Up on the Roof
The party is definitely pool (noodle) side. (Photos by Matt Chaban, except where noted)
Last night was the opening party for No Soul For Sale a (very) temporary show (it closes Saturday night) at the old Dia space on West 22nd Street organized by X Initiative. The crowning achievement–literally–is a lounge designed by LA-based architect Jeffery Inaba and his eponymous firm. An amusing if uncertain follow-up to Dan Graham’s former installation, the new piece, entitled Pool Noodle Roof, is meant to provide both comfort and unease. Read More
Going Up
During our interview with André, the renowned hotelier talked about how he likes to give each of his hotels its own personality, a reflection of himself. Well, as the hotel continues its soft opening, it has gotten another personal touch, namely the above video by Marco Brambilla installed in the elevators. If you can’t already tell, it’s a trip from hell to heaven in concert with the elevator’s ascent up the Standard New York’s 20 stories. Which begs the question: If you’re staying on the lower floors, are you trapped in purgatory?
Welcome to Biodome
Reef, an installation by Rob Ley and Joshua Stein, just opened at the Storefront for Art and Architecture. (All photos by Kevin Greenberg)
Architect and man about town Kevin Greenberg sends along this dispatch from Kenmare Street.
Reef, a new kinetic installation at the Storefront for Art and Architecture, exists at the intersection of “the super-exclusive and the trite,” according to its creators, Rob Ley and Joshua Stein. Composed primarily of densely-packed rows of lightweight fins anchored by Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) across a metal armature, Reef simulates the unmistakable movement of muscle on bone, eschewing the jerky mechanical inelegance of a previous age in favor of bio-mimesis and the “semi-conscious willfulness” of a school of startled guppies or a field of flowers in thrall to the sun. Read More
You Windermere Some, You Lose Some
The Windermere has seen better days, but will hopefully see them once again soon. (Courtesy LPC)
The Observer is reporting that Windermere, an individual landmark dating from the late 19th Century located on West 57th Street, was recently purchased for $13 million, or an astounding $181-per-square-foot. The sumptuous red brick apartment building had fallen into disrepair some years ago after its Japanese owner apparently lost interest in it, leading to a lawsuit we covered last year. Read More
A Standard Affair (VIDEO)
André explains the world to Julie and the crowd. (All photos Matt Chaban)
Last Thursday, AN hosted the kick-off event for Meatpacking District Design ’09, a conversation between executive editor Julie V. Iovine and hotelier André Balazs at his latest creation, the Polshek Partnership-designed Standard, New York (which Julie wrote about back in February). If you couldn’t make it, though, no sweat. For your vicarious pleasure, we’ve posted a highlight video, plus the full talk, both in video and audio formats–here at AN we’re platform agnostic–plus a slew of photos of the party, the swanky new digs, and the now-in-bloom High Line. Read More
Stimulus, Coming to a Street Near You
New York City's two-dozen stimulus projects. (WNYC)
First Recovery.gov, now the NYC Stimulus Tracker. Yesterday, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled the $1.1 billion in new infrastructure spending resulting from the city’s cut of the federal stimulus bill, he also announced the creation of a special website to lend transparency to the process, not unlike the model set out by our dear mayor. (Judging by WNYC and ProPublica’s Shovelwatch map, though, everyone’s getting in on the act, with all but five states and numerous municipalities launching such sites.) Read More
SHoP Drawings
The (retail) world according to SHoP (DBTH)
When I bumped into Gregg Pasquarelli at the LPC on Tuesday, I asked him about a certain map that had been floating around the Internet a day or two before. The SHoP principal began to fulminate. “That was totally taken out of context,” Pasquarelli said. Turns out it’s a SHoPping map. Read More
Gov’s Island: I’m Not Dead Yet
GIPEC's budget--coming into focus. (jglsongs/Flickr)
While it is well known that the recession has hobbled both the city and state’s budgets for the coming fiscal year, one project has already been left for dead by certain press outlets. Which seems strange because one of the designers behind the recreational magnet that will one day become Governor’s Island works in the same building as us, and they seem as busy as hell. So is it really sink or swim time? Read More
Oscars to Rock Well
A concept drawing of David Rockwell's designs for Sunday night's festivities. (All images courtesy the Rockwell Group)
Possibly channeling a youth well spent watching late night reruns, David Rockwell envisioned a stage set for the 81st Academy Awards straight from the dazzling finale of 42nd Street wherein a woman’s face dissolves into a crescent moon. Read More
Their Heart Will Go On (in Times Square)
A rendering of the 10-foot-high heart, Gage/Clemenceau's Valentine to the city. (Courtesy Rubenstein Communications)
Correction: Apparently, we can’t keep our Marc/ks straight. In a previous version of this post, quotes attributed to Bailly were incorrectly attributed to Gage. Apologies all around.
UPDATE: We’ve added some shop photos Mark (not Marc) kindly sent over.
While not quite a standalone building, digitally-driven firm (and 2006 New Practices winners) Gage/Clemceau Architects will celebrate its coming out on February 11, when Marc Clemenceau Bailly and Mark Foster Gage deliver their “Valentine to Times Square.” As Bailly told AN, “This is our first big thing that we’ve built, outside of a few exhition pieces and some interiors work.” Read More
Ciao, Bryant Park
Fashion Week is abandoning Bryant Park for Diller Scofidio + Renfro's newly redesigned Lincoln Center, specifically Damrosch Park, which can be seen in the upper left hand corner. (Courtesy Playbill)
The AP first reported last night, and the mayor confirmed it earlier today: Fashion Week is departing Bryant Park for Lincoln Center. But not just any Lincoln Center. The new-and-improved, Diller Scofidio + Renfro-approved Lincoln Center. According to Bloomberg–in this case, we mean both the mayor and his eponymous news service, via the latter link above–the festivities will take place at the center’s Damrosch Park. Read More
Legoland, NY
(Courtesy NYTimes.com
For those of you who haven’t already seen Christoph Niemann’s great blog for the Times, “Abstract City”–the expat illustrator renders the city we love in terms of its subway lines and coffee stains–today’s post proves to be his best work yet. Read More
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