The Night Heron: Illegal Speakeasy Pops Up Inside a Chelsea Water Tower

The Night Heron: Illegal Speakeasy Pops Up Inside a Chelsea Water Tower

Looking up at this nondescript Chelsea water tower, you'd never guess there was a party going on inside! Called "The Night Heron", the illegal speakeasy popped up for just a short time this spring. The private, invite-only fête was dreamed up by Wanderlust Projects, which curates unique experiences that take place at unlikely locations. Click through the gallery below to see more photos of this swinging example of adaptive reuse.
 

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Antonin Forneau’s Interactive Water Graffiti Display Lets You Paint with LED Light

Antonin Forneau’s Interactive Water Graffiti Display Lets You Paint with LED Light

You may think that mixing water and electricity is a no no, but for French artist Antonin Fourneau it’s a recipe for art. Fourneau wowed us last summer with his LED Water Light Graffiti installation, which lights up when it's exposed to water - and the traveling installation just made its NYC debut last week at the GROHE showroom during New York Design Week. Click through the gallery below to check out this fun piece of interactive art in action.
 

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Can Mayor Bloomberg’s Steel Panels Save New York From Flooding During the Next Super Storm?

Can Mayor Bloomberg’s Steel Panels Save New York From Flooding During the Next Super Storm?

With only seven months before he makes his final departure from his post as mayor, there is speculation that Mayor Bloomberg wants to end his term by building barriers along they NYC waterfront to protect against future storms. A number of sources say that

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Garrison Architects’ Flood-Proof, Modular Beach Buildings Are Coming to NYC This Summer

Garrison Architects’ Flood-Proof, Modular Beach Buildings Are Coming to NYC This Summer

This summer, some of the NYC beaches hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy will get a new start with the opening of 37 flood-proof, prefab lifeguard stations, comfort stations and offices designed by Garrison Architects. After the superstorm, Rockaway Beach, Coney Island, Midland Beach, Wolfe's Pond Park and Cedar Grove were left with just the tattered shambles of what used to be their restrooms and other beach structures. The city knew that it had to rebuild in order to open these popular beaches back to their communities for summer 2013, but fast-tracking the design and construction of these buildings to a matter of months proved to be a challenge. Architect Jim Garrison and his firm were called in to tackle the task, and we're happy to say that they're making impressive progress towards their Memorial Day deadline. We stopped by the Garrison booth yesterday at BKLYN Designs and got to see some 3D models of the modular beach buildings in person. Click through our gallery to see the photos we snapped as well as renderings of the final designs.
 

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Battery Park Conservancy Announces 50 Mobile Seating Designs for Its “Draw Up a Chair” Competition

Battery Park Conservancy Announces 50 Mobile Seating Designs for Its “Draw Up a Chair” Competition

The Battery Conservancy and NYC Parks recently selected the top 50 designs for their “Draw Up a Chair” design competition. The challenge called on students and professionals from around the world to design an iconic movable outdoor seating element for Manhattan’s Battery Park, and the jury will soon select a winner from the 50 contestants. Click through the gallery above see a selection of the designs in the running to become actual chairs in Battery Park!
 

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1 World Trade Center Topped Off, Now the Tallest Building in the Western Hemisphere

1 World Trade Center Topped Off, Now the Tallest Building in the Western Hemisphere

Nearly twelve years after the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers fell, construction workers have finally topped off 1 World Trade Center with an iconic spire. The capping of the 1,776-foot-tall building brings the structure to its full height, adding what

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Could Oddball Combo Shops Mean Salvation for NYC’s Beloved Mom and Pops?

Could Oddball Combo Shops Mean Salvation for NYC’s Beloved Mom and Pops?

The mall-ification of NYC has been pretty difficult to ignore, and it seems like every week another one of the small shops that makes our city so unique gets replaced with a shiny new outpost of some national corporation. A similar fate has been looming over

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Rockwell Group Unveils Plans to Build Treehouse-Inspired Playground in Brownsville

Rockwell Group Unveils Plans to Build Treehouse-Inspired Playground in Brownsville

This week, the Rockwell Group announced exciting plans to build a treehouse-inspired Imagination Playground in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brownsville. The firm is working with NYC Parks to transform a 1.5-acre section of Betsy Head Park into an active

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“Under the Elevated” Seeks to Transform Space Beneath NYC Bridges and Subways into Usable, Non-Scary Areas

“Under the Elevated” Seeks to Transform Space Beneath NYC Bridges and Subways into Usable, Non-Scary Areas

The High Line made a name for itself by turning land atop an elevated rail line into a flourishing park, but can the same be done for spaces underneath these kinds of structures? The Design Trust for Public Space is embarking on a plan to transform areas under

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One World Trade Center Set to Become Tallest Building in Western Hemisphere Today

One World Trade Center Set to Become Tallest Building in Western Hemisphere Today

Edit: As of mid-morning, 1 WTC’s plan to become the tallest building in the western hemisphere today was scrapped due to high winds but the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the completing pieces of the structure will be lifted at a later date.

