Open House New York provides and showcases extraordinary architecture of New York and to the people who help design, build, and preserve the city .
The 10 sites that must not be missed this week that are showcased by them are :
1. The Austrian Cultural Forum
One of the most impressive facades in Manhattan, the architect Raimund Abraham’s slender tower has housed Austria’s cultural representation offices since it was completed in 2002.
The building stands 81 metres high & 7.5 metres wide it is 24 storeys high.
It has a Glass and metal frontage, which slants away from the street towards the top, it houses exhibition spaces, a theatre, a library, and apartments for the institution’s officers.
2. Brooklyn Army Terminal
This vast structure was the largest concrete building in the world when completed in 1918. Abandoned for many years, it has now been turned into an industrial campus that is home to more than 100 tenants and 3,600 employees.
An engineering marvel that is today a center of innovation and business development in New York City. It once served as the biggest military supply in the US,on the western Front in World War I. This enormous Cass Gilbert-designed thriving industrial park is home to over 100 companies in a wide array of industries, from precision manufacturers to biotech researchers, online retailers to chocolatiers.
3. Concrete Plant Park
A once Active concrete plant which was then abandoned, is now a public park in the South Bronx.
The waterfront park, was completed in September 2009 by James Mituzas contains facilities supporting multi–use pedestrian greenways with other off–road, on-road bicycle/pedestrian routes.
The Construction of a new canoe/kayak launch gives access to the Bronx River Corridor along the park’s shoreline.
4. Marcel Breuer buildings at Bronx Community College
Modernist architect Marcel Breuer and his associates completed five building’s for the Bronx campus of City of New York University between 1959 and 1970.
Among the reinforced concrete structures is the landmarked Begrisch Hall, which was completed in 1961,
It is Breuer’s most revered and daring building at the Heights. It bears a trapezoid shape, short legs, and sloped cantilevers it looks closer to a piece of abstract sculpture no it does not in anyway look like a lecture hall and oh yes it has state of the art electronics including epidiascopes (opaque projectors), slide projectors and closed circuit televisions that the administration believed would replace the everyday chalkboard.The building is linked to the second floor of the five- story Gould Hall of Technology, also designed by Breuer.
5. Manhattan 1/2/5 Sanitation Garage and Salt Shed
Although they don’t sound like a very impressive choice, these structures have become famous since they created 3 district garages for New York’s Department of Sanitation by local firms Dattner Architects and WXY earlier this year.It Accommodates over 150 sanitation vehicles, separate vehicle wash and personnel facilities for each district, and centralized fueling and repair facilities.
The garage features a double-skin facade and perforated metal fins, while the faceted form of the nearby salt shed is designed to emulate a salt crystal. It reduces the Sun exposure .A green roof is a softened view compared to neighboring buildings, it protects the roof membrane, and assists storm water retention and thermal performance.
6 . New York State Pavilion
Left abandoned for years, the pavilion designed by modernist architect Philip Johnson for the 1964 New York World’s Fair creates an impressive profile on the Queens skyline.
It’s 3 tall concrete observation towers are recognisable from films including Men in Black and Iron Man 2, while the lower portion has recently received a fresh lick of yellow paint. It was also the venue for rock concerts, as part of the Singer Bowl Festival in 1969
7. Trout House
The Architecture company Thread Collective built the Trout house and now occupy this Bushwick townhouse.
The interior features bold splashes of colour to contrast with the white walls and concrete flooring. It boasts strong moments of color, repurposed materials, including reclaimed Coney Island boardwalk, and lots of light and outdoor access at the front and back.
8. Urban Post-Disaster Housing Prototype
Brooklyn firm Garrison Architects unveiled its full-size prototype for post-disaster housing, described as “a step forward in the way that cities respond to natural disasters” like hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, in 2014.
The multistory and multifamily prefabricated units can be deployed in less than 15 hours, in various configurations depending on the specific urban conditions, giving displaced city residents a temporary home without asking them to leave their community.
9. VIA 57 West
Facing the Hudson on Manhattan’s West Side, VIA 57 West is Bjarke Ingels Group’s first completed project in North America.
Access to the central courtyard which has the same proportions as Central Park will provide visitors with close-up views of the building’s unusual tetrahedral form, copious balconies and metal cladding. The building’s dynamic architecture carries through to the interiors organically. Materials and construction have been carefully considered for their resiliency and environmental impact, focusing on a smoke free community , save water, reduce energy needs and promote the wellness of the residents.
10. Westbeth Artist Housing
The largest artist community in the US was originally built to house the Bell Telephone Laboratories, before conversion into studios by architect Richard Meier in 1970. It is a nonprofit housing and commercial complex dedicated to providing affordable living and working space for artists and arts organizations in New York City.
Exposure to old and new, Weird and normal, functional and strange is what you experience here at Virtual voyage, we span the globe to expose you to the best that is within you as a Unique Interior Designer!
