Archinect - News

New Buffalo Bills stadium reaches milestone with start of structural steel construction

2024-02-05T08:00:00-05:00

A milestone was reached recently regarding the construction of the new, Populous-designed Buffalo Bills football stadium, the New Highmark Stadium.

The 60,000-seat facility, located in Orchard Park, New York, is now ready for large-scale structural steel work. This marks the completion of excavation work, seven months after the project broke ground in June 2023. Approximately 25,000 tons of steel will be installed, with several massive cranes used to build the superstructure. The steel will be erected in tiers over the next 12–14 months.

Previously on Archinect: Buffalo Bills tap Populous to design proposed stadium

Following the placement of the steel framework, the structure will be clad, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical will be installed, and each of the sections of the stadium will be built out.

Construction on the 1.35-million-square-foot stadium is expected to be completed in 2026. The Gilbane-Turner joint venture is in charge of construction.

PAU releases updated renderings for Niagara Falls Heritage Gateways project

2023-12-12T17:17:00-05:00

Preliminary renderings for the $12 million Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU)-led Niagara Falls Heritage Gateways project have been released following a public meeting to discuss plans in the border city.

The multi-phase initiative will strengthen the connection between the city’s downtown and Niagara Falls State Park and Riverway Tree Walk. Four canopied gateway structures will be enacted as part of its design, offering tourists views of the nearby American Rapids and Goat Island and connected by a “network” of promenades and shaded open spaces.

Rendering of the Riverway Tree Walk at night. Image courtesy PAU

The initial phase calls for the redevelopment of Hydraulic Power Plaza and Niagara Gorge Gateway Park followed by the construction of the Tree Walk, which includes a viewing platform to be placed at a wooded clearing and serving as a beacon for visitors between downtown and the Riverway.

Hydraulic Power Plaza. Image courtesy Hargreaves Jones Landscape Architecture

“T...

Studio Gang to design new home for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Upstate New York

2023-12-01T12:29:00-05:00

Studio Gang has revealed plans for the new home of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Upstate New York.

Located in the town of Garrison, the 13,850-square-foot performing arts space is set to become the first-ever LEED Platinum theater design in the United States when it is completed.

Nelson Byrd Woltz will provide landscaping for the site, a 98-acre former golf course that was donated to the company in 2020. Anchored by an open-air theater, the design frames the surrounding natural landscape to allow for actors to emerge from the topography.

Image courtesy Studio Gang

A timber-framed shell with wooden columns that supports the proscenium arch is carefully oriented to frame the surrounding Wey-Gat (or “Wind Gate”) for the audience and players. The remaining program calls for the construction of several small pavilions that will house the company's back-of-house operations, theater concessions, and standalone public restrooms. Costs of the project were not available at press ...

Take a look inside Magazzino Italian Art's new minimalist Robert Olnick Pavilion

2023-10-05T12:26:00-04:00

Alberto Campo Baeza and Miguel Quismondo of MQ Architecture have delivered a new 13,000-square-foot expansion to the ten-acre campus of Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring, New York.

Sited on the grounds perpendicular to Quismondo’s existing L-shaped main museum building from 2017, the Robert Olnick Pavilion repeats the scale, cornice lines, layout, and materiality of the older structure while adding much-needed room for educational and events programming in time for the start of the fall arts season. The pavilion was inaugurated in September, joining OMA and Cooper Roberston’s new AKG Art Museum expansion in Buffalo as one of the most important American cultural and museum sector commissions of the year.

Photo by Javier Callejas. Courtesy Magazzino Italian Art.

The scheme is designed to showcase the museum’s arte provera, Murano glass, and ceramics holdings, with two airy, light-filled galleries complemented by another cube-like “isotropic room” from Baeza elevated above the main v...

New York to introduce ‘first-in-the-nation’ mandate for concrete emissions

2023-09-26T12:21:00-04:00

New York State has announced the adoption of a ‘Buy Clean Concrete’ mandate for state agencies, described by Governor Hochul’s office as a “first-in-the-nation” commitment to environmental sustainability. The plan contains mandatory rules for establishing emissions limits on concrete used in state-funded public building and transportation projects.

Starting from January 1, 2025, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) must be submitted for all concrete mixes used in qualifying state construction projects and must demonstrate that they achieve an environmental impact below the limits set by the state. The state hopes such EPDs will “provide transparency and a more robust accounting of a concrete mix’s greenhouse gas emissions and enable state agencies and other stakeholders to make more informed choices in reducing emissions.”

