30 in 30

Here's a wrap-up of my 30 buildings/places in 30 days:

















Also see my 30in30 Flickr set.

30 in 30: #30

In thinking about how to complete this series on my urban exploration of New York City this last month, part of me wanted to present something new and rarely seen. At the same time, part of me wanted to present something that's been around a while, something that I know somewhat well. I opted for the latter, presenting here the Storefront for Art and Architecture by Steven Holl and Vito Acconci, which I featured on my weekly page way back in 1999, shortly after I started that page.



When I walked by the storefront recently I saw the trademark swinging panels in the closed position. It was Tuesday, so the gallery was supposed to be open, meaning the panels should also be open. Upon opening the entry door stepping inside I discovered why the panels were closed: for the Clip/Stamp/Fold exhibition, the inside surface of this wall was completely covered with a grid of rectangular images, the covers of the magazines on display.



Ever since (and probably before) working on a student-run journal in college many moons ago, I've had a fondness for architectural publications, so I was looking forward to this exhibition, subtitled "The Radical Architecture of Little Magazines 196X�197X." It catalogs a time, "when a remarkable outburst of publications disseminated and catalyzed a range of experimental practices." The exhibition makes this outburst known, overwhelming the visitor with what must be thousands of covers on the gridded wall; opposite are descriptions of the various magazines on curved plastic panels; in between are plastic bubbles containing the actual magazines; lastly, plastic domes hang from the ceiling with audio by various contributors and voices of the magazines.



The exhibition requires a prolonged (or repeated) visit to take in the numerous magazines and their descriptions. Even without the time on my visit I was impressed by the output, coming at a time when architects built little and found a means of expression in words and images on paper. Perhaps this sort of output has been supplanted by blogs and other online ephemera, though -- like books -- there's much to be said for something that can be held in your hands, carried with you, and shared with others. It makes me want to start up my own little magazine!



Apparently others have also been impressed by the exhibition, as its closing date has been moved from January 31 to February 24. For those of you who can't make it, the online companion is a great resource, with descriptions of each magazine in an interactive timeline.

Directions:
The gallery is located at 97 Kenmare Street (at Cleveland Place) in Manhattan's Little Italy area. It can be reached by the 6 to Spring; N,R to Prince; B,D,F,V to Broadway Lafayette.

Previously:
#1 - Church of the Crucifixion
#2 - 40 Mercer Residences
#3 - Dichroic Light Field
#4 - Juan Valdez Flagship
#5 - IAC/InterActiveCorp
#6 - South Court of NYPL
#7 - Louis Vuitton Store
#8 - Ironworkers Local 580
#9 - Korean Presbyterian Church
#10 - Roosevelt Island
#11 - Stabile Hall (Pratt)
#12 - Terian Design Center (Pratt)
#13 - Higgins Hall (Pratt)
#14 - Broken Angel
#15 - Alessi Store
#16 - Irish Hunger Memorial
#17 - Issey Miyake Tribeca
#18 - Stuyvesant Town
#19 - Shake Shack
#20 - Socrates Sculpture Park
#21 - Skyscraper Museum
#22 - Taschen Store
#23 - George Washington Bridge Bus Station
#24 - George Washington Bridge
#25 - skinklinic
#26 - Blue Condominiums
#27 - Sleepwalkers
#28 - Melrose Community Center
#29 - APEX

30 in 30: #29

The Lehman College Physical Education Facility (APEX) in the Bronx by Rafael Vinoly was completed in 1994. What started as a conventional facility became a building that defines the college's northern edge and also provides a ceremonial gateway to the campus from this edge.



The street elevation of the complex is highly unremarkable, a concrete and glass wall that is more the latter than the former. The only relief comes at the aforementioned gateway opening. Once one moves through this opening to the south side of the building, the building changes character. "The building�s roof, a segmented convex curve, descends almost to the ground." Right of the image above are below-grade tennis courts. At left is the view below.



This campus-side elevation could have been extremely overpowering, though the architect skillfully breaks up the expansive roof into sections so that it doesn't appear unrelenting. While it may not "disappear from view" per the architect's intentions, as the campus's north edge it straddles that dividing line between ground and sky, like it's reaching for both at the same time.



On the day I visited, a basketball game was going on, allowing me access inside to see how the submerged gymnasium allows such a low roof. Additionally, this roof shape allows for seating to rise along with it, a sensible solution to the program which also stacks classrooms along the street edge. Nearing fifteen years old, the building's form works well as an icon for the campus, though its exterior and interior appear in need of some maintenance, something normal in the high-maintenance realm of secondary education.