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Toshihiro Oki Architects Win Folly Garden Competition with Fanciful Design for Socrates Sculpture Park

Toshihiro Oki Architects Win Folly Garden Competition with Fanciful Design for Socrates Sculpture Park

Now in its second year, the Folly Competition – a two-month residency project sponsored by the Architectural League of New York and Socrates Sculpture Park that explores the tradition of 18th and 19th century folly gardens – has announced a winner. Toshihiro

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MOMA PS1 Erects Temporary Geodesic Dome in Rockaways to Discuss Rebuilding After Hurricane Sandy

MOMA PS1 Erects Temporary Geodesic Dome in Rockaways to Discuss Rebuilding After Hurricane Sandy

MoMA PS1’s VW Dome 2 – the temporary cultural center created after Hurricane Sandy left Rockaway Beach severely damaged – opened last Friday with a performance by singer and Rockaways resident Patti Smith. The geodesic dome structure will be up for the

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NYC AIDS Memorial Loses Plants But Gains Community Support

NYC AIDS Memorial Loses Plants But Gains Community Support

Plans for the New York City AIDS memorial honoring the city’s 100,000+ men, women and children who have succumbed to the disease in the last thirty years have been reimagined with a more streamlined design. Brooklyn architecture studio a+i originally covered their design with English ivy, Virginia creeper and honeysuckle, but took the wishes of the community into account and put the kibosh on the greens. The new plant-less plan means that the memorial would be able to maintain a beautiful aesthetic all year-round.
 

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Yahoo! Plans to Use Hydropower from Niagara Falls for New Data Center Expansion

Yahoo! Plans to Use Hydropower from Niagara Falls for New Data Center Expansion

Internet giant Yahoo! recently announced plans to expand its energy-efficient data and customer care center in Lockport, New York later this year. The expansion will use low-cost hydropower from the Niagara Hydroelectric Power Plant to decrease energy consumption

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Macro Sea to Transform Brooklyn Navy Yard into Hub For Sustainable Manufacturing Jobs

Macro Sea to Transform Brooklyn Navy Yard into Hub For Sustainable Manufacturing Jobs

New York firm Macro Sea has released a new design that would turn the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a state-of-the-art hub for technology, innovation, design and prototyping. Called New Lab, the 84,000-square-foot space is slated to be completed by 2014 with

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NYC Architecture Cruise Sheds Light on the Future of the City’s Waterfront Post-Sandy

NYC Architecture Cruise Sheds Light on the Future of the City’s Waterfront Post-Sandy

Image via Classic Harbor Line

New York’s waterfront tours are shifting focus as a result of Hurricane Sandy’s impact on the island’s infrastructure. In a nautical speaker series titled “Pressure Along The Edge: The Future of NYC’s Waterfront”, experts will educate passengers on the city’s coastlines and the impact of rising sea levels on real estate, infrastructure and businesses. In addition to featuring some of New York City’s most popular buildings, the tours will also look at the competing demands on the city’s waterfront — much of which became flooded during the superstorm.

Image via Classic Harbor Line
Image via Classic Harbor Line
Image via Classic Harbor Line

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“Bouncy” Squibb Park Pedestrian Bridge Creates New Connection to Brooklyn Bridge Park

“Bouncy” Squibb Park Pedestrian Bridge Creates New Connection to Brooklyn Bridge Park

Image via Brooklyn Bridge Park Facebook

The highly-anticipated Squibb Park Pedestrian Bridge connecting Brooklyn Heights to Brooklyn Bridge Park has finally opened, and locals could not be more pleased. The rather unusual “zig-zaggy” and “bouncy” $5 million bridge was designed by Ted Zoli and constructed by HNTB, who worked throughout March putting the finishing touches on it. With the structure now open, pedestrians are able to stroll over to Brooklyn Bridge Park from Brooklyn Heights without having to come in contact with cars and traffic.