The measure will apply to state agency contracts exceeding $1 million that involve the use of more than 50 cubic yards of concrete. Exceptions are provided f...

Architecture Research Office reveals plans for Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape in Upstate New York

2023-09-21T19:38:00-04:00

Architecture Research Office (ARO), in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) and The Olana Partnership (TOP), has today revealed a new plan for the Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape at the Olana State Historic Site in Upstate New York.

The new Center is the centerpiece of a larger master plan designed in 2015 by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW). The scheme includes a restoration of the famed Hudson River School painter’s self-designed farm and homestead, which was constructed on the property between 1860 and 1900. ARO’s Center will serve as the new visitors arrival gateway overlooking the Catskills range at the site’s historic core, ensuring that their experience will be compatible with the surrounding landscape and vistas beyond.

Featuring a mass timber design, the total 4,500-square-foot structure includes a broad outdoor terrace and large bird-safe glazed windows. CLT roof panels combine with e...

Daniel Libeskind completes senior housing development on Long Island

2023-09-20T17:59:00-04:00

Studio Libeskind has shared photos of its recently completed senior housing project on Long Island.

Located in the village of Freeport in Nassau County, the new Allan and Geraldine Rosenberg Residence holds a total of 45 units reserved for residents aged 55 and older, along with a selection of on-site supportive services and other amenities meant to improve its users' quality of life and ability to age in place as part of the state’s larger $25 billion push to create 100,000 units of affordable housing.

Declaring “Senior housing isn’t just about accommodation; it’s about people. It’s about creating a residence where residents can feel happy, secure, and emotionally connected to their neighbors,” the studio’s founder was joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul for this week’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. The project reserves a total of 30% of the apartments for disabled and formerly homeless seniors, and sustainability is ensured thanks to rainwater collection, efficient HVAC, and all-e...

New York State’s salary transparency law comes into effect

2023-09-18T11:48:00-04:00

New York State’s pay transparency law has come into effect, requiring employers to disclose proposed pay rates. As of Sunday, September 17th, employers with at least four workers must disclose the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly range of compensation in any advertisement for job, promotion, and transfer opportunities.

The law covers advertised opportunities “physically performed, at least in part, in the State of New York,” including “any opportunities that are performed outside the state, including remote or telecommuting opportunities, that report to a supervisor, office or other work site in New York State.”

“If an employee’s physical presence in New York State is only for occasional work-related purposes, such as a meeting, a conference, or communicating with employees based in New York State, that would not be enough activity to be considered a job performed in New York State,” New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) adds.

Related on Archinect: The 15 highest-pa...

Get Lectured: University at Buffalo, Fall '23

2023-08-22T17:43:00-04:00

Summer is winding down, and that means it's time again for our Get Lectured series, which continues today with a look at the events taking place at the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning this fall.

This academic year’s programming at UB is centered around the theme For/From: Considering Origins and explores the topic’s significance within an architecture and planning context, culminating in a body of thought that touches on areas such as placemaking, memory, and the importance of cultural exchange which are all vital components of understanding and success in both disciplines.

"As a globalized society, our identities and origins are often complicated and dynamic," the school explains. "The ideas of ‘from’ and ‘for’ directly probe this complexity. One may be removed or distanced from where one originated, one may return after years of being away, or one may have never left in the first place. [...] Whether these relationships are natural, adopted, forced, plan...

Syracuse School of Architecture, SUNY-ESF researchers receive $100,000 grant to study the racial wealth gap in the United States

2023-07-27T15:13:00-04:00

A trio of researchers from the Syracuse University School of Architecture and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) have been awarded a new $100,000 competitive grant for their examination of root causes laden in the built environment that are underpinning the growing racial wealth gap in the United States.

Syracuse’s Associate Dean for Research, Eliana Abu-Hamdi, Associate Professor Iman Fayyad, and SUNY-ESF landscape architecture assistant professor Daniel Cronan were recently awarded the grant for their project “Closing the Racial Wealth Gap through Environmental Justice and Participatory Design.”

The funding was made possible through the Lender Center for Social Justice. Researchers say it will help them achieve their project’s aim of identifying a list of positive changes that can be enacted in the most heavily-impacted communities. The research is being conducted in three phases and will result in BIM-supported participatory planning that demonstra...

