http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/ar...tml?ref=design
Whitney Advances Plans for Museum Near the High Line http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/.../Museum500.jpg By CAROL VOGEL October 11, 2009 Three years after reaching a tentative agreement with the city, the Whitney Museum of American Art is forging ahead with plans to build a second museum at the entrance to the High Line, the abandoned elevated railway line that has recently been transformed into a public park. The museum signed a contract last month with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to buy the city-owned site at Washington and Gansevoort Streets, in the meatpacking district, for $18 million. That is about half the appraised value of the property, a sign of the city’s interest in drawing visitors to the area. According to the final agreement, the Whitney has up to four years to close on the purchase of the land and five years to begin construction of the building, designed by Renzo Piano. The museum will make nonrefundable monthly payments of $50,000 to the city until the closing date, which has not been determined. These payments will be credited toward the purchase price. (The balance is due at the closing.) The signed contract comes three years after the Dia Art Foundation scrapped its plans to open a museum next to the High Line entrance. That’s when the Whitney stepped in and reached a conditional agreement to take over the space. Since then the economy has taken a toll. In the spring the Whitney laid off eight employees, or 4 percent of its work force, and froze the salaries of senior staff members. In addition, the operating budget was reduced by about 10 percent. Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s director, said the money for the project would come from capital funds, not the operating budget. “The two are separate,” he explained. For decades the Whitney had tried to expand its landmark home — the 1966 Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue and 75th Street — but because of cost considerations the museum abandoned those plans and focused on a satellite downtown. A second museum is critical to the future of the institution, Mr. Weinberg said, adding: “This is the only way we can continue to justify building a collection. We simply don’t have enough space to show our holdings. And since at least 60 percent of the art we acquire comes through gifts, it becomes more difficult to ask people to donate works if we cannot show them.” Most of the Breuer space is devoted to special exhibitions, Mr. Weinberg said, with only about a quarter of the building left to display art from the permanent collection, one of the foremost holdings of 20th-century American art. “I’d like it to be 50-50,” he said. “You hear people say they are going to the Whitney to see a show, but you rarely hear someone say they are going to the Whitney to see our collection.” The Breuer building is also a difficult space to maneuver. When the giant biennial closes, for instance, it takes three weeks to get the art out and install another show. “That’s just bad business,” Mr. Weinberg said. But in this economy, paying for the High Line site will be a challenge. In May the museum announced a fund-raising campaign of $680 million: $435 million for the new building and about $245 million for the endowment. While Mr. Weinberg would not say how much had been raised so far, other than “a very substantial amount,” he did say that “giving slowed last year, but since the summer things have picked up.” In addition to raising money from individuals and corporations, the Whitney plans to sell five town houses next to the Breuer building when the real estate market improves. The proceeds will be earmarked for the downtown site. The project would give the Whitney a six-floor museum more than twice the size of its Madison Avenue home. The satellite would include more than 50,000 square feet of galleries and about 15,000 square feet of outdoor exhibition space. The Whitney will also have right of first offer on another city-owned property, north of the downtown site, which is occupied by the Gansevoort Meat Market Cooperative. If the co-op decides not to renew its lease, which expires in 2014, the Whitney could entertain the possibility of expanding once again. “It’s bigger than our existing site,” Mr. Weinberg said, comparing the co-op’s space to that of the Whitney project. “And we would probably co-develop it with another institution.” For the city, the addition of a Whitney downtown is another magnet to draw people to an area it has worked hard to develop. “We think this is a great anchor to this cultural district,” said Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “It will provide a gateway to the High Line. The two are complementary.” A question remains, however, about how the Whitney can run two sites at once. Last year when Leonard A. Lauder, the museum’s chairman emeritus, gave $131 million through his foundation, he stipulated that the Whitney could not sell its Breuer building for an extended, but unspecified, period of time. Mr. Weinberg said that the museum was studying options to see how to make the two sites work programmatically and financially. Teaming up with another institution is one idea. “We’re exploring all sorts of possibilities,” Mr. Weinberg said. |
I finally had a chance to check out the High Line this weekend. It was done really well... very impressed. I'll post some pictures soon. Who was the the L/A firm that designed it?
