All stories about "Rafael Vinoly"

Looks like the plans for that big glass addition to the landmarked Domino Plant in Williamsburg have a way to go before they can ripen on the vine. The WPGA blog has a rundown on today's Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on the Beyer Blinder Belle proposal for altering the building. Rafael Viñoly who is the architect for the New Domino was even on hand. The Beyer architects compared their work to a variety of structures including the Tate Modern, but the LPC sent them back to the drawing board. Some felt the addition was "too tall" and "not the right design" and there was a consensus that the design is too "tame" and needs to be "more visionary" and emphasize the "industrial rigor" of the landmark. Translation: give us a call after you tweak it.
· LPC to Domino: Not Yet [WGPA]
· Domino's Glass Box Going Back to the Drawing Board? [Curbed]
· More New Domino: the Glass Box on Top [Curbed]

[Rendering courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects]

The plan for changes to the landmarked Domino Factory that would be at the