Council's Land Use Committee approves Gowanus Rezoning

2021-11-11T15:32:00-05:00

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s controversial plan to rezone Gowanus is poised to move forward, fulfilling a decade-old ambition that aims to increase development and affordability in the fast-changing industrial enclave. The deal was approved by the City Council’s Land Use Committee on Wednesday, after the administration agreed to additional investments in public housing and sewer infrastructure.

The plan will pave the way for 8,000 new apartments to be built over the next decade, with more than a third reserved for low-income residents. The City Council’s Land Use Committee backed the proposal unanimously after last-minute negotiations between the mayor and two local council members, Brad Lander and Steve Levin, whose approval was contingent on the city’s commitment to invest $200 million to modernize two public housing complexes in the neighborhood. An additional $174 million will upgrade sewage infrastructure along the canal.

Previously on Archinect: New York City Planning Commission approves Gowanus Rezoning proposal

With the Gowanus Canal currently undergoing a federal clean-up, opponents of the plan fear that new construction could unearth toxins and pollutants, which would primarily impact the low-income residents that are intended to live there. Others argue that the area’s sewer system will not be able to withstand the volume of new residents.

As stated by Gothamis...

New York City Planning Commission approves Gowanus Rezoning proposal

2021-09-23T17:10:00-04:00

Mayor Bill de Blasio is one step closer to realizing his goal of adding tens of thousands of units of affordable housing in New York City, after a key panel passed the city’s plan to rezone a swath of industrial properties surrounding the Gowanus Canal

The proposal was approved by nine of the ten New York City Planning Commission members in a vote earlier this week. The plan calls for the rezoning of an 82-block section of Gowanus, along Fourth Avenue, between Atlantic Avenue and 15th Street. It would pave the way for the construction of up to 8,000 homes, with 3,000 of them set below market rate.

It will now make its way to the City Council, however, support may not be as unanimous. Councilmembers Brad Lander and Stephen Levin, who represent the area, reportedly want the city to commit $200 million towards repairs for two public housing complexes in the neighborhood before they can support the effort. Additionally, Brooklyn Borough President and presumptive future mayor Eric Adams, backed the plan given the city pledges $274 million for repairs at New York City Housing Authority complexes over the next five years.

The proposal has received blowback, with opponents arguing that it will lead to an influx of luxury towers and that...

FAA approves $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain

2021-07-23T16:39:00-04:00

Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the estimated $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain, an initiative to connect New York’s LaGuardia Airport with Manhattan. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will now be able to pursue federal funding for the project.

The 1.5-mile transit link will connect the airport’s Delta Airlines terminal to Willets Point Station, which borders Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, and is served by the Long Island Rail Road and the Number 7 subway line. The Port Authority has claimed that the trip length will be 30 minutes from Midtown Manhattan to the airport. The project is expected to create 3,000 construction jobs and generate $500 million in contracting opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses, along with jobs for local residents, according to projects made by the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

Previously on Archinect: Construction on LaGuardia AirTrain Planned to Start this Summer

The approval comes...

$2 billion Beverly Hills mixed-use development designed by Foster + Partners approved by city council

2021-06-15T19:04:00-04:00

Last year, plans for One Beverly Hills, a $2 billion mixed-use, high-rise development in Los Angeles, were unveiled. The luxury project is now one step closer to realization following its approval in a 4-1 vote last week by the Beverly Hills City Council.

The development will be one of the largest in the city’s history, spanning 17.4 acres between Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards. The site is currently home to the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotels. Plans for the complex include two high-rise residential buildings containing 303 units, a new hotel with 42 suites and 37 designated residences, and a four-story, approximately 35,000-square-foot pavilion containing retail and dining spaces.

The surroundings of the development would include 8.5 acres of gardens designed by local multi-disciplinary design firm RIOS, with more than half being open to the public. Two one-mile-long walkways will move through the landscape. Additionally, the project includes an under...

NY City Council approves JPMorgan Chase's new HQ by Foster + Partners

2019-05-09T19:31:00-04:00

The City Council approved JP Morgan Chase’s plans Wednesday for a soaring 70-story tower to replace the Union Carbide Building in East Midtown. [...] The new tower will consolidate all of JPMorgan Chase’s employees in one building and will come with a 10,000 square-foot privately owned public space after Community Board 5 and elected officials pushed for more square footage.

Despite environmental concerns, demolition of the historic 270 Park Avenue tower in East Midtown, New York has already started to make way for JPMorgan Chase's new 70-story headquarters, which Foster + Partners was selected to design. Construction of the new tower is currently scheduled to begin in January 2021.

NY City Planning Commission approves Brooklyn's 80 Flatbush Ave skyscraper

2018-08-23T14:55:00-04:00

... the project will create 900 apartments, some of which will be located within a 986-foot skyscraper, which would become the borough’s second-tallest tower if built; it would also have cultural space, two schools, and retail. The development has divided locals and elected officials; some tout the fact that the development will bring two schools to the neighborhood along with 200 permanently affordable apartments, but others [...] feel the project is too out of scale with the neighborhood.