Directions:
The building is located on the Lehman College campus in the Bronx on the south side of West Bedford Park Boulevard between Goulden and Paul Avenues. It can be reached by the 4 to Bedford Pk Blvd Lehman College.

Previously:
#1 - Church of the Crucifixion
#2 - 40 Mercer Residences
#3 - Dichroic Light Field
#4 - Juan Valdez Flagship
#5 - IAC/InterActiveCorp
#6 - South Court of NYPL
#7 - Louis Vuitton Store
#8 - Ironworkers Local 580
#9 - Korean Presbyterian Church
#10 - Roosevelt Island
#11 - Stabile Hall (Pratt)
#12 - Terian Design Center (Pratt)
#13 - Higgins Hall (Pratt)
#14 - Broken Angel
#15 - Alessi Store
#16 - Irish Hunger Memorial
#17 - Issey Miyake Tribeca
#18 - Stuyvesant Town
#19 - Shake Shack
#20 - Socrates Sculpture Park
#21 - Skyscraper Museum
#22 - Taschen Store
#23 - George Washington Bridge Bus Station
#24 - George Washington Bridge
#25 - skinklinic
#26 - Blue Condominiums
#27 - Sleepwalkers
#28 - Melrose Community Center

30 in 30: #28

The Melrose Community Center by Agrest + Gandelsonas in the South Bronx is "primarily geared towards teenagers, providing them with facilities for activities such as athletics, arts and crafts, videos, and computing," according to the architects.



The project is composed of two distinct volumes: an ovoid piece containing a gymnasium and a bar piece containing classrooms. Both are linked by the entrance. The above view shows what would be the back of the building, though here it is at its most transparent with the single-loaded corridor of the bar facing the lawn and street beyond. The front door and its hard horizontal and vertical planes shown below is a much different character. This side facing the housing blocks that the community center serves.



While the character of the bar building is "two-sided," the ovoid piece is consistent around its perimeter. Staggered aluminum panels sit above a concrete block base. A small window near the entry gives a peek into the gymnasium's interior. If this solid form were rectangular rather than oval, with sharp edges rather than a continuous soft surface, the "symbolic aspect of the project ... in its social function for the local residents who live amongst one of New York City�s highest crime rates" might be much different.



Down the street from this project is the Bronx County Hall of Justice by Rafael Vinoly. The massive, 775,000 s.f. complex consists of an unrelenting facade on 161st Street but a sensitively-handled courtyard to the rear. I bring this up because in this courtyard is a circular chamber that recalls this earlier Community Center both in uniqueness of form (set against orthogonal buildings) and material treatment (solid with sloping element). Perhaps Vinoly saw this earlier success and incorporated a similar feature into his more high-profile commission.



Directions:
The building is located at the southeast corner of Morris Avenue and 156th Street. It can be reached by the B,D,4 to 161 St Yankee Stadium.

Previously:
#1 - Church of the Crucifixion
#2 - 40 Mercer Residences
#3 - Dichroic Light Field
#4 - Juan Valdez Flagship
#5 - IAC/InterActiveCorp
#6 - South Court of NYPL
#7 - Louis Vuitton Store
#8 - Ironworkers Local 580
#9 - Korean Presbyterian Church
#10 - Roosevelt Island
#11 - Stabile Hall (Pratt)
#12 - Terian Design Center (Pratt)
#13 - Higgins Hall (Pratt)
#14 - Broken Angel
#15 - Alessi Store
#16 - Irish Hunger Memorial
#17 - Issey Miyake Tribeca
#18 - Stuyvesant Town
#19 - Shake Shack
#20 - Socrates Sculpture Park
#21 - Skyscraper Museum
#22 - Taschen Store
#23 - George Washington Bridge Bus Station
#24 - George Washington Bridge
#25 - skinklinic
#26 - Blue Condominiums
#27 - Sleepwalkers

30 in 30: #27

Sleepwalkers is a video installation by Doug Aiken that is currently on display (until Feb. 16) on the facades of the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan. The images project "the nocturnal journeys of five city inhabitants," played by Tilda Swinton, Donald Sutherland, Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Seu Jorge, and Ryan Donowho.



The piece is described as a broken narrative, without beginning or end, where the characters "entwine across the building's surfaces in combinations that change cyclically throughout the course of the evening." On my visit this entwining was apparent as movement was consistent across the different images or stories. Unfortunately it was way too cold to stick around and take in the full cycle.



This is not only the first large-scale public artwork in the United States for the artist but also the first artwork to engage MoMA's latest expansion by Yoshio Taniguchi. To fully experience the piece one must walk from the 53rd side, along the western end of the museum, and end in the courtyard where the most images are displayed.