Worrell Yeung designs sleek porous spa shed for family home in upstate New York

2023-06-28T13:41:00-04:00

As part of a residential project within the agrarian landscape of Westchester County in upstate New York, Worrell Yeung designed a simple, yet striking, sculptural spa shed. The structure joins a collection of new and existing buildings for this family home.

The firm’s North Salem Farm project combines a renovated and expanded main home, a new photography studio/garage, and spa shed on the northwest side of a 8.7-acre triangular lot. The home is integrated into the landscape as it slopes downwards from the street towards a pond and hillside.

Drawing: Worrell Yeung

The team employed a site strategy that shields the main house from the adjacent street and focuses views from each structure toward the landscape. The three buildings reflect the archetypal form of the American barn, however, they are distinguished by various approaches to cladding and material detail.

Photo by Naho Kubota

“We didn’t want a monotonous experience of moving from one dark clad building to the next,” says co-p...

New York City's congestion pricing program receives federal approval

2023-06-27T13:58:00-04:00

Congestion pricing in New York City has cleared its final federal hurdle, officials said on Monday, all but ensuring that the first such program in the nation will begin next year with the aim of reducing traffic and pollution in Manhattan and funding improvements to mass transit.

Following the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the program, a local panel appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will now work to determine final toll rates, including any discounts or exemptions.

A report released by the MTA last August revealed one proposal that would charge $23 for a trip during rush hour into Midtown Manhattan and $17 during off-peak hours. Initially approved by the New York State legislature in 2019, the program is expected to generate $1 billion per year for the MTA. This revenue will be directed toward improving New York City’s public transit network. The Authority says the program could potentially start in spring 2024.

Previously on Archinect: Congestion pricing in New York City set to become a reality by the end of 2023

As reported by The New York Times, opponents of the plan include the likes of taxi drivers and ride-share companies who believe the new tolls will cut demand for their services. In addition, some New Jersey...

Penn Station redevelopment: New York State cancels office component in reverse of direction

2023-06-27T13:10:00-04:00

New York officials are calling on design firms, engineers and architects to draw up a plan for a new Penn Station design that keeps both commuters and the community in mind. [...] In a dramatic about-face, the governor announced plans to redevelop Penn Station without touching the neighborhood surrounding it. With soaring glass ceilings and a broad marble concourse not unlike the Moynihan Train Hall directly adjacent to it.

The scrapped 10-tower office component of the $7 billion plan was ultimately done in by the consequences of post-pandemic economics that have profoundly affected the commercial real estate market in Midtown and other parts of Manhattan.

Gone also are the 1,800 housing units included in the original plan, though New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at Monday’s press conference the state would “entertain all concepts” for the scaled-back redevelopment that’s set to move forward under the auspices of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority despite sustained opposition from local residents.

New York City's first geothermal apartment complex tops out in Coney Island

2023-05-31T08:11:00-04:00

LCOR, along with energy solutions company Ecosave USA, has topped out the first geothermal apartment complex in New York City. Located at 1515 Surf Ave. in Coney Island, this project stands as the city's largest district geothermal ground-source heat pump project to date. The system aims to decrease the building’s energy consumption by over 60% compared to structures equipped with standard HVAC systems.

The project, designed by STUDIO V Architecture, received partial funding from New York’s Community Heat Pump Pilot Program. This aligns with the state's goals towards net-zero climate emissions.

The building features an array of amenities such as an outdoor pool, fitness center, landscaped courtyard, indoor handball and basketball courts, tenant lounges, co-working space, and on-site parking. A portion of the building’s residences, 30%, is set aside as affordable housing.

The expected completion date for the construction of this building is in early 2024.

Construction starts on $416 million, mixed-income development in Upper Manhattan

2023-05-11T17:48:00-04:00

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the start of construction of a $416 million mixed-income, mixed-use residential development in the Inwood neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. It will include nearly 700 apartments, including 281 affordable units, and provide a range of carbon-reducing features, including all-electric heating and cooling, in line with the state’s climate goals.

Designed by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects, the development is part of Hochul’s $25 billion Housing Plan that will create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes across New York, including 10,000 with supportive services for vulnerable populations, in addition to the electrification of 50,000 others.

The two buildings that comprise the development are located at 405 and 407 West 206th Street. They will feature a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, with forty percent of them reserved for those earning at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). An additional ten percent o...

New York State set to ban natural gas appliances in new buildings

2023-05-01T17:02:00-04:00

A handshake agreement between New York Governor Kathy Hochul and lawmakers in Albany is on the cusp of banning natural gas in most new buildings statewide as part of a $229 billion budget deal that looks to broadly reduce the use of fossil fuels in the building sector.

