Archinect - News

Noguchi Museum appoints long-time staffer Amy Hau as its next director

2023-12-15T12:56:00-05:00

The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum has announced the appointment of Amy Hau as its next Director.

The appointment continues a more than thirty-year working relationship that first began in 1986 when Hau was hired as an assistant at the then one-year-old Long Island City, Queens institution.

Hau left the museum in 2015 to serve as the Managing Principal of New York’s WXY Architecture + Urban Design. Before that time, she had been credited with overseeing a restorative $23 million capital campaign and the development of a new master plan for the campus. Hau has held titles including Administrative Director, Assistant to the Executive Director, and Assistant to Isamu Noguchi during her first tenure and will lean on additional experience on Queens' Community Board 1 and several other local cultural groups in the execution of her new duties.

“Amy represents not only the profound legacy of the Museum but also embodies its dynamic, polyvocal future,” Spencer Bailey, the museum...

$4.5 million will open Isamu Noguchi’s private studio for the first time

2022-08-23T13:04:00-04:00

A recent $4.5 million capital grant from New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs will open the former studio of legendary sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi to the public for the first time, according to The Art Newspaper.

The 3,200-square-foot, 60-year-old warehouse space is located across the street from the eponymous museum in Long Island City, Queens, and served as his private workshop and pied-à-terre for many years following a move from Manhattan’s Greenwich Village in 1961.

Noguchi at the museum in 1985. Image © David Finn courtesy of National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC.

The Museum’s Director, Brett Littman, says it was “the center of his artistic practice in New York for nearly three decades.” The space was eventually retrofitted by Noguchi collaborator Yukio Madokoro to include a living room, sleeping area, and kitchen space separated by concrete blocks and fiberglass Shoji screens. Noguchi used the studio until his death in 1988.

Previously on Archinec...

Two New York design studios provoke post-pandemic connections with their new installation in Long Island City

2021-11-29T18:26:00-05:00

As New York City continues to emerge from the dark days of the pandemic that sent it reeling well into the early spring of this year, a new effort has been put forth led by local artists and design studios to help the city’s eight million residents reconnect via a series of public installations spread throughout the five boroughs.

Image © Savannah Lauren

The latest in this series will help turn a usually overlooked park in the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City into an eye-catching space for community engagement thanks to a temporary installation from Hive Public Spaces and The Urban Conga.

Image © Savannah Lauren

Activated by the park’s mostly unwitting users, Ribbon attempts to intervene in their day-to-day pedestrian activity, offering play as an intervention through a network of malleable magenta “units” made of mirrored boxes which reveal the surrounding built environment while at the same time serving as guideposts that challenge the way in which space itself is perceived....

Construction on Queens' tallest building, Skyline Tower, is complete

2021-07-28T19:41:00-04:00

Construction is now fully complete on Skyline Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Long Island City and all of Queens. Addressed as 23-15 44th Drive, the 68-story, 778-foot-tall edifice is designed by Hill West Architects and developed by United Construction & Development Group, FSA Capital, and Risland US Holdings LLC. Yielding 802 residences designed by Whitehall Interiors and marketed by Modern Spaces, residences range in price from $500,000 to $4 million.

Each of the units feature panoramic, 360-degree views of Manhattan and the surrounding skyline. The Hill West Architects-designed building is a sleek, monolithic structure defined by its fully-glass façade. Its base and crown are composed of metal fins that enclose the parking space and roof parapet, respectively. Amenities include a 75-foot pool, two-level spa, lounges, fitness center, business center, outdoor terrace, and children’s playroom.

Previously on Archinect: New renderings released of Long Island City’s Skyline Tower, Queens’ soon-to-be-tallest

According to The Real Deal, about 41% of the Skyline Tower’s units are in contract, with sales reaching a record billion-dollar sellout. It’s the first condo in the borough to aim for a sellout of this figure.

Steven Holl Architects' Hunters Point Library is now open to the public

2019-09-25T12:00:00-04:00

Opening day finally arrived for the Steven Holl Architects-designed Hunters Point Library, which took some 10 tumultuous years of obstacles and ultimately cost over $40 million to realize. Built on a 32,000-square-foot site facing the East River in Long Island City, Hunters Point is a sculptural, standalone building and public park.

Photo © Paul Warchol.