Construction of Heatherwick + Signe Nielsen-designed Pier 55 to begin this summer

2016-04-29T14:43:00-04:00

Work will go ahead to construct an “elevated island park” in the Hudson River off Manhattan after a judge dismissed a lawsuit from environmental and civic advocates. The $130m park, which has been given the go-ahead by the US Army’s Corps of Engineers, will be based on the Hudson River... Judge Joan Lobis, who threw out the lawsuit, said: “A significant purpose of maintaining event spaces in the park is to generate funds for the ongoing upkeep of the park, which is surely a park purpose.”

Previously on Archinect:

Looking at all sides of the Pier 55 offshore park development

Barry Diller Pledges $130M for Futuristic Offshore Park on the West Side

$5.2M contract approved for new St. Petersburg Pier

2015-07-09T20:57:00-04:00

City of St. Petersburg officials formally approved a $5.2 million contract that will ultimately lead to the construction of the new St. Petersburg Pier. The team consisting of Rogers Partners, ASD, and WORKSHOP: Ken Smith Landscape Architect had the winning proposal for the second run of the St. Petersburg Pier competition that launched last summer. The competition sought a redesign of the pier, but also required the preservation of the structure's iconic inverted pyramid.

The approved $5.2 million will go toward the finalization of design details, demolition of the current Pier, and approach and initial contracting services. The City issued a press statement indicating that the design phase is scheduled to take five months and will include feedback from residents. The community will have additional opportunities to learn more about the redesign during the design refinement process.

The winning proposal, titled "The Pier Park", builds upon the Pier's eclectic history that dates back t...

L.A.'s "bootlegged" apartments might receive amnesty from city under new proposal

2015-06-15T15:00:00-04:00

Loath to lose more housing, Los Angeles lawmakers are now taking steps to help legalize 'bootlegged' apartments that have long existed without municipal blessing...The goal, City Councilman Felipe Fuentes said, is to 'maintain affordability and try to get folks into stable, dignified housing.' Both tenant and landlord groups praised the budding plan as a 'win-win'...But the idea has already raised concerns among some residents who see it as a reward for flouting the law.

MVRDV approved to redesign the '70s Vandamme Nord block in Montparnasse, Paris

2015-02-25T15:28:00-05:00

MVRDV officially got the green light from the City of Paris for their plans to restructure the Vandamme Nord at Gaîté-Montparnasse in Paris' 14th arrondissement. Built in the early 1970s by French architect Pierre Dufau, the mixed-use complex is located on a triangular island bordered by Rue Mouchotte, Avenue du Maine, and the rail tracks to Gare Montparnasse.

The Vandamme was once a landmark as one of the largest urban projects at the time, but -- with dying malls continuing to be the norm -- its glory days faded away as it failed to keep up with a changing urban society.

Aiming to renew a sense of place within the Montparnasse district and improve public accessibility, MVRDV plans to give the building a new façade as well as completely reorganize and open up the building's internal program. The complex will be broken up into a collection of "boxes" inserted in the existing structural frame that will vary in size, program, color, and materials, and will also be flexibly designed for...

Grimshaw + Gruen's L.A. Union Station Master Plan approved for implementation

2014-10-28T13:20:00-04:00

The L.A. Metro Board of Directors officially approved the Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan in downtown L.A. to advance from planning to implementation. For the past two years, Metro has worked with a consultant team led by Grimshaw Architects and Gruen Associates to expand the iconic station, which is registered as a national historical landmark. Since Union Station opened in 1939, ridership continues to approach 110,000 trips per day and is expected to increase up to nearly 197,000 per day by 2040. L.A. Metro purchased the station in 2011.

The master plan development program consists of 3.25 million sq. feet of the Union Station property. The plan includes the preservation of the historic station, renovations to the station's perimeter, and adding new commercial developments like retail, hotel, and housing.

With today's approval, Metro can begin its initial implementation strategy for near-term projects, which includes a programmatic environmental review of the recommended trans...

Redesigned Grand Avenue project wins L.A. County supervisors' blessing

2014-01-16T18:29:00-05:00

Los Angeles County supervisors gave their blessing Tuesday to a reimagined design for a proposed mix of high-end apartments, businesses and public space across from Walt Disney Concert Hall. The $750-million plan to redevelop that portion of downtown's Grand Avenue nearly screeched to a halt in September, when a panel of city and county representatives overseeing the project rejected the design presented by developer Related Cos.

Skinny SHoP-designed tower, higher than Empire State Building, wins city approval

2013-10-16T15:44:00-04:00

The tower would have only been 697 feet until the developers bought Steinway Hall — a deal that allowed for the building’s height to double, but also gave the Landmarks Preservation Commission the final say. The approval was a no brainer, members said. “It represents the best of both worlds of new construction and design and historic preservation,” Commission Chairman Robert Tierney said Tuesday. Fellow commissioner Fred Bland called the combo “daring and smart.”

Cupertino council clears huge Apple 'spaceship' campus for liftoff

2013-10-16T11:31:00-04:00

Apple's proposed new spaceship-shaped headquarters got a super-charged blast-off Tuesday night when the Cupertino City Council voted unanimously to approve the 2.8-million-square-foot behemoth beside Interstate 280, fulfilling a dream of co-founder Steve Jobs, hatching an iconic landmark for Silicon Valley, and promising more congestion in an already traffic-challenged region for decades to come.