by: Linda G. Miller
Alloy Development to Build World’s Tallest Passive House Building in Brooklyn
Alloy Development (Alloy) will begin the second phase of the Alloy Block with the construction of One Third Avenue, a 63-story mixed-use building in Downtown Brooklyn. At 725 feet tall, the building will become the tallest Passive House building in the world, and the second tallest building in Brooklyn. The façade of the building is designed with oversized 6 by 7.5-foot operable windows that offer views and natural light while adhering to Passive House standards. An airtight, well-insulated building envelope and filtered fresh air will offer a healthy indoor environment with a low carbon footprint. The development’s residential and office spaces will share energy resources to minimize waste heat. The tower will rise from an interior courtyard sitting behind the two adaptively reused historic buildings from the 1800s on State Street and Schermerhorn Street which provide a historical connection to the neighborhood, along with a new retail building on Third Avenue. The residential lobby entrance is within the existing building on State Street, a quiet, tree-lined block. In contrast, the commercial lobby entrance will sit on the busy corridor of Schermerhorn and the future Temple Square Plaza. The building’s 583 apartments, 152 of which are affordable, will be located at the top of the building from floors 11 to 60. The tower’s podium will consist of six floors of office space, elevated 100 feet above grade, with 11,300 square feet of leasable area per floor. Bounded by Flatbush Avenue to the northeast, Third Avenue to the northwest, and State Street to the south, Alloy Block will become the most sustainable block in the borough, housing over 1,000 residences, including approximately 200 permanently affordable apartments, 60,000 square feet of Class A office space, 50,000 square feet of retail space, and two Passive House public schools.
Rockwell Group Redesigns NYC’s Revolving Restaurant
Union Square Hospitality Group has reopened The View, the city’s only revolving restaurant and lounge, after a renovation and redesign by Rockwell Group. Located on the 47th and 48th floors of the John Portman-designed Marriott Marquis, the 252-seat venue remains the city’s only rotating restaurant since its debut 40 years ago. The bar and lounge on the 48th floor completes one 360-degree rotation every 45 minutes; the dining room on the lower level revolves at one rotation per hour. To emphasize the rotation, a series of overlapping concentric circles on the ceiling create points of reference that are constantly changing as the room turns. These arcing paths reflect the movement of people, cars, and trains, taking place at street level and underground. Its location in the Theater District inspired much of the design. Reminiscent of stage curtains, velvet drapes used throughout the space are in the famed stage designer Joseph Urban’s signature shade of blue. Glass bubble elevators whisk guests up the hotel’s atrium to the 48th floor. The arrival to the bar/lounge is dark and moody, evoking the entrance to a theater. The burl wood host stand has an Art Deco feel and sits in front a custom screen consisting of five panels, each one depicting an illustration of a detail of the façades of the five Broadway theaters. Rendered in hues of blue and red to reflect the color palette of 48th and 47th floors respectively, both displaying splashes of gold. The Art Deco-inspired raw bar takes inspiration from neighboring buildings and creates a focal point and set for food preparation. The cocktail bar, considered the jewel of the floor, makes full use of the 8’6” to 21’ room height. To ensure every seat in the house has a view of the city, a luminous backbar skyline inspired by theater and stage sets from the 1920s,30s, and 40s was created. Its gentle curve produces a forced perspective, as if one is looking up from street level. A winding staircase leads down to the main dining room that seats over 200 guests and a cascading light fixture with exposed cables referencing theater backstages casts a warm glow on the shimmering Venetian plaster wall covering lining the interior stair wall. Faceted antique mirrors reflect and augment the skyline for varied perspectives as guests experience the rotation. A piano niche cloaked with rich blue velvet drapery completes the ensemble. Rockwell Group designed fully custom tabletops, chairs, banquettes, and bar stools, and collaborated on the design of other custom elements.
Hudson Valley Homes by Steven Holl Architects to Break Ground
Two homes designed by Steven Holl Architects and to be constructed by local craftsmen are expected to break ground this spring in Claverack in the Hudson Valley. Dubbed The Claverack Houses, the homes are located on a 90-acre reserve surrounded by farmland and wooded hills. The 2,266-square-foot vertical branching house rises from the ground and looks out onto a lake through tall, thick, branching pine trees. Three brachiating wooden forms, leaning slightly away from each other, define a plan of volumes. The northernmost volume extends around an angled stair to a skylight that captures the shifting shadows of the pines. Glass recesses throughout the structure bring light deep into the interiors. The interiors in pine, birch, and mahogany include a conversation pit, a lake-facing kitchen and dining space, a library, a music area on the upper levels, and intimate nooks and crannies. The exterior is clad in vertical cedar slats and Corten steel soffits and lookouts. The entry porch ramps up to a glass-fronted doorway. The 1,200-square-foot house hovers above a rock outcropping on a steep hill; this design incorporates a “fifth elevation” on the underside. Each segment of the branching form focuses on views into the landscape, aligning with the lake view. The leaning hexagonal branch defines the arrival experience, while another branch looks out down at the lake in the south distance. At its core, the utilities of the bathrooms are sheathed in sandblasted glass with a skylight above, giving the heart of the building a glowing presence. The wood/steel construction with interior wood walls is clad in “cartridge brass,” which weathers to a patina green. Geothermal heating and cooling, natural lighting, and cross-ventilation minimize energy use. The site’s landscape will be preserved instead of undergoing parcel subdivision, which is typical of this area.