“It is an honor to imagine and realize this community library, a free open public building where people can interact across generations,” Steven Holl said in a statement. “We hope it is a gift to this great city and its future children.”

Photo © Steven Holl Architects.

A 22,000-square-foot, jigsaw-like concrete structure painted in aluminum that gives it a “subtle sparkle,” the library reveals a warm bamboo interior that creates an inviting social and reading space. Large windows on all sides of the building allow ample natural light and provide views of the river. Visitors can move up and along a serie...

A decade in the making, Steven Holl's Queens Library prepares for its grand opening

2019-09-19T15:48:00-04:00

The Hunters Point Community Library is one of the finest public buildings New York has produced this century. But it cost more than $40 million, took a decade and almost died.

NYT architecture critic Michael Kimmelman is full of praise for the Steven Holl Architects-designed Hunters Point Community Library in Queens which will finally be opening to the public next week Tuesday, September 24th.

Impression of the under-construction library building in November 2017. Photo: Jim Henderson/Wikimedia Commons

"Compact, at 22,000 square feet and 82 feet high, the library is among the finest and most uplifting public buildings New York has produced so far this century," writes Kimmelman and asks: "Why can’t New York build more things like this, faster and cheaper?"

Fuhgeddaboudit: Amazon drops NYC Headquarters plans

2019-02-14T14:35:00-05:00

Amazon on Thursday canceled its plans to build an expansive corporate campus in New York City after facing an unexpectedly fierce backlash from some lawmakers and unions, who contended that a tech giant did not deserve nearly $3 billion in government incentives. The company, as part of its extensive search for a new headquarters, had chosen Long Island City, Queens, as one of two winning sites, saying that it would create more than 25,000 jobs in the city.

Amazon announced the change of course for its hotly contested New York City HQ2 aspirations in a statement this morning:

After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens. For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term. While polls show that 70% of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.

We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion—we love New York, its incomparable dynamism, people, and culture—and particularly the community of Long Island City, where we have gotten to know so many optimistic, ...

Long Island City before Amazon

2019-01-18T14:35:00-05:00

All eyes have been on Long Island City since its partial triumph in Amazon’s urban beauty pageant. [...] Queens native Kris Graves has kept his eye on Long Island City continuously since moving there ten years ago. Photographing what presents itself outside his door in Hunters Point South and as he walks around the neighborhood, Graves never intended to create a record of a vanishing scene (RIP 5Pointz notwithstanding). Instead, his photos, accumulating over time, represent an additive process.

Also check out Kris Graves's other fascinating photographic explorations of New York City we've featured on Archinect:

New renderings released of Long Island City’s Skyline Tower, Queens’ soon-to-be-tallest

2019-01-02T15:00:00-05:00

Skyline Tower, the Hill West Architects-designed, 778-foot-tall tower became the first in Queens to pass $1 billion in total sell out. Plus, the property sits across from One Court Square, where Amazon is leasing one million square feet of office space before moving to its new HQ2 complex on the waterfront. Now, there are new renderings of Skyline Tower, showing off the interiors, views, and new subway entrance at the future tallest tower in Queens.

Amazon HQ2 — what else can it offer to NYC?

2018-12-28T16:23:00-05:00

For years, suburbia has offered these companies acres of disposable, cheap, anonymous office parks: mostly one- or two-story concrete structures surrounded by loads of surface parking. These sites minimized costs, maximized security and allowed companies to scale up, contract or split into different units quickly — at the same time they promoted sprawl and traffic jams and transformed once-quaint bedroom communities south of San Francisco into phenomenally expensive places to live.

Even though Amazon's search for its new headquarters' locations has ended all the talks and negotiations about the company's potential impact on the cities it will settle in — New York and Crystal City, Virginia—have only begun.

In ways, the choice comes as no surprise as tech platforms have been attracted to America's wealthy coastal cities, with their established cultures, universities and transit systems, for years. The intensifying expansion of the tech industry amidst urban landscape raises many questions about corporations' powers and rights in a city.

Michael Kimmelman of the NY Times notes that companies like Amazon, through their multi-billion biding process, should offer to satisfy more than just the city's growing need for new jobs. The author suggests options: "As for housing, the city’s regulatory and zoning policies are more responsible for driving up costs than tech companies. But, in an ideal world, Amazon would reverse what it did in Seattle and commit resources ...

