by: Linda G. Miller
KPF-designed Supertall on Fifth Avenue Tops Out in Midtown
Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), with interior design by Charles & Co., 520 Fifth Avenue has topped out at 1,002 feet. Upon completion, the tower will become the second tallest building on Fifth Avenue after the Empire State Building and the Avenue’s tallest mixed-use building. Located on the corner of 43rd Street at the northeast corner of Bryant Park, the design of the 88-story mixed-use, 380,000-square-foot supertall is a modern interpretation of Midtown’s stepped towers and its Beaux-Arts architecture. The terracotta clad tower is distinguished in the skyline by a series of tiered setbacks with terraces and super-sized windows accented with enameled metal. The design also pays homage to its Beaux-Arts building’s in Midtown including McKim, Mead & White’s 1891 the Century Association, located right next door. Variations in the arches’ proportions and scales articulate the building’s different interior functions. Billed as a “vertical village,” the tower contains retail, office space, luxury condos, and a members’ only club that offers dining, recreation, fitness and wellness options. The tower contains 25 floors of boutique office space featuring 12-foot-tall ceilings, outdoor space on nearly all the floors, separate HVAC systems on each floor and operable windows. Above the offices are 100 luxury condos residences ranging from one to four bedrooms. Column-free interiors and a compact and efficient core allow for flexibility in the arrangement of interior office and residential spaces. On the building’s top floor is an amenity suite featuring a glass-walled solarium, lounge, dining room, library, and game room. The project, which is slated for completion in 2026, is being developed by Rabina.
Basketball-focused Charter School by ESKW/Architects Breaks Ground in The Bronx
Former New York Knicks champion Earl Monroe, shovel in hand, along with other basketball notables, broke ground on the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School (EMNRBS), a co-ed, tuition-free charter high school, located on the corner of Third and Elton Avenues and East 153rd Street in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx. Designed by ESKW/Architects, EMNRBS will serve 440 students in grades 8–12 and is the first purpose-built, specialized high school in the country with an academic curriculum entirely designed around basketball and the many career paths associated with the game, from broadcast media to sports psychology, law, nutrition, facilities management, and venture capital business. The design of the five-story, 69,000-square-foot building is inspired by the traditional field house design of the early 1900s, which featured an arched entrance. The angular two-story glazing that wraps around and above the main entrance leading into the lobby is an interpretation of this. Passersby can visually engage with activities taking place inside and conversely, students feel a part of a vibrant neighborhood and the responsibilities they have towards it. The focal point of the 1,300-square-foot entrance lobby is a 16′ x 9′ video wall that announces information on current events and school activities. The second floor houses a lounge area that will serve as VIP seating for games and a multi-functional library with a media center and conference room. The lounge space next to the library/media center and broadcast studio will have windows that overlook the gym and the lobby. The centerpiece of the building is its 8,000-square-foot gymnasium with telescopic seating for 400 spectators. The third through fifth floors will primarily house classrooms and each will contain a whiteboard area for studying after class, as well as various offices. The multi-functional student dining center and lounge is in the cellar and is suited for social gatherings and as a secondary education area for studying after class. The cellar also houses a large weight training room that will also be used for physical therapy classes, as well as a dance room and a recording room that are part of the school’s music program. IMC Architecture serves as the project’s executive architect. The school, which is scheduled to open its doors in January 2026, will operate under a long-term lease from the developer, Pillar Property Management.
SO-IL’s Unveils Design for Art Omi Pavilion at Chatham
SO-IL’s Anima, a new pavilion at Art Omi Pavilions @ Chatham, will be set within the rolling meadows of the Hudson Valley. When it opens in 2026, the 1,860-square-foot pavilion will invite visitors to explore art in a contemplative setting, engaging both with the works and the surrounding natural beauty. Clad in a monochromatic dark gray, five distinct gallery spaces are connected, each with only one way in and out. Their proportions vary and some open to the landscape through windows, while others invite light from above through skylights. Above these galleries, a roof structure of thousands of stacked wooden blocks creates a delicate, filigree texture. Rising from seven to 35 feet, the asymmetrical cone-like roof is hard to discern as it is gauze-like, and changes from every angle. The light passing through it casts a diffused shadow that softens the space below. From the bottom of the roof, the horizon is framed, revealing distant mountain ranges, reminding visitors of the vast landscape beyond. Art Omi presents a series of architect-designed pavilions across 190-acres called Art Omi Pavilions @ Chatham, which will feature 18 carbon-neutral pavilions collaboratively designed with artists and architects.
