In the News

A Picture-Perfect Reopening

ICP opens doors to Gensler-designed new home in Essex Crossing

The International Center of Photography (ICP) recently opened the doors to its new, 40,000-square-foot home, located in a SHoP Architects-designed condominium in Essex Crossing. The condo is designed as two distinct but adjoining structures, one housing the museum and the other a 13-story residential tower. Gensler worked in tandem with Delancey Street Associates, the project’s developer, to make adjustments to the building in order to integrate the core components of institution—museum, library, school, faculty, and offices—under one roof. The museum’s three-story volume transitions between the smaller-scale, existing neighborhood buildings and the larger scale, mixed-use buildings that are part of Essex Crossing. Two entrances create a passageway for the community to enter the building at either Ludlow Street or Essex Street. The entrance at Essex Street resembles a camera lens, with a long hallway that serves as a white box for artists to showcase their work. The double-height gallery on the second floor features a lighting system that is programmed to adjust and adapt automatically in response to natural light. To create visual consistency throughout the galleries, while providing the museum with flexibility, the ceiling features metal mesh panels with track lighting that can be reconfigured. On the third floor, a catwalk gallery suspended along the perimeter above the double-height gallery creates a comfortable viewing perspective for exhibitions. An expansive multi-media gallery also doubles as an event space. The material palette of concrete, black metal, light wood, and natural colors ensures that the exhibitions take centerstage.

Terminally Revitalized

LPC approves COOKFOX’s plans for Terminal Warehouse

The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has approved plans by COOKFOX Architects for the restoration and revitalization of the 1.2-million-square-foot Terminal Warehouse in West Chelsea, which will include both offices and retail spaces. Located at 11th Avenue and West 28th Street, Terminal Warehouse was originally designed by George Mallory in a style known as American Round Arch in 1891. Plans for the restoration call for creating an outdoor courtyard and multiple landscaped terraces that will bring daylight into the building’s center. The warehouse’s 500,000 square feet of self-storage space, along with other vacant areas, will become modern office spaces. The project intends to preserve many of the existing 19th-century elements, including much of the interior’s heavy timber. Dendrochronological research determined that the oldest timber girders, joists, and floor deck were taken from trees that started growing in 1512, making them 508 years old today. A 670-foot-long train tunnel with rail that traverses the length of the building will also be restored and activated with shops and restaurants. In all, the project will involve the preservation, restoration, and/or replacement of 3.2 acres of brick masonry, 756 windows, 338 pairs of iron shutters, metal signage, the chimney, the flagpole, and other historic details. Higgins Quasebarth & Partners serves as the preservation architects. Thornton Tomasetti is working on the façade restoration and Jablonski Building Conservation serves as conservator. L&L Holding and Columbia Property Trust are developing the project.

Moscow’s on the Move

ODA selected for MAZD Territory master plan in Moscow

ODA has won an international competition to revitalize a 23-acre site in Moscow. The master plan for the mixed-use, three-million-square-foot Magistralnaya Ulitsa, also known as the MAZD Territory, is meant to stimulate an industrial zone just outside the city and strengthen its sense of place. The project responds to Moscow’s trend toward dense, mixed, and walkable areas where architecture and landscape are designed in conjunction. It also addresses the needs of millennials who want to live in self-sustained, walkable neighborhoods. The project includes a series of villa-like residences and residential towers, retail, offices, and urban green spaces connected by pedestrian walkways, achieving a checkerboard balance between open and enclosed spaces. A prominent roofline resembling the topography of a hill is destined to become a landmark in the city’s skyline.

An Urban Campus Expands and Optimizes Space

Ismael Leyva Architects has completed work on the Mercy College expansion on 34th Street in Herald Square. Now known as MercyManhattan, the expansion has increased the Manhattan campus’ footprint from 55,000 to 95,000 square feet, with added space on the third, fourth, and seventh floors. This expanded facility accommodates larger classrooms, a welcome center with student common space, and an internet café. A 130-bed dormitory featuring a variety of suite configurations and its own dedicated lobby on the seventh floor is expected to be completed in July 2020. The college now also has a newly designed ground-floor entrance. The project is developed by SL Green Realty Corporation. Mercy College is now welcoming students for the Spring 2020 semester