How New York won Amazon: See the official proposals for each NYC neighborhood

2018-12-11T20:36:00-05:00

Officials lured Amazon to New York with an extensive pitch, complete with four suggested neighborhoods. In exchange for 25,000 new jobs, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio are offering Amazon nearly $3 billion in incentives. And while Amazon selected the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City as its new home, officials had proposed bringing Amazon’s campus to the Farley Building, 3 World Trade Center, Brooklyn Height’s Watchtower building, Bjarke Ingels’ The Spiral, and even Governors Island.

Amazon's HQ2 may be 2 HQs after all

2018-11-06T13:31:00-05:00

After conducting a yearlong search for a second home, Amazon has switched gears and is now finalizing plans to have a total of 50,000 employees in two locations, according to people familiar with the decision-making process. The company is nearing a deal to move to the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens [...]. Amazon is also close to a deal to move to the Crystal City area of Arlington, Va., a Washington suburb, one of the people said.

It looks like Jeff Bezos may have finally found that second home for his online empire—or make that second and third. After narrowing down the list of cities that could be potential new hosts of Amazon's HQ2 in January, the company has been tight-lipped about its final decision. Until yesterday.

These 20 cities successfully flirted their way into Amazon's inner circle, but 18 may be swiped left soon.

The NYT reports that Amazon is in final talks with not just one but two cities to share the pie that had been dangled as irresistibly lucrative carrot in front of local politicians for months now: Long Island City, New York and Crystal City/Arlington, Virginia.

5Pointz lawsuit: Judge rules in favor of street artists, awards $6.7 Million

2018-02-13T14:10:00-05:00

[...] a judge has ruled that a New York developer must pay $6.7 million to a group of graffiti artists to compensate for painting over their work without warning in 2013. The decision represents a decisive victory for street artists in a case that pitted their rights against those of a real estate executive. The artists sued the developer, Gerald Wolkoff, for violating their rights after he whitewashed their work at the famous 5Pointz art mecca in Long Island City to make way for condos.

Citing protection of the artists'—historically significant but ultimately destroyed—works at 5Pointz under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), Judge Frederic Block ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in this closely watched landmark case: "Since 5Pointz was a prominent tourist attraction the public would undoubtedly have thronged to say its goodbyes during those 10 months and gaze at the formidable works of aerosol art for the last time. It would have been a wonderful tribute for the artists that they richly deserved."

5Pointz lawsuit enters next round: Is street art protected under the Visual Artists Rights Act?

2017-12-26T18:09:00-05:00

Was the street art covering 5Pointz, a largely empty warehouse in Long Island City, Queens, significant enough to preserve under US federal law? A federal judge in Brooklyn in currently considering the arguments in a case that tests the limits of the Visual Artists Rights Act (Vara), and could soon decide whether a developer Gerald Wolkoff and his companies violated the act when he tore down the graffiti-covered building to construct residential towers and what, if any, damages they will pay.

Anable Basin proposal envisions a massive mixed-use district along the Long Island City waterfront

2017-11-14T14:49:00-05:00

The plastics company, Plaxall, announced on Tuesday a massive rezoning proposal to allow for a mixed-use district in Anable Basin, the area surrounding a 149-year-old inlet located in Long Island City. Since founding the company more than 70 years ago, the Plaxall family has purchased and rehabilitated properties in the neighborhood and currently manages over one million square feet of space. Achieved through rezoning, the proposal calls for 335,000 square feet for industrial uses, 4,955 housing units with 25 percent of them affordable, a 700+ seat public school and a new, elevated promenade. If the rezoning is approved, construction is anticipated to begin in 2020 with a completion date in 2034, but no official timeline has been set.

The Anable Basin rezoning would cover about 14.7 acres, with Plaxall owning about 12.6 already. The district would be bordered by 45th Avenue and 44th Drive to the north, Vernon Boulevard to the east, 46th Road to the south, and 5th Street and the East...

Graffiti artists sue developer over the whitewashing and demolition of 5 Pointz in Long Island City

2017-10-23T13:18:00-04:00

Wolkoff granted permission to artists to paint on the building in 1993, when Long Island City wasn’t hot property....Fast forward to 2013, New York real estate was exploding. The building’s location was highly desirable.

5 Pointz, located in Long Island City, was an American mural space considered to be the world's premier graffiti mecca. Bought by developer Jerry Wolkoff in 1971, the building's exterior was graffitied over with a myriad of street art when Wolkoff started leasing space as artists' studios in the 90s.