The proposed ban covers appliances in most new construction and would take effect by late 2026 for smaller buildings under seven stories. The move puts New York in league with Washington state as the first two to legally bind builders to the use of either all-electric heating or kitchen appliances, which pave the way for an influx of new technologies such as heat pumps and induction stoves.

Cities like Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Jose, and Berkeley, California have joined twenty-one others, including New York City, whose own 2021 ban provided a model for the state’s new law, which was opposed by Republicans who are bolstered by legal challenges in the U.S. Court of Appeals’ 9th Circuit.

Earlier on Archinect: NY...

Albany's 'Million Dollar Staircase' to add permanent bust of late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, its first woman

2023-03-14T15:52:00-04:00

Even then, the gender imbalance was glaring. The so-called Million Dollar Staircase, spanning 444 steps and four floors of the New York State Capitol, memorialized the faces of dozens of distinguished figures in delicate carvings, but not one was a woman. Scrutiny prompted a state official to hastily authorize the addition of several women to the staircase’s lower level. The year was 1898.

After 125 years, New York State will make its first new addition, Brooklyn native and late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The carving will be formed from the same Scotland-sourced Corsehill sandstone used for the original stairs. It is expected to cost around $150,000 and complete sometime this spring. The piece will be sculpted by artist Meredith Bergmann.

The Million Dollar Staircase, also officially known as the Great Western Staircase, was carved in place from large blocks of sandstone from 1884 to 1898. It was designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson and features 78 carvings of distinguished figures from that time. The few faces of women that are present on the staircase seem to serve a more decorative purpose, including babies, goddesses, and the architect’s granddaughter. The six proposed female additions include Susan B. Anthony, novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Civil War nurses.

2021 was an increasingly deadly year for construction workers in New York

2023-02-24T14:24:00-05:00

In 2021, 12.1 per 100,000 construction workers in New York state died on the job, a 9% increase from 11.1 the year before, according to a new report from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. The total number of workers who died in the state increased to 61 in 2021, up from 41 in 2020, reported NYCOSH, a membership organization that represents workers, unions and health and safety professionals.

The Committee also found that one-quarter of all workplace fatalities across New York state took place on construction sites, a repeat of the figure contained in the Deadly Skyline Report for 2020. Latino workers accounted for 25.5% of the deaths recorded, keeping pace with a larger grisly national trend. Overall, an average of 53.6 workers have died on job sites each year in New York over the past decade.

The NYC Department of Buildings had the same year enacted “zero tolerance” safety sweeps resulting in nearly 1,500 stop-work orders. The reform efforts were added to recently in the form of the new Carlos’ Law, which will increase the financial penalties on employers in negligent death cases from $10,000 to $500,000 (to a maximum of $1 million). In New York City alone, where 20 workers died, some 89% of construction sites had some form of safety issue, according to a ...

PAU to lead the design of a new gateway enhancement project at Niagara Falls

2023-01-06T09:00:00-05:00

Vishaan Chakrabarti’s Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) has been selected to lead the design of the new $12 million Niagara Falls Heritage Gateways project, the studio unveiled via a press announcement on Thursday.

The project’s brief calls for the creation of four gateway structures and will supposedly enhance connections between downtown Niagara Falls and the popular state park in an extension of a previous strategic plan begun by PAU and the state in early 2021.

Images courtesy of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU)

"We're thrilled to continue our work with New York State in Niagara Falls with an expanded team including landscape architects Hargreaves Jones," Chakrabarti said of the new collaboration."The Niagara Falls Heritage Gateways project is a chance to demonstrate how thoughtful design can restore rather than remake our cities."

Images courtesy of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU)

"It is by building on a foundation of shared history — instead ...

New York State to require salary ranges in job adverts from September 2023

2022-12-22T12:36:00-05:00

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation establishing a statewide pay transparency law in New York State. The law was passed by both the New York State Assembly and Senate in June, and requires employers to list salary ranges for all advertised jobs and promotions.

The new legislation closely resembles a similar salary transparency law that recently came into force in New York City last month, requiring employers of at least four businesses with four or more employees in the city, including architecture firms, to include salary ranges in job adverts or risk a financial penalty.

The New York State law will apply to jobs which “can or will be performed” in the state, as well as positions that are performed out of state but report to a New York employer. Individuals will be able to report violations of the law to the New York State Department of Labor, which can issue fines for non-compliance....