RAMSA Repurposes Newbury College Campus into Senior Housing
Located in Fisher Hill, a residential district designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, in Brookline, MA, Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) has transformed the historic Newbury College campus, shuttered for financial reasons since 2019, into an upscale senior living community. The Newbury of Brookline is primarily designed in a Queen Anne Shingle style, with elements of Colonial Revival architecture. A mixed material palette of wood and masonry relates to the materials of the late 19th and early 20th century architectural styles found in the neighborhood. The community offers three distinct living options: 81 independent living residences, 38 assisted living residences, and 40 memory care suites, plus amenities including a fitness center, library, sky bar, large dining room, salon, and a solar-heated indoor saltwater pool. A portion of the college, the 11,000-square-foot Mitton House building, has been renovated. The mansion, built in 1895 in the Colonial Revival style once belonged to one of Boston’s most influential merchants and later housed Cardinal Cushing College and finally Newbury College. Post renovation, it now houses general common areas and six residential units. Mitton House set the domestic scale of the overall site plan, and a new 150,000-square-foot building was constructed that complements the Mitton House in terms of character and massing. Individual architectural elements, including six-over-one residential windows, gambrel roofs, brick chimneys, columned porches, bay windows, wood railings, clapboard siding, and white architectural trim relate to the existing residential architecture. The orientation and layout of the residential facility prioritizes a connection to nature, with five distinct outdoor spaces including two courtyards. The project is targeting a LEED Gold certification and incorporates elements of Passive House and WELL strategies. Boston-based Finegold Alexander serves as architect of record with interior design by Pembrooke & Ives.
Studio Joseph Designs Inviting Manhattan Pet Adoption Center
Studio Joseph has converted an underutilized 1930s garage in East Harlem into an inviting 2,500-square-foot space that provides care and placement for homeless dogs and cats. The design for the Animal Care Centers of NYC’s Manhattan Pet Adoption Center on 109th Street emphasizes daylight, interaction between families and staff, and prioritizes animal health and safety. The garage doors on each end of the building became large windows and skylights were opened up to bring light into the space. A steel rainscreen on the front façade preserves the existing masonry behind it. Vertical fins, painted in a gradient of yellows, greens, and blues appear to flicker softly as people move along as people move along the sidewalk and street due to the lenticular effect. Through a large storefront window passersby can view a colony of sheltered cats who are waiting to find their forever homes. From arrival to pet adoption, the design fosters a safe, friendly atmosphere for humans and animals. “Meet and greet” rooms provide space where people can engage with potential pets. HVAC systems and individual kennel sewage for the dogs exceed expectations. The NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) managed the project for NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). The project received a 2025 AIANY Design Award — Merit for Interiors.
MAP-designed 28-story Affordable Senior Housing Coming to Harlem
The 28-story Carmen Villegas Apartments (CVA) currently in development will yield 211 units of 100% affordable senior housing with ground floor commercial and community facility space in East Harlem. The tower’s ground floor is programmed by SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment), a non-profit organization that advocates for and provides services to LGBTQ+ older people. Designed by Magnusson Architects and Planners (MAP) for Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation, the 180,352-square-foot tower is named after a local activist, the late Carmen Villegas. Clad in a rainscreen system with pops of color, CVA’s east façade will feature a grand mural that pays homage to the local culture. CVA sets back at ground level for wider sidewalks and even a small, landscaped area to help to activate Park Avenue, while a double height opening on 110th Street dubbed “Salsa Way,” will create a relationship between the inner courtyard and streetscape, adding safety and visual interest. The development aims to achieve Passive House certification and will feature geothermal heating, cooling and domestic hot water with programmable thermostats located in each unit, a solar canopy, potentially Building Integrated Photovoltaics, central ERVs to provide fresh air and exhaust for the apartment units and corridors, and open community spaces to foster connection and socialization. The tower will be built on an underutilized parking lot that serves Casita Park Apartments, a senior housing building. MAP is also renovating this building with the goal of bringing both buildings to net-zero operational carbon. CVA, which is a 2024 NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence Round 4 award winner, will begin construction in January of 2026.
In Case You Missed It…
The historic Hendrick I. Lott House in Marine Park, Brooklyn, built in 1720, will undergo structural renovations in early 2026. Spearheaded by The Friends of the Lott House, the City-owned house will become a fully operational museum. Mitchell Giurgola, Ayon Studios, and Jablonski Building Conservation have been tapped to lead the infrastructure renovations to preserve the home’s historic details, modernizing and stabilizing its foundational elements, and updating MEP and accessibility.
Skanska USA has been selected as the construction manager for the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in collaboration with MNLA, Buro Happold, and Langan Engineering, the project consists of a 400,000-square-foot research and education hub anchored by Stony Brook University across four acres. SOM released updated renderings.
SO – IL and local Colorado firm Coburn have been selected to design the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA). The team will also develop a master plan for the North Boulder Creative Campus, a new live-work development which will be anchored by the museum.
Bjørn Okholm Skaarup’s “Hippo Ballerina” is now on view at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus. On view through December, “The Magis Sculpture Exhibition” adds 11 new pieces to the university’s outdoor sculpture garden, between West 60th and West 62nd Streets. Inspired by fables, art history, music, modern animation, and more, the exhibition complements the garden’s 10 sculptures on permanent display.