In the courtyard five of the eight images are displayed. These images are projected onto the museum's glass curtain walls. I'm guessing that by darkening the interior spaces that the effect of a readable image is created, rather than adding a film to the glass to achieve the same. Regardless of technical details, the impact on the courtyard space is undeniable.



Directions:
MOMA is located at 11 West 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It can be reached by the B,D,F,V to 47-50 Sts Rockefeller Center.

Previously:
#1 - Church of the Crucifixion
#2 - 40 Mercer Residences
#3 - Dichroic Light Field
#4 - Juan Valdez Flagship
#5 - IAC/InterActiveCorp
#6 - South Court of NYPL
#7 - Louis Vuitton Store
#8 - Ironworkers Local 580
#9 - Korean Presbyterian Church
#10 - Roosevelt Island
#11 - Stabile Hall (Pratt)
#12 - Terian Design Center (Pratt)
#13 - Higgins Hall (Pratt)
#14 - Broken Angel
#15 - Alessi Store
#16 - Irish Hunger Memorial
#17 - Issey Miyake Tribeca
#18 - Stuyvesant Town
#19 - Shake Shack
#20 - Socrates Sculpture Park
#21 - Skyscraper Museum
#22 - Taschen Store
#23 - George Washington Bridge Bus Station
#24 - George Washington Bridge
#25 - skinklinic
#26 - Blue Condominiums

30 in 30: #26

Back in the early days of these posts I featured two contemporary structures under construction though almost complete. While Nouvel's residential building veers from its context in terms of materials, its size and scale are commensurate with the area. Gehry's building, on the other hand, pops up above its context, almost to signal something new, to call attention to itself. The BLUE Condominium by Bernard Tschumi on Manhattan's Lower East Side is more aligned with Gehry's office building than Nouvel's residential one, as can be seen by the below image.



BLUE is not the first high-rise to puncture the low-rise skyline of "Loisada." It's predated by The Hotel on Rivington (THOR), a glassy building that angles away from the street as it rises, a common, contemporary response to the city's zoning ordinance. Likewise, Tschumi's design responds to the zoning, though before it tapers towards the top it actually leans out on the south and east sides (above). These moves do what I think Tschumi is trying to do overall: give the building a different presence from different views.



This view above is looking directly north above Delancey Street. Its presence is rather slim, elegant even, notching at the top to give the penthouse unit (PDF) a sizable roof terrace. But the top photo shows a much-less elegant side of the building. If anything it appears clunky, with the west-facing notches making abrupt changes that don't jibe with the angles of the rest of the design, as in the bottom photo.



Even though there's a strong consideration of the 360-degree views (important as it's such a large presence in the area, at least for now), the building still has a front. In its address on Norfolk (next to nARCHITECTS's Switch Building, above), we see the simplest side of the building, where a slight angle out gives way to a sharper angle back to the building's apex and the north side is a vertical, party-wall condition. The street side gives us a clearer reading of the design: each elevation responds in some way to the zoning requirements while Tschumi (perhaps subconsciously) incorporates the base-middle-top parti so predominant in high-rise architecture. The stepping of the top helps define this area as part of the tripartite, as the curtain wall makes no concession otherwise. The bottom is defined by the low corner building that the building integrates into itself. It's like Tschumi is trying to create an unconventional building within the conventional framework of the city and of architecture.



Directions:
The building is located on Norfolk Street, between Delancey and Rivington Streets in Manhattan's Lower East Side. It can be reached by the F,J,M,Z to Delancey St or Essex St.

Previously:
#1 - Church of the Crucifixion
#2 - 40 Mercer Residences
#3 - Dichroic Light Field
#4 - Juan Valdez Flagship
#5 - IAC/InterActiveCorp
#6 - South Court of NYPL
#7 - Louis Vuitton Store
#8 - Ironworkers Local 580
#9 - Korean Presbyterian Church
#10 - Roosevelt Island
#11 - Stabile Hall (Pratt)
#12 - Terian Design Center (Pratt)
#13 - Higgins Hall (Pratt)
#14 - Broken Angel
#15 - Alessi Store
#16 - Irish Hunger Memorial
#17 - Issey Miyake Tribeca
#18 - Stuyvesant Town
#19 - Shake Shack
#20 - Socrates Sculpture Park
#21 - Skyscraper Museum
#22 - Taschen Store
#23 - George Washington Bridge Bus Station
#24 - George Washington Bridge
#25 - skinklinic