New York City to roll out 51 electric school buses with $18.5 million EPA grant

2022-11-03T12:28:00-04:00

Dozens of electric yellow school buses are scheduled to roll on city streets as early as next fall, officials announced Tuesday. The city is using an $18.5 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to purchase 51 electric school buses. It’s part of an effort to meet the city’s and the state’s shared goal of converting all New York’s school buses to run on electricity by 2035.

In April, New York Governor Kathy Hochul agreed on a $220 billion state budget with legislators, which included a plan to make New York State’s nearly 50,000 school buses 100% electric by 2035. It’s estimated that the state currently has just 36 electric school buses. New York City currently has approximately 5,000 school buses that run on diesel. It aims to convert buses that are six or seven years old to electric power. These new buses will account for around 1% of the city’s fleet.

As reported by Gothamist, it will cost $5 billion for the state to run on all-electric school buses. The money from the Environmental Protection Agency will be available to three New York City school districts. Additional funds for more electric buses in New York may be made available depending on the outcome of a $4.2 environmental bond proposal that will be voted on in this month’s election. If approved, $500 million will head towards electric buses and the infrastructure needed for them.

...

Maya Lin's second academic building will deliver a new performing arts studio to Bard College

2022-10-26T14:19:00-04:00

New York’s Bard College has announced a new commission from architect Maya Lin that will deliver a performing arts studio building to its 540-acre Annandale-on-Hudson campus.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer will team with Bialosky and acoustic specialists Charcoalblue to deliver a 25,000-square-foot space just west of the school’s Frank Gehry-designed Richard B. Fisher Center.

According to Bard, the sloping green-roofed building will contain five separate “state-of-the-art” studios connected by a series of “gathering hubs” that will host the school’s Fisher Center LAB residency program while doubling as a font for creative exploration for Bard students and faculty.

Lin is in the midst of a banner year following two high-profile commissions for the new Museum of Chinese in America in Manhattan and the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. The school notes this will...

New York selects six Empire Building Challenge partners to boost the state's energy efficiency

2022-10-10T09:00:00-04:00

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has just announced the addition of six new strategic partners to the $50 million Empire Building Challenge in aims of enhancing the state’s stock of energy-efficient buildings.

The newly-added partners will be tasked with developing "highly repeatable" solutions to reducing carbon emissions in the heating and hot water systems of roughly 5.6 million square feet of high-rise buildings statewide that are included in the Challenge.

Brookfield Properties and Tishman Speyer lead the groups included in the program’s expansion, which now covers some 125 million square feet of commercial and multifamily properties and over 1,500 units of housing. The new interests selected by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) include:

Amalgamated Housing Corporation, who will team with EN-POWER GROUP and Egg Geo on Tower I & Tower II, 3965 - 3975 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx.
Boston Properties, who pairs with Jaros, Baum, & Bolles Consulting...

New report highlights inadequate oversight of building construction sites by the NYC Department of Buildings

2022-09-14T10:00:00-04:00

According to a new report by the New York State Comptroller’s Office, 89% of the visited active construction sites across New York City had safety issues, highlighting the need for the improvement of the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) oversight of construction sites.

Between June 10, 2021 and August 31, 2021, officials from the New York State Comptroller visited 43 construction sites in all five boroughs of New York City. Eighteen of these sites were actively under construction at the time of the visits, and 16 of the 18 sites had a total of 77 safety issues. They included not having a site safety manager; missing or incomplete site safety logs and daily inspection records; and no documentation of workers completing required site safety training or attending mandatory safety meetings.

Previously on Archinect: NYC Department of Buildings shuts down 322 construction sites in 'zero-tolerance' safety sweep

Additionally, the report found that DOB did not issue violations for ...

The American Society of Civil Engineers gives New York's infrastructure a C grade in new report

2022-07-26T09:00:00-04:00

The New York State Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has released its 2022 Report Card for New York Infrastructure, issuing the state's infrastructure an overall grade of C.

The rating is a slight improvement from its 2015 grade of C-. However, as detailed by the ASCE, a C rating indicates infrastructure that is mediocre and requires attention. The overall grade is the average of ratings across 11 infrastructure categories, from wastewater to transit. For New York, only two infrastructure categories are in good condition, six are in mediocre condition, and three are in poor condition. The state’s highest ratings were in the Public Parks and Solid Waste categories, which each received a B-, while Roads, Transit, and Wastewater received the lowest grades with D+’s.

