“In historic districts, the commission always regulated the entire lot,” said Sarah Carroll, the director of preservation at the agency. “But in the last decade we’ve been seeing more applications for rear-facade changes, particularly in Brooklyn, where there hadn’t been as many changes in the rear yards as in the past. And so we’ve been focusing more on the interiors of blocks.” — NYT

From William Zeckendorf’s work with I.M. Pei and Minoru Yamaski in the 1960s and ’70s to his grandsons’ projects with the likes KPF and, most notably, Robert A.M. Stern, who created both the brand new 15 Central Park West and the newly renovated 18 Gramercy Park South, the Zeckendorfs have a thing for high design. — New York Observer

“They really don’t treat the water in this kind of eggshell kind of way that they do in the United States,” Mr. Chakrabarti said. “They reclaim the land, use dredging material, do a whole variety of things to reshape the shoreline, like we first did when we were New Amsterdam. The Dutch have unrivaled experience in dealing with flooding. They really know how to shape the water’s edge, and I think we really have to rethink the way we deal with the water’s edge, given what’s happened with Sandy.” — New York Observer

The Land Art Generator Initiative just announced the winner of its 2012 design competition moments ago in New York City. "Scene Sensor", designed by artists James Murray and Shota Vashakmadze, is a striking piezoelectric energy-generating art project designed to be installed above and below the surface of the Staten Island park. — Inhabitat NYC

“We are grateful to each of the firms for the thoughtfulness and creativity they demonstrated throughout the process. There is no doubt that each group was fully capable of helping us realize our vision of a 425 Park Avenue tower that redefines the modern office environment while also respecting and enhancing the timeless allure of the Plaza district.” — New York Observer

Neither is this switcheroo exactly new. That is a big part of the reason the City Planning Commission works so hard to ensure certain design flourishes and details in ambitious projects like the Riverside Center. — New York Observer

Since it was finished half a dozen years ago, Herzog & de Meuron's 40 Bond Street has become one the foremost icons of the current generation of New York City architecture. Or so the design cognoscenti think. But what about everybody else? Among average New Yorkers, opinions are mixed in this funny video. One guy who definitely does not like the place is a cranky old neighbor from down the block. — New York Observer

Imagine you’re a New York City building official, and the mayor’s office has decided to let an artist build a living room six stories up in the air and wrap it around a historic statue of Christopher Columbus in the middle of one of Manhattan’s busiest intersections.

Oh, and the plan is to have 100,000 people climb up stairs to view it. — New York Times

After all the wrangling over the updated designs for the Durst Organization-overseen 1 World Trade Center (we’ve heard there was a list of 20 changes the developer wanted from the Port, all eventually granted), new renderings have been released for the project. They show a building that looks a little sharper, perhaps a little less striking, but something still bound to dominate the skyline, as if that were not already abundantly clear from the just-about-topped-out tower. — New York Observer

The winning projects have been rvealed in the New York CityVision Competition. Goal of CityVision Mag's latest design competition was to imagine New York City in the future if the manipulation of the urban context and its architectural objects, joined with its inhabitants, is influenced by SPACE and TIME. — bustler.net

The Battery Conservancy invites students and professionals from the Americas (North, Central, South and the Caribbean), to design an iconic moveable outdoor seating element. The winning design will be fabricated for use in The Battery, the 25-acre park at the tip of Manhattan, which annually welcomes six million visitors. — The Battery Conservancy

The design centralizes all social and public spaces in a vertical stack at the south face of the building. This continuous space features a multi-story glass façade that maximizes light and offers exceptional views to the south. The interiors of the study cascade – a system of special alcoves reserved for social interaction – are complemented by outdoor gathering spaces and terraces that are clad in cement panels, wood, and other materials. — ps.columbia.edu

That a 977-foot tower has gone unnoticed is partly the point. Designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, 4 World Trade Center has a quiet splendor hidden within its still skin. Like the original Twin Tower, 1 World Trade Center still imposes itself on the skyline. By contrast, 4 World Trade Center becomes a part of it. — New York Observer

the canopy covers 11,000 square feet of an easement in Battery Park City; effectively, North End Way is a north-south passageway or alley, lined with shops and restaurants. Part of what makes this a notable public space is the quality of construction... But it’s the canopy, which Goldman also commissioned, that formally elevates what is really just a gap between two buildings into something almost as inspired as the nave of a great Gothic cathedral. — New York Times