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NYC Planning Commission Approves Cornell Tech’s Sustainable Campus on Roosevelt Island

NYC Planning Commission Approves Cornell Tech’s Sustainable Campus on Roosevelt Island

Cornell University overcame a big hurdle in their proposal to build a new tech campus on Roosevelt Island when the New York City Planning Commission gave their plans the green light this week. The proposed campus was approved by the community board last

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University of Buffalo’s Newly Constructed SEAS Building Designed for LEED Gold Certification

University of Buffalo’s Newly Constructed SEAS Building Designed for LEED Gold Certification

The University of Buffalo is attracting a new crowd of high-tech and sustainability industry leaders with the redesign of its School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) building. Designed by Perkins+Will, the airy building, also known as the Barbara and Jack Davis Hall, was designed with LEED Gold certification in mind and aligns perfectly with the university’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
 

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QueensWay High Line-Style Park Getting Closer to Reality Despite Resident Opposition

QueensWay High Line-Style Park Getting Closer to Reality Despite Resident Opposition

The controversial QueensWay plan to turn an abandoned Queens rail line into an elevated park resembling Manhattan’s High Line is getting even closer to fruition. The Trust for Public Land, the organization working to transform the 3.5 miles of land into

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8 Green Designs Included in AIA New York’s 2013 Architect Awards Winners

8 Green Designs Included in AIA New York’s 2013 Architect Awards Winners

The New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects recently unveiled the winners of its annual design awards, and we were excited to see that eight of the top designs were focused around sustainable features. The AIA NY based their scores on quality of design, innovation, technique and response to context and community, and only 21 projects made it to the cream of the crop. The selected works will be on exhibit at the Center for Architecture from April 18th through May 31st, but if you'd like to get a glimpse of the eight green winners ahead of time, click through our photo gallery now.
 

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NYC Announces Winners of Design Challenge to Reinvent Payphones for the Future

NYC Announces Winners of Design Challenge to Reinvent Payphones for the Future

New York City’s public pay telephones (yes, they do still exist) are finally getting a serious upgrade thanks to the winners of the Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge, which were announced yesterday. The contest drew engagement from over 125 urban designers, planners, technologists and policy experts who submitted prototypes to imagine the future of the city’s 11,000 payphones. Last night, at social product development company Quirky, the eleven semi-finalists presented their prototype ideas before a panel of judges and the top six submissions were awarded and evaluated against these criteria: connectivity, creativity, visual design, functionality, and community impact. Click through our gallery to see all of the winners!
 

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Private Golf Green and Rooftop Oasis Redefine Work and Play at a Midtown Office Building

Private Golf Green and Rooftop Oasis Redefine Work and Play at a Midtown Office Building

Wouldn't it be nice to escape your grey cubicle for a moment and step out onto a beautiful rooftop oasis like this one? That's exactly the luxury that this 7,000 square foot green roof, which was designed by HM White Site Architects and installed by New York Green Roofs, gives to employees at midtown Manhattan’s historic Western Publishing Building. Click through the gallery to see more of this incredible project, which even includes a private putting green.
 

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Beth Israel Hospital’s 19,000 sq. ft. Green Roof is Dotted with Diamond-Shaped Skylights

Beth Israel Hospital’s 19,000 sq. ft. Green Roof is Dotted with Diamond-Shaped Skylights

The massive 19,000 square foot green roof that sits atop Beth Israel Hospital in Union Square is one of New York City’s best-kept secrets. The rooftop, completed in November 2010 by New York Green Roofs in conjunction with Rally Restoration, boasts a rich collection of shrubs, trees, mosses and herbaceous perennials, and its sprawling size makes it one of the largest planted roofs in NYC. Step inside our gallery to see some of what this very special urban oasis has to offer, from its diamond-shaped skylights to its rainwater-filtering flora.
 

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MoMA Challenges Designers to Rebuild Far Rockaway Sustainably After Hurricane Sandy

MoMA Challenges Designers to Rebuild Far Rockaway Sustainably After Hurricane Sandy

Thousands of New Yorkers are still rebuilding after the devastating wrath of Hurricane Sandy – and as restoration of the hard-hit Far Rockaway continues, the Museum of Modern Art is seeking to collaborate with artists, architects and designers to rebirth the

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