As property values in the area started to rise, Wolkoff made the controversial decision in 2013 to stealthily whitewash the graffiti. The building was demolished shortly thereafter to make room for two luxury high-rises. To make matters worse, the new high-rises were to incorporate street art into the decor, gaining clout from the same history of the site it sought to destroy.

Firing back, a group of 20 New York street artists are in federal court this week fighting Wolkoff and his companies. The muralists are arguing that based on the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, Wolkoff should not have destroyed the structure without permission and proper notice. Due to the international statu...

Check out 2222 Jackson, ODA's new pixelated rental project in Long Island City

2017-04-07T13:58:00-04:00

The New York-based firm ODA has recently completed 2222 Jackson, an 11-story, 175-unit rental project in Long Island City, a mere stone’s throw away from MoMA PS1. The pixel-like, concrete-poured exterior is intended to complement the nearby museum, while simultaneously encapsulating the designers’ “larger mission”. That is to say, the building is designed to work “within”, rather than against, zoning constraints, representing the practice’s focus on “innovating architectural morphology in the interest of improving not only its residents’ everyday experience, but their general quality of life.”

2222 Jackson Avenue from ODA on Vimeo.

The building was conceived as a simple, modular grid with a sequence of 12-feet wide bays. Each studio apartment, which are 32 feet in length and which occupy the width of one bay, projects seven feet past the façade line, in the process producing mid-facade corner windows as well as terraces for the apartments above. This results in 30% more outdoor spac...

REVEALED: SHoP Architects’ Long Island City Waterfront Development

2015-11-25T12:00:00-05:00

Here’s our first peek at Simon Baron Development, Quadrum Global and CRE Development’s three-tower Long Island City development slated to rise alongside the former Paragon Paint factory building at 45-40 Vernon Boulevard. Permits for the first tower were filed with the DOB back in June and detail a 28-story, 296-unit rental tower designed by SHoP Architects.

Long Island City ‘Micro’ Units Will Have Three Bedrooms

2015-10-08T17:45:00-04:00

A micro apartment is typically less than 350 square feet, but the term “micro” is getting an expansion (figuratively and literally) in Long Island City. A new rental complex will offer 57 two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 490 to 735 square feet, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project at 37-10 Crescent Street is being developed by Ranger Properties.

Construction of Steven Holl-designed Queens Library is underway

2015-05-22T16:20:00-04:00

Construction of the forthcoming Queens Library has begun at Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue in Hunters Point of NYC's Long Island City. Steven Holl Architects won the commission back in 2010 to design the new $30.6 million public library. Surrounded by recently built skyscraper condominiums and nearby attractions like the Gantry waterfront and Louis Kahn's Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, the Queens Library is set up to become the latest landmark for the changing neighborhood.

The library's new design was developed in effort to provide more communal space for local residents and create new connections to surrounding areas in the neighborhood. The library is encased within an exposed concrete square volume coated in aluminum for a "subtle sparkle". Users would move up and along a series of bookshelf-flanked stairs and will encounter the separate children's, teen, and adult areas of the building's fluid program. Glazed cuts in the facade also further open up the building and give views o...

Ibañez Kim Studio wins Folly 2015 with "Torqueing Spheres"

2015-03-18T20:40:00-04:00

The architectural folly is an opportunity for architects to bring out their eccentric side in the design process, which makes it an entertaining approach when creating a (temporary) public installation. In this spirit, the Socrates Sculpture Park and The Architectural League of New York hosts the international Folly competition. Launched in 2012, the competition calls for early-career architects and designers to submit proposals that are described as contemporary interpretations of the architectural folly. The winning entry is then constructed as a temporary public outdoor installation at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, New York City.

Cambridge and Philadelphia-based practice Ibañez Kim Studio was announced as the Folly 2015 winner with their design, "Torqueing Spheres". IK Studio's distinctive proposal features a series of connected spherical forms that form a social-interactive space.

More project details below.

"Torqueing Spheres combines a simple concept – a straig...

Developer wants to re-use and trademark the 5Pointz name for their new residential towers

2014-11-04T12:33:00-05:00

The whitewashing and subsequent demolition of Long Island City graffiti mecca 5Pointz was painful enough for the arts community, but now G&M Realty, the developer responsible for the loss, wants to trademark the 5Pointz name and use it for their new residential towers at the site. And artists are not happy, saying the developer is trying to bank off their name.