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:previous: Field Operations, lead by James Corner was the landscape architect. Renfro Diller and Scirfidio (sp?) was the architect firm on the project.
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http://www.observer.com/2009/daily-t...ne-keeps-going
High Line Keeps Going http://www.observer.com/files/full/88373172.jpg By Reid Pillifant October 19, 2009 The full, 1.5-mile vision for the High Line Park inched one step closer to completion today, with the first concrete indication that the city will acquire the northern third of the elevated rail line. At a City Planning Commission meeting this afternoon, chair Amanda Burden said the commission is preparing the paperwork for the city to purchase the stretch--between 30th and 34th Streets and the spur over Tenth Avenue--all of which is currently owned by the rail company CSX. "We're thrilled," said Peter Mullan, the Vice President for Planning and Design for Friends of the High Line. "It's really the linchpin for saving the High Line at the railyards. It doesn't guarantee preservation but it's the first step towards that," he said. The acquisition would mean that any changes to the property would be decided through a public process--and what with the public adoration for the viaduct-turned-park, it would seem to be a considerable safeguard. Friends of the High Line had been pressuring the city to take control of the stretch for months, fearing that it might fall outside the public purview as the developer, Related Companies, finalized plans for the site. But Related has insisted all along that the High Line is in its plans, and Mr. Mullan praised their commitment after today's announcement. "Putting it in their plans gave a strong signal to the city that there was no reason not to move forward," Mr. Mullan said. The second stretch of the High Line is currently under construction, and is expected to open before the end of 2010. |
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Manhattan's shorter high rises are getting more European in style it seems.
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Just because its high quality adventurous modernism doesn't make it European. Modern architecture may be more embraced in Europe and accepted as mainstream, but that in no way makes modern architecture a European product or export.
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I think Manhattan is adopting a more European attitude towards the urban environment in general. Emphasis on pedestrian space and bike lanes has been exploding over the past few years and only more plans are in the works. The waterfront reclamation projects also suggest this new attitude, but then I think that if anywhere in the U.S. should set the bar for cutting-edge urbanism, it should be Manhattan. :cool:
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You know you've got a good park going when people start getting their marriage photos there. They picked this park over Central Park to get their photos done.
:tup: |
http://racked.com/archives/2009/11/2...w_neighbor.php
Storecasting: Won't You Be DVF's New Neighbor? http://racked.com/uploads/2009_11_86...ton%20copy.jpg Wednesday, November 25, 2009 by Izzy Grinspan Developers just got the go-ahead to build a glossy new ten-story tower at Washington and West 13th Street, across the street from Diane von Furstenberg's Meatpacking District HQ. Curbed has more on the building's details, but we're most interested in the large retail space that will run along Washington Street. It's probably too small to become the MePa Bloomingdales of legend, but some other luxury brand could make good use of the space. Any suggestions? Let us know in the comments. DVF herself, by the way, is quite pleased with this news, even though (because?) it means you won't be able to peer into her studio from the Standard Hotel anymore. Of the Romanoffs, who are developing the building, she says: "As an old family of the Meat Packing District, the Romanoffs have committed to preserve the neighborhood as a destination for high-end fashion and commerce." We're glad to hear someone's standing up for neighborhood's longstanding shopping history. ___________________________________ http://curbed.com/archives/2009/11/2...d_approved.php http://curbed.com/uploads/2009_11_860wash2.jpg http://curbed.com/uploads/2009_11_860wash1.jpg Kiss those views into Diane von Furstenberg's studio from the lower half of The Standard goodbye. The Board of Standards & Appeals has approved the zoning variances being sought by Meatpacking District developers/landlords the Romanoff family to build a glassy new commercial building at Washington and West 13th Street, right up against the High Line and across the street from André Balazs's playground for the fabulous. The Romanoffs argued that they should be permitted to build big because the High Line, which cuts through the property, prevents them from taking full advantage of the site. The proposal was already run through the SizeChopper, but the approved version is even smaller—10 stories, or 