Marian Goodman Gallery Flagship Relocates to Tribeca
The Marian Goodman Gallery has relocated its flagship from its longtime home on West 57th Street to 385 Broadway between White and Walker Streets in Tribeca. Vacant for years, the building has been transformed by studioMDA and rewoven back into the cultural fabric of the neighborhood. The gallery features two floors of light-filled exhibition space as well as viewing rooms on its first, second, and third floors, a library and archive, art storage, and administrative offices. The 35,000-square-foot Grosvenor Building designed in 1875 by Charles Wright served as an industrial warehouse for more than a century, before performing arts organizations adopted the building as a venue. The building originally consisted of two mirror image structures unified by a distinctive bracketed cornice, giving the impression of a single building. The street level cast-iron façade has been restored and renovated with a new storefront with large entrance doors and windows that provide transparency and activate the street with connectivity to the exhibitions inside. The entrance lobby and street facing gallery spaces are maximized by moving the main stair and elevators to the back of the building. Two elevators, one for passengers and one for loading, connect all five floors plus the cellar and subcellar which are used for archival storage. A custom reception desk that has been pulled back, allows guests to step directly into the gallery space. Inside, the first floor features a gallery measuring 55 by 26 feet, while a secondary exhibition space on the second floor takes advantage of the column-free design characteristic of Tribeca’s Historic District. Large doors, some reaching 12 feet high, divide the interior spaces, and the original wood joists have been left exposed, as is the exposed brickwork on the upper floors.
Allied Works Designs New Clemente Bar Above Eleven Madison Park
Allied Works, in collaboration with two friends, the artist Francesco Clemente and Chef Daniel Humm, owner of the hospitality group behind Eleven Madison Park, designed the new Clemente Bar. Located in the Metropolitan Life North Building at East 24th Street and Madison Avenue, the new 2,710-square-foot bar cultivates warmth and intimacy. In 2017, Allied Works redesigned Bentel & Bentel’s original Eleven Madison Park, and now, they have transformed the three existing private rooms on the second floor of the restaurant known for its plant-based menu into a cocktail lounge and eight-seat chef’s counter. Inspired by Zurich’s Kronenhalle, the design of the new bar is also a nod to famed New York “artist bars” such Bemelmans at The Carlyle and the King Cole Room at St. Regis. A color palette of burgundies, browns, and gold complements a series of new works by Clemente, including three new 17-foot-long murals plus smaller works placed throughout. The cocktail lounge and second floor corridor are lined with detailed custom walnut panels, embedded with hand-carved “jewels” crafted in Allied Works Portland woodshop. The design team sourced vintage furniture pieces and mixed them with new custom vintage inspired pieces by LA-based designer Brett Robinson, and custom lamps by the German artist Carsten Höller. The chef’s counter, made of solid hinoki wood (Japanese cypress) and natural stone is enveloped by custom-carved wood battens.
Selldorf Architects’ Owls Head CSO Facility Recognized with Public Design Award
The Owls Head Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Facility Headhouse designed by Selldorf Architects for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and NYC Parks was just named one of this year’s winners of the 42nd annual Awards for Excellence in Design given by the Public Design Commission (PDC). The facility is the second CSO designed by the firm and it is situated at the bend of the canal on a triangular peninsula, further south their of Red Hook CSO site. Both CSOs broke ground in 2023, and upon completion, each host an underground storage tank with the combined capacity to store up to 12 million gallons of sewer overflow during heavy rainstorms. The Owls Head facility includes a Headhouse to support a four-million-gallon underground tank, two acres of waterfront public open space, as well as the relocation and redesign of a Salt Shed for the New York City Department of Sanitation. The design of the 24,750-square-foot headhouse is an ensemble of rectilinear volumes composed of tubular cast-in-place concrete walls that resemble the industrial silos historically found along the canal. Concrete is employed as both the primary structural and expressive material, selected for its restrained and utilitarian qualities; the building utilizes a sculptural concrete formwork to create a unified façade. Custom windows designed in the same tubular pattern blend with the concave formwork, and topping the building is an expansive green roof. Large odor control vessels and ductwork are painted bright green, contrasting with the project’s overall neutral palette, resulting in a playful expression of the facility’s functional elements. The overall design prioritizes waterfront access with landscape design that elevates the ecological qualities of Gowanus. Substantially expanding the neighborhood’s available outdoor public spaces, the site will offer opportunities for recreation, including the city’s first ADA-accessible boat launch, community gathering spaces and an amphitheater for outdoor performances with views across the Canal. An educational interpretative program throughout the site will explain the facility’s function, the history of the canal, and the ongoing ecosystem restoration. Selldorf Architects teamed with Executive Architects and Engineers Hazen and Sawyer, Brown and Caldwell, and SCAPE Landscape Architecture. See our initial coverage of the Gowanus CSO facility in 2019.
