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Central Park Tower, aka 217 West 57th Street, has surpassed the 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower (née Sears Tower) to claim the title of highest roof in the Western Hemisphere. The Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed supertall is being developed by Extell and will soon top-out at 1,550 feet tall over Billionaires’ Row. — New York YIMBY
Once the world's tallest building from 1974 to 1996, the 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower in Chicago is, little by little, kicked out from top placements in various height-record categories by the new kids on blocks all over the world. After losing the overall height crown to the twin Petronas Towers... View full entry
This week, Archinect has selected jobs with firms whose work focuses on creative and imaginative public installations and art exhibitions. Whether permanent or temporary, these spaces allow for experiences outside of people’s daily interactions through art and the built environment... View full entry
Roughly three months after the opening of Diller Scofidio + Renfro and the Rockwell Group's cultural venue at Hudson Yards, several media publications and critics have voiced their opinions about The Shed. Having received a variety of reviews, some have shown interest and praise of the space... View full entry
[...] when the residents of a 12-story loft building in Chelsea learned that a proposed tower next door threatened to darken most of their windows and block their Empire State Building views, they tried a less confrontational approach.
They banded together to make the developer an unusual offer: $11 million not to build.
— The New York Times
A group of Chelsea condo owners have shown that a million-dollar view can actually be worth $11 million. As J. David Goodman writes in the NYT, "The owners used a typical developer strategy and turned it on its head: They bought the developer’s air rights — normally used to allow for... View full entry
Commissioned by Princeton University, this project is simple in form but sophisticated in function. It involves an “open source building” to host research on the future of construction and computation. Just as biologists use an electron microscope to study organisms, architects will use this structure to study buildings. — The Living
The idea of algorithms designing buildings may sound exciting to some and concerning to others. However, after decades of attempts at harnessing this process, companies like The Living may have cracked the system to automatically generating building designs. The New York-based research studio... View full entry
The city recently enacted stricter zoning regulations to curb excessive mechanical spaces in residential buildings, the first in a series of steps geared toward eliminating zoning ambiguities exploited by developers.
[...]
Now, elected officials and preservationists are pushing the city to enact stern oversight on additional types of voids and other perceived zoning loopholes.
— Curbed NY
"Many neighborhood advocates felt the void amendment did not go far enough, and called for the change to recognize unenclosed voids—such as Rafael Viñoly Architects’ disputed 'condo on stilts' on the Upper East Side—as mechanical," writes Caroline Spivack for Curbed NY. "They charge... View full entry
Fashion designer Marc Jacobs has paid $9.175 million for a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house in the wealthy New York suburb of Rye. Mr. Jacob's agent Laura DeVita of Julie B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty, said her client had been searching for an architecturally significant home in Westchester and planned to use the property as a weekend retreat from his busy job. — Wall Street Journal
Formerly owned by Maximilian E. Hoffman, the residence was one of the last projects Wright worked on before he died. Hoffman commissioned Wright to design the home after Wright designed an auto showroom for his Jaguar dealership in New York. Located at the north end of Manursing Island, the... View full entry
This week, Archinect has selected 10 New York-based firms looking to hire experienced architects who can carry out projects, lead design teams, and collaborate with senior-level staff in the office. Ranging from commercial, residential, and mixed-used projects, the ideal candidate will be a key... View full entry
Ai Weiwei, artist and activist, has dabbled in architecture more than once in his career. From his Bird's Nest collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron to his work on the Jinhua Architecture Park, Weiwei's interests in architecture would eventually draw him towards a residential project. Located in... View full entry
After winning MoMA PS1's 2019 Young Architects Program this past March, “Hórama Rama” is now open to the public in time for summer festivities. Ana Paula Ruiz Galindo and Mecky Reuss of Mexico City-based studio Pedro & Juana designed the temporary installation as... View full entry
It’s official: After years of debate, heated public hearings, and lawsuits, the City Council has voted to approve the redevelopment of the Elizabeth Street Garden into low-income housing for seniors.
The Council’s vote was unanimous, save for one abstention from councilmember Rafael Espinal, who objected to the loss of a community garden for housing.
— Curbed NY
The Elizabeth Street Garden redevelopment in Manhattan's Little Italy neighborhood has been especially contested since one beloved green space was supposed to make way not for the usual luxury condo towers but for badly needed affordable housing designed for low-income seniors with support from... View full entry
The final New York City building to be designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid may be changing course, according to plans filed with the city’s Department of Buildings.
The structure at 220 11th Avenue, developed by Moinian Group, was first announced back in 2016, just months after Hadid’s untimely death at the age of 65.
— Curbed NY
Revised permit filings indicate a change from the originally proposed eleven-story mixed-use building to a nine-story commercial structure in West Chelsea. New York YIMBY reports that STUDIOS Architecture is listed as the architect of record. View full entry
The state Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department issued a ruling on Tuesday denying the West 58th Street Coalition’s motion to extend a temporary injunction to stop the opening of the homeless shelter. The city plans to open the shelter at the former Park Savoy Hotel at 158 W. 58th St. It is located on a block near an area dubbed Billionaires’ Row, which is home to a group of luxury residential skyscrapers. — The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal reports that the West 58th Street Coalition, the neighborhood group opposing the planned homeless shelter, would "appeal Tuesday’s ruling to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, which would hear the case in the fall." The shelter population in New York City... View full entry
The widest open space of the High Line opened [...], marking the completion of the wildly popular elevated park. A 16-foot bronze sculpture by Simone Leigh anchors the new section, called the Spur, which offers vistas in every direction.
The Spur is a 420-foot section that extends over the intersection of 10th Avenue at West 30th Street.
— Gothamist
"The design of the Spur has gone through many iterations over the years: from theater, to garden, to woodland, to event platform, to an immersive ‘bowl,’ among others," said James Corner, who led the design of the Spur, as well as other sections of the High Line, in collaboration with Diller... View full entry
Manhattan’s latest crop of new luxury developments continues to attract a steady stream of buyers.
At the ultra-pricey 220 Central Park South in Midtown, the grand limestone skyscraper designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, four more units officially sold, including New York City’s most expensive closing in May: a three-bedroom aerie for nearly $26.5 million.
— The New York Times
The NYT's Vivian Marino provides an update on the biggest recent luxury real estate transactions in New York City with notably pricey purchases at Robert A.M. Stern's 220 Central Park South and 250 West 81st Street towers and also at the newly opened Hudson Yards mammoth development. "Philip... View full entry