175 feet tall, still 24% larger than zoning allows. The new James Carpenter-designed retail and office Mecca will be known as 860 Washington Street. Here's rundown on the architecture and what's going in the new building: Carpenter chose materials for the design that would reflect the industrial origins of the neighborhood, including terra cotta, zinc, and perforated metals in a range of subtle grays, along with concrete and glass. The Building will be LEED Certified, containing a large amount of recycled content. Large glass “lites” will maximize views out of the building and daylight penetration into the building, reducing the amount of energy required to provide appropriate light levels during the day time within the building. With a network of green roofs located both on the primary roof and the 4th floor setback, the building will minimize the heat island affect that occurs with most buildings in an urban environment as well as reduce the burden of storm water discharge into the municipal sewer system. This world class building encompasses ten stories totaling 116,000 square feet. The first two floors offer many options and versatility for retail space ranging in size from 11,500 to 13,200 square feet and slab to slab ceiling heights of 17’ to 25’ feet. Office space on floors 3 through 10 offer approximately 11,000 sf of rentable space per floor with 14' to 17’ slab to slab ceiling heights. In addition, the retail space also offers tenants greater flexibility given the ability to integrate the ground floor and second floor. A portion of the retail space is located underneath the High Line and includes a sky light at the High Line level offering tenants a truly unique design opportunity. The Romanoffs even got DVF herself to say a few kind words: "As the neighbors to the north of 860 Washington Street, we are delighted that the City of New York has granted the necessary variances for this project to move ahead. As an old family of the Meat Packing District, the Romanoffs have committed to preserve the neighborhood as a destination for high-end fashion and commerce." Indeed, finally someone is brave enough to stand up for the Meatpacking District's long tradition as a, um, fancy shopping destination! |
http://curbed.com/archives/2010/01/1...t_in_bloom.php
High Line Spy Shots Show New Section Not Yet in Bloom http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/...089f1c37_o.jpg High Line Spy Shots Show New Section Not Yet in Bloom January 19, 2010, by Joey Section 2 of the High Line, running from 20th Street to 30th Street, is scheduled for an opening sometime in 2010. When exactly? Friends of the High Line isn't saying, but these aerial photos sent in by a Curbed tipster show just how far the extension of everyone's favorite makeover of formerly abandoned train tracks has to go. Will Section 2 be ready for the June one-year anniversary of the debut of Section 1? Only a select group of construction workers, gardeners and Diane von Furstenbergs knows. http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/...397870f5_o.jpg http://cdn2.curbednetwork.com/cache/...6e58056c_o.jpg The staircase-to-be right outside architect Neil Denari's HL23. |
wicked. :tup:
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Is HL23 condo exclusively? I don't think I'd like living on those bottom units if so. Floor-to-ceiling and they all face downward towards a park?
BTW, i saw a listing for the penthouse of this building and it is SWEEEEET! |
Quote:
http://www.hl23.com/#/The Building http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/122229484/original.jpg http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/122229503/original.jpg |
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...uRREJAufSk4bHJ
Show us some glass By Steve Cuozzo March 2, 2010 Quote:
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http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/0...ey_in_mepa.php
Piano Still Playing With the Whitney in MePa http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/...bc869526_o.jpg The Whitney site from Gansevoort; the M&O structure will rise to the left. March 11, 2010, by Pete Quote:
http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/...7ac5727d_o.jpg http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/...b497c8b2_o.jpg Model from Renzo Piano Building Workship showing the Whitney plan with the High Line maintenance box on the north edge of the site. http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/...bcd48a4c_o.jpg http://cdn3.curbednetwork.com/cache/...e712529b_o.jpg |
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/0...ng_glassed.php
High-Line-Straddling Office Building Finally Getting Glassed http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/...bff013a9_o.jpg Tuesday, March 16, 2010, by Joey Quote:
http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/...9abeb983_o.jpg http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/...d4374557_o.jpg http://cdn0.curbednetwork.com/cache/...7a801ddf_o.jpg |
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