Architecture

Snow Fort in Brooklyn

Location

Sidewalk Snow Fort
163 Prospect Place
Brooklyn, NY
United States
Snow Fort in Brooklyn

I guess when you grow up on this quaint little street in Brooklyn, one of the best places to build your mini igloo is in the pile of plowed snow on the edge of the tree-lined sidewalk. Growing up outside of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, I had PLENTY of snow to play in in the backyard and would never have gone near the snow so close to the road.

Temporary architecture, created by children with snow is so incredible.  There were 3 of these all lined up on my walk to hot yoga on Saturday. So much better than a snowman!

Frank Gehry turns 81

Location

IAC Building
555 West 18th Street
New York, NY
United States
Frank Gehry turns 81

It's true, one of the most edgy, contemporary American architects recognized world wide as the "cutting edge of modern architecture" just turned 81 on the last day of February.  Does it come as a surprise that this super-modern architect is hardly in his youth anymore, and that this phase of his super contemporary, metal-clad structures which appear to be caught in a highly expressive movement trapped in structure came to him in his 50's and didn't reach serious acclaim until his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao opened in 1997?&

the nature of glazing

Location

Urban Collage
153 East 53rd st
New York, NY
United States
the nature of glazing

the trickery of the modern city's use of tall buildings clad in glass reacts in a way of mimicking what's around when the glinting sun reflects against them.  In some cases it's the precise color of the sky and an almost seamless transition to camouflage the building as fellow clouds, most especially fantastic on those gray days. 

Snow in NYC

Location

Alleyway
330 West 41st street
New York, NY
United States
Snow in NYC

IT SNOWS IN NYC!  And although it isn't the best snow for making snowmen and snow angels but pretty good for snowballs and snowforts... and that gross gray-black sidewalk sludge until then it's super beautiful coming down at such a wild rate.

This is no blizzard, by all means, but the smell and quiet of this downfall adds such a mixed realism-whimsy to the city once all the "holiday cheer" has left us and it's full speed ahead to spring?

PS1 Young Architect's Award goes to..... SO-IL

Location

P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center
22-25 Jackson Ave
Long Island City, NY
United States
PS1 Young Architect's Award goes to..... SO-IL

The firm, Solid Objectives — Idenburg Liu based in Brooklyn has won the Young Architect's Program for PS1 and MOMA which is the installation for the Courtyard.  Mostly everyone is familiar with this site and space due to PS1's ongoing summer daytime weekend party, Warm-Up.  In my opinion this past 2009 installation was pretty cool, it has been years since something good came around.  It looks good for 2010.  If only one could hang out suspended in those nets.....

http://ps1.org/yap/

Chrysler + Grand Central

Location

Grand Central Terminal
87 East 42nd St
New York, NY
United States
Chrysler + Grand Central

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Something incredible about the City and its fabric comes from its inherent natural-born collages of buildings if only you look for them.

Fun parts you might not collage with scissors and decopage or Photoshop (or even you would try to remove these wonderful tidbits) are the streetlights.  And always, a sure sign of a naturally occurring juxtapostion reveals itself in the light + shadow consistency. 

An Egyptian Temple in NYC

Location

Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Ave
New York, NY
United States
An Egyptian Temple in NYC

 

The Year in Review: Architecture & Design

Location

Standard Hotel
848 Washington St
New York, NY
United States
The Year in Review: Architecture & Design

 

someone loved you, lower east side

Location

Bowery Bar
40 East 4th st
New York, NY
United States
someone loved you, lower east side

Nearly five years ago, as an architecture student at Pratt, I entered out into Manhattan to analyze, observe and photograph the first REAL SITE for a project. Yes, the library in the fall had been in City Island, but that was some strange twilight zone place of neverending beach bungalows flanked by a giant park, a giant cemetery and the harbor. Abstract, disconnected and just fine for the first exploration into an interior-to-exterior floor-by-floor (stairs!) envelope (this is the cladding and the roof.) and a library. So where do the books

Eero Saarinen Retrospective

Location

Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Ave
New York, NY
United States
Eero Saarinen Retrospective