Clik here to view.
After Three Year Fall, Architects Finally Finding Work Again
The most important building index you never heard of finally has some good news to share. After reaching record lows during the recession, the American Institute of Architect's Architecture Billings...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Developers Turn to Art in Rebranding Madison Ave Tower
Edward Larabee Barnes is one of the most prolific mid-century architects no one knows about. Barnes never achieved the status of contemporaries like Eero Saarinen or I.M. Pei, yet he was still a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Durst’s BIG Plans for 57th Street Drawn Up by Comics-Loving Architect
As The Observer suspected, the Durst Organization is working on a residential project for the site it owns on West 57th Street next to the West Side Highway. What we never could have fathomed is that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3 Columbus Circle: Luxurious or Lipstick on a Pig?
Columbus Circle has been the victim of bad architecture for decades, since Robert Moses built the Coliseum on its western flank in the 1950s, a building derided at the time as "utterly pedestrian,"...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Best of 2010: New York’s Most Eye-Popping New Buildings of the Year
Following the housing collapse, it may come as a surprise that some of the best buildings built, or at least finished, this year were luxury condos. Yet that has long been the case in New York--just...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Turn the Whitney Into an Architecture Museum… Or Else!
With the Whitney really, truly, finally for sure moving downtown -- into a Vader-like new building, no less -- its old ominous digs will soon be forlorn and vacant. The Met has expressed interest in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Do We Secretly Hate All These Crazy Glass Contraptions Called Condos?
The Journal has a story today about the efforts it's taken to sell the penthouse at One Jackson Square, a wavy glass condo on the northern edge of the West Village designed by the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Durst Opens New Era with BIG Apartment Pyramid [Video]
Back when we first got a glimpse of Dutch architect Bjarke Ingel's new apartment project for Durst Fetner, it immediately became the most exciting new project in at least a generation. Though seen only...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New York Architects Pat Selves on the Back, Hand Out Awards
Last week the American Institute of Architects New York chapter handed out their annual design awards. Thirty-eight projects—all with some New York connection—were selected as winners and given "honor"...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Prefabulous? How Atlantic Yards Could Revolutionize New York City Real Estate
Atlantic Yards has its problems. Bruce Ratner's arena-cum-condos megaproject has involved insider deals and eminent domain, Russian oligarchs and Chinese visas, bratty Brooklynites and disgraced...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rem, the Destroyer: Prada Patsy Plans Preservation’s Eviceration
Twelve percent of the Earth's landmass is untouchable by Rem Koolhaas' count. Whether a U.N. World Heritage site, plush nature preserve or lowly landmarked brownstone, architects are running out of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Upskirt! A Sexy Solution to the WTC’s Ugly Bottom
A few weeks ago, it was revealed that the shimmering base of 1 World Trade Center was crumbling, literally. The fancy glass facade meant to mask a 20-story concrete bunker at the base of the building...
View ArticleClik here to view.
There Are A Lot of Designers in New York City
Fifty percent more than are in Los Angeles, in fact. The Center for an Urban Future has a new report out that shows New York as the nation's busiest hub for what the report calls "design industries."...
View ArticleTake a Shine to It! 1 World Trade Base Will Be Pleated Rather Than Prismatic
One of the enduring challenges at the World Trade Center—besides who will lease up the offices—has been what the base of Tower 1 would look like. Fears persisted that the 185-foot concrete shell...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Invested Is Bruce Ratner In Prefab? Oh, Only a Few Million
Raise high the roof beams, Mr. Ratner. (SHoP_ Last week, The Observer looked at Bruce Ratner's plans for a prefabricated Atlantic Yards project—whether he was serious about the project and whether he...
View ArticleEight Great Questions to Ask on Site Tour
You’ve found an office space and it looks ideal—at least at first glance. Now it’s time for a more thorough walk-through, also known as a “due diligence site tour.” So, what do you need to know, from...
View ArticleNow Trending: Top Social Media and Tech Requests
Each tenant has its own unique office space requirements, but some—social media and tech firms, for instance—share similar architectural “wish lists.” For brokers, these common threads offer insight...
View ArticleHey, Spec, What is an Executive Architect?
It’s my favorite time of the year: college football season! As an architect, I can relate to the intensity some of the players feel. How so? Much like the strongest linebacker on a football team, an...
View ArticlePracticing What We Preach
Last summer, Spector Group was in a very unique position: We became our own client. After being on the other side of the computer screen, designing office spaces for top-notch New York City companies,...
View ArticleConstruction Managers Versus General Contractors: The Inside Scoop
My clients often come to me with the same age-old questions: Should they hire a construction manager (CM) or a general contractor (GC)? And, right after that, which do I prefer to work with? Before I...
View Article