Retirees Can Live in Luxury

Montry Demarco’s Watermark retirement community to open in April

Billed as New York City’s resort-like retirement community, The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights will open in April. Designed by Montroy Demarco Architecture, the renovation of the over 310,000-square-foot, 16-story property features 275 newly renovated residences offered in 78 different floor plans ranging from studios to one- and two-bedroom apartments. Residences include 145 units for independent living, 88 for assisted living, and 42 for memory care. Originally built as the Leverich Towers Hotel, designed by Starrett & Van Vleck and completed in 1926, the renovation will preserve much of the building’s original structure. The interiors, including 50,000 square feet of amenities, have been reimagined in collaboration with interior design firm Lemay + Escobar. The first floor acts as a welcoming space for gatherings with family and friends, and includes a café, library, and a wine bar. Also on this floor is a contemporary art gallery that overlooks a double-height restaurant below. Further amenities include a space for movie screenings and a live theater space complete with a stage, theatrical lighting, and proper acoustical treatments. The fitness center features a warm-water therapy pool, a gym, showers, a salon, and a spa. The project is co-developed by Watermark Retirement Communities and Kayne Anderson Real Estate for Watermark’s new lifestyle brand, the Élan Collection.

Alice in Icecreamland

Museum of Ice Cream opens in SoHo

New York is known for a multitude of museums and now it has one that’s dedicated to ice cream. The 25,000-square-foot Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) replaces a former H&M store in SoHo. The space, which is actually two buildings combined into one, underwent a gut renovation, with the museum occupying the ground floor and basement levels, with staff offices located on the second floor. Working in collaboration with the in-house design team, ARCHITECTUREFIRM removed a large central staircase and created new slab openings, making way for custom wallpapers, rubber tile flooring, extensive millwork, and multi-sensory installations. The Celestial Subway reimagines a subway car as a candy-coated vehicle that takes riders through city streets and through the clouds to “Skybeca.” The museum’s Sprinkle Pool features floor-to-ceiling tile, steel diving boards, ladders, a slide, and a newly developed sprinkle that is antimicrobial and biodegradable. In the Celebration Room, visitors are invited into an imaginary feast of 600 custom-designed desserts held up by a magical floating table.

This Just In

The Manhattan campus of Pratt Institute is undergoing renovations led by Kliment Halsband Architects that will enhance its presence on 14th Street. Work is underway to add facilities including a new lecture hall. The project will also include relocating the Pratt Manhattan Gallery from the second to the ground floor and a restoration of the façade.

Stephen B. Jacobs Group Architects and Planners has completed Surf Vets Place for homeless veterans and low-income families, located one block from the boardwalk and beach in Coney Island. The newly constructed 118,512-square-foot, nine-story residential building with ground floor retail contains 135 supportive units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Seven units are fully ADA accessible and five units are equipped to serve hearing and visually impaired residents. Resilient features for the flood zone site include deployable flood barriers, flood vents, flood glazing, emergency generator, elevated mechanical equipment, and flood damage resistant materials. The project is developed by Georgica Green Ventures in collaboration with the Concern for Independent Living, a leading non-profit provider of affordable and supportive housing, and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development.

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and NYC Department of Design and Construction have completed the restoration of the historic Bachelor Officers’ Quarters in Fort Totten, Queens to house a new and larger headquarters for the Center for the Women of New York (CWNY). Page Ayres Cowley Architecture was responsible for the renovation of the entire first floor and basement, including the plaster walls, original wood floors, wood stairs and railings, and the tin ceilings.

The first commissioned artwork by Tresoldi Studio, a large wire-mesh sculpture, has been suspended from the ceiling of Cathédrale restaurant, which is part of the Moxy East Village hotel designed by Rockwell Group. The installation takes inspiration from the historic architecture of the legendary Fillmore East concert hall, which was made famous in the 1960s and 70s.

The Architectural League of New York announced the winners of this year’s annual Emerging Voices Competition, which included three NYC-based firms: Olalekan Jeyifous; Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich of Peterson Rich Office; and Bryan Young of Young Projects. The latter two firms have also been recognized in the New Practices New York awards in 2018 and 2016, respectively. Each year the League selects eight emerging practices through a juried, invited portfolio competition. The award spotlights individuals and firms based in the United States, Canada, and Mexico with distinct design voices and the potential to influence the disciplines of architecture, landscape design, and urbanism.