In light of 5 POINTZ demolition, DEFACED fights to protect NYC's artistic roots

2014-09-30T17:20:00-04:00

Upon the recent controversial demolition of the "5 POINTZ" graffiti mecca in Long Island City, NY, a group of architects consisting of Arianna Armelli, Ishaan Kumar, David Sepulveda and Wagdy Moussa came up with the idea of DEFACED. In the proposal, DEFACED is an organization that is dedicated to the preservation of cultural landmarks, districts, and neighborhoods worldwide.

Using 5 Pointz as a starting point, DEFACED asserts not only the timeless value of open artistic expression but also the need to build communities where all inhabitants can benefit and thrive. The proposal calls attention to NYC's gentrifying cityscape over the last decade, ongoing socio-political concerns, and last but not least, that a structure like 5 Pointz — although considered an eyesore to some — was truly a luxury of its own kind.

Below is the project in fuller detail, provided by the architects:

"INTRODUCTION: You see, it goes like this; New York City was affordable when it was ugly and unpleasant; whe...

The Demolition of 5 Pointz Has Begun

2014-08-22T12:48:00-04:00

5 Pointz, New York City’s “graffiti mecca,” is being demolished right now. This morning, a backhoe began tearing into the building that has served as a legal spot for aerosol artists for over two decades. In 2011, the property owner announced that he will be developing the site and transforming it into a massive residential condo complex.

Previously

Easy on the Environment, but Not Necessarily Neighbors’ Eyes

2014-08-18T15:03:00-04:00

When Thomas Paino, an architect, decided to remodel a rowhouse he had bought in Long Island City, Queens, his ambitions were nothing short of trying to save the world — at least so far as a two-family home could contribute to the cause. [...] And he came up with a daring design in the hopes that neighbors, passers-by, perhaps even the world would take notice. He succeeded beyond all expectations.

New Renderings of What Will Replace Grafitti Art Mecca 5Pointz Emerge

2014-07-31T20:09:00-04:00

If you loved 5Pointz, grab a box of tissues because you aren't going to be happy with what's planned for the soon to be demolished building. New renderings of what will replace the former art mecca have emerged, and unsurprisingly, the towers are as ho hum residential as they come. The new design is the work of New York-based HTO Architect, and once complete, will hold 1,000 apartments within two towers of 41 and 47 stories each.

Folly 2014 winner SuralArk to be installed at Socrates Sculpture Park in May

2014-04-03T21:23:00-04:00

Out of 170 submissions, Austin+Mergold's SuralArk recently won Folly 2014. Co-sponsored by The Architectural League of New York and Socrates Sculpture Park, the annual competition invites young architects and designers worldwide to propose contemporary interpretations of the traditional architectural folly. The jury also selected 10 Notable Entries. SuralArk will be designed and built at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, NY starting May 11 til Aug. 3, 2014.

Learn more about SuralArk and see the Notable Entries on Bustler.

YAP winner The Living selected to re-design MoMA PS1's courtyard this summer

2014-02-05T15:20:00-05:00

After winning the 2014 Young Architects Program out of five finalists, emerging architect David Benjamin and his firm, The Living will temporarily transform the outdoor courtyard of MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, New York when the summer season rolls in.

YAP projects had to provide seating, shade, and water, and also follow guidelines that address environmental issues and sustainability. The Living's proposal, titled "Hy-Fi", will feature circular organic brick towers made of corn stalk and living root structures. Set to open in late June, the temporary installation will be a memorable summer spectacle.

Here's more detail into the project's design:

"Using biological technologies combined with cutting-edge computation and engineering to create new building materials, The Living will use a new method of bio-design, resulting in a structure that is 100% organic material. The structure temporarily diverts the natural carbon cycle to produce a building that grows out of nothing but earth an...

5 Pointz "graffiti mecca" in Long Island City faces imminent destruction

2013-11-11T18:21:00-05:00

The artists behind New York’s graffiti haven 5 Pointz have learned that their last-ditch legal effort to save the outdoor gallery will likely fail. “The building, unfortunately, is going to have to come down,” federal judge Frederic Block said in New York’s eastern district court on Friday. [...] “I’m getting the sense that the traditional academic way of looking at things needs to be updated,” Block said.