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Over the years, architects have not been the only ones to inscribe New York’s skyline — the signature image of the last American century — across the urban ether.
Among others, structural engineers, practical poets of often towering imagination and import, have also figured out how to scale those heights. Skyscrapers are team efforts, after all.
— The New York Times
For his latest feature in a series of virtual strolls exploring iconic Manhattan skyscrapers with noteworthy building experts, NYT architecture critic Michael Kimmelman invited engineer Guy Nordenson to join him for a closer look at the midcentury, Eero Saarinen-designed Black Rock/CBS Building... View full entry
The 250-year-old retirement digs of an 18th-century Chinese emperor are getting a face-lift.
The World Monuments Fund announced Monday that the New York-based architect Annabelle Selldorf and her firm, Selldorf Architects, will design an interpretation center at the Qianlong Garden in the Forbidden City in Beijing.
— The New York Times
According to the World Monuments Fund, "the interpretation center will be located in an existing, restored structure within the second courtyard of the Qianlong Garden." Juanqinzhai theater room after conservation. Image courtesy World Monuments Fund."Selldorf and her NYC-based firm, Selldorf... View full entry
In a major victory for the Frick Collection, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved the museum’s latest plan to expand and renovate its 1914 Gilded Age mansion — the institution’s fourth such attempt to gain more space for its exhibitions and public programs. [...]
Some critics were disappointed by Tuesday’s vote. Theodore Grunewald, a preservationist, called it “a vote for blandness.”
— The New York Times
The approved proposal represented a revised version of the Frick Collection expansion scheme, taking into consideration concerns brought forward by the Stop Irresponsible Frick Development preservationist group at an impassioned four-hour public hearing in May. The expansion plans were designed... View full entry
That, Mr. Zwirner said, is the site of what in the fall of 2020 will become the new heart of his New York operation: a five-story, $50 million gallery designed by Renzo Piano. [...]
The precise design has yet to be determined — Mr. Piano is in the early stages of the process. But it is likely to have a similarly spare aesthetic to Mr. Zwirner’s current spaces, by Annabelle Selldorf.
— The New York Times
In its article about art dealer David Zwirner's upcoming Renzo Piano-designed gallery and global headquarters, the NYT recounts a telephone interview with Piano about (early) design visions for the building: "You kill art by making just white boxes, so you need to integrate emotion in some way... View full entry
The biggest names impacting New York’s skyline come together to discuss the projects that now epitomize the city, the ever-evolving real estate market and what’s next for New York’s neighborhoods. — 92Y
Selldorf and the curators were forced to strategically navigate the strict installation stipulations attached to each piece — and still create a dynamic space for viewing. [...]
“We wanted a very calm background,” Selldorf says. “It is the quality of the work that makes the show exciting, so rather than creating additional noise, we really focused on making spaces that were quiet and measured in such a way that the focus of attention was on the paintings.”
— nytimes.com
More on Annabelle Selldorf:Give and Take: Michael Kimmelman and Annabelle Selldorf discuss architectural ethics in urban environmentsNYC Landmarks Commission Debates New Annabelle Selldorf BuildingQ&A: Annabelle Selldorf On the New Clark Art Institute View full entry
The power of architecture at work in the modern city was a theme that emerged from the start at last Thursday night’s Big Ideas, Bold Thinkers, Brilliant Dialogue series at Pratt Institute. This particular conversation featured New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman and Architect... View full entry