The ASCE has made suggestions for improving New York’s infrastructure grade, including establishing more long-term funding, creating infrastructure goals that fit new lifestyles and commuting pattern...

New York to ban construction of schools near highways

2022-07-12T09:00:00-04:00

The New York State Assembly and Senate have passed a bill barring the construction of schools within 500 feet of a highway. The Schools Impact by Gross Highways Act (or SIGH Act) was written to protect school-age children from air pollution.

Under the bill, which will also apply to New York City, the New York Commissioner of Education will only be allowed to approve plans for a new school within 500 feet of a highway if they determine that space is so limited that no other site would be available.

Archinect Feature: Smog City: The Fight Against Urban Air Pollution

According to a recent analysis by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), approximately one-third of New York’s students attend a school within 500 feet of a road whose daily volume exceeds 30,000 cars. Approximately 80% of these students are students of color, and 66% are low-income.

“Decades of racial segregation, redlining, and the systemic placement of pollution-emitting infrastructure in Black and Brown communiti...

New York State may join NYC in wage transparency laws after senate vote

2022-06-09T08:00:00-04:00

A bill has passed both the New York State Assembly and Senate which would require employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings. If signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, New York would become the latest state to pass wage transparency laws, following similar moves in Colorado, Nevada, Connecticut, California, Washington, and Maryland.

The news comes one month after New York City confirmed that its own salary disclosure laws would come into effect from November 1st of this year, following a six-month delay. The NYC law will require businesses with four or more employees in the city, including architecture firms, to include salary ranges in job adverts or risk a financial penalty.

The New York State bill, named S9427, pertains to adverts for new job positions, promotions, or transfer opportunities that will be fully or partly performed in the state of New Y...

Marc Thorpe Design launches design & build agency focused on delivering affordable solar-powered homes

2022-05-03T19:51:00-04:00

NYC-based architecture and design studio Marc Thorpe Design has launched a design & build agency in New York’s West Catskills dedicated to the development of affordable solar-powered homes.

Called Edifice Upstate, the agency was formed in collaboration with local builders and green technology companies. It serves to make available, affordable, contemporary homes equipped with sustainable technology.

The initiative was driven by the increased demand for simpler, more remote lifestyles that became sought after following the pandemic. Edifice Upstate follows the development of the team’s housing concept called The Edifice, a 500-square-foot, solar-powered cabin, in 2019.

As stated by the architects: “The Edifice is an exercise in reduction, to live with only what is necessary and self-reliance.” This is evident in the home’s physical isolation and self-sustaining infrastructure. The program of the dwelling is divided into four zones: live, cook, dine, and sleep, and the systems that su...

NYC Mayor Eric Adams pushes plan to convert underutilized hotels to shelter unhoused New Yorkers

2022-05-02T15:31:00-04:00

In an effort to confront the city’s ongoing homeless crisis, Mayor Eric Adams stood alongside elected officials and union members to support a plan that would clear the streets and subways, and put a near-record number of unhoused New Yorkers into underutilized hotels.

Adams is supporting state bill S.4937/A.6262, which would make it easier for the city to convert underutilized hotels into affordable housing. According to city officials, this work would come at two-thirds the cost of new construction and could create 25,000 beds.

Mayor Adams has been active in his handling of New York’s homelessness issue recently, which was evident in his controversial push to clear hundreds of homeless encampments. This was followed by his administration’s proposed $171 million investment in homeless services that would help fund specialized shelters.

Previously on Archinect: New York City to prevent homeless people from sheltering in subway stations and trains

As reported by Gothamist, the money to carry out the bill is available through $100 million from the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act, which was passed last year to pay for hotel-to-apartment conversions. An additional $5 billion that was set aside in Adams’ budget for capital funding to build more ...

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announces $200 million grant program to attract high-tech industries across the state

2022-03-14T15:52:00-04:00

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced plans to set aside $200 million for the new Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts New York (FAST NY) grant program, which aims to attract and expand key growth industries to New York State.

The money has been made available through Hochul’s fiscal year 2023 budget. The grants will be disbursed through Empire State Development (ESD), the umbrella organization for New York’s two principal economic development financing entities: The New York State Urban Development Corporation and the New York Job Development Authority. The program will use the funds to prepare land tracts for future construction that will host high-tech manufacturing, particularly semiconductor manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and logistics businesses across the state.

"The hundreds of millions of dollars invested into the development of shovel-ready sites will help us ...