In Case You Missed It…
Sotheby’s has completed the purchase of Marcel Breuer’s modernist landmark at 945 Madison Avenue (the former home of the Whitney Museum). The project has appointed Herzog & de Meuron, who will work in partnership with PBDW Architects to lead the building’s adaptation and renovation, which will include new auction rooms, exhibitions across its wide range of collecting categories, and a restaurant. The interior of the Breuer, however, is not landmarked.
After a three-year hiatus, the 125th Street Library, a branch of the NYPL has reopened after renovations led by Cannon Design and Mitchell Giurgola. Located between Second and Third Avenues in East Harlem, the landmarked McKim, Mead & White library, built with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie, had fallen into disrepair. Renovations to the 15,655-square-foot library preserved key historic features while modernizing the interior to maximize public space. The library is now three floors after reclaiming the floor previously used to house a live-in custodian and has now been repurposed into a Teen Center. The reopening is a monumental step toward completing the “Carnegie Branch Renovation Program.”
Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Public Design Commission (PDC) Chair Deborah Marton, and PDC Executive Director Sreoshy Banerjea announced the 11 winners of the 42nd annual Awards for Excellence in Design given by the PDC. Each honoree demonstrates how thoughtful urban planning can significantly enhance daily life for New Yorkers while also by creating resilient infrastructure, fostering community connections, and providing accessible spaces for recreation and learning at locations across the five boroughs.
The ribbon was cut on Apex Place, a three-tower residential, 455,000-square-foot development designed by FXCollaborative for Phipps Houses. It weaves together new residential towers, community facilities, and green spaces into the existing fabric of the Forest Hills Houses, a public, low-income housing development in need of revitalization. Located at 62-11 108th Street in the Forest Hills section of Queens, the project contains 442 affordable housing units for mid-income households, medical offices, expansion of existing community facilities. The buildings are oriented for solar efficiency and feature rooftop PV arrays, offering both environmental and economic benefits to residents. Curtis + Ginsberg serves as the Architect of Record.
The Frick Collection announced that it will reopen in April 2025 after the restored structure repurposes 60,000-square-feet of existing space and adds 27,000-square-feet of new construction by Selldorf Architects, reviving the building’s Gilded Age splendor. Masterworks from the permanent collection by artists such as François Boucher, Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, Anthony Van Dyck, El Greco, Giambattista Tiepolo and Paolo Veronese, among others, will be reinstalled on the first floor in galleries restored to their original opulence.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) has unveiled the design of the new Sentry Bridge along the popular Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen State Park, designed by schlaich bergermann partner (sbp) and Snøhetta that will replace a 1908 concrete bridge. Demolition of the old bridge and installation of the new bridge which will be prefabricated off-site and installed as a single piece, will begin in summer 2025, with completion targeted by July 4, 2026.
Canstruction 2024 is on at Brookfield Place at 230 Vesey Street. This year, 23 teams of architects, engineers, and contractors: AKF, Arcadis, Arup, Beyer Blinder Belle, Buro Happold, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, EP Engineering, Fairstead, Gannett Fleming, Gensler, Gilsanz Murray Steficek, Hatfield Group Engineering, HOK, LERA Consulting Structural Engineers, Meyers+ Engineers & McNamara Salvia Structural Engineers, NV5, Perkins Eastman, Severud Associates, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH), Stantec, Thornton Tomasetti, Urban Architectural Initiatives (UAI), and WSP USA are competing to build sculptures made entirely out of unopened cans of food. The large-scale sculptures are displayed in an exhibition open to the public and later donated to City Harvest to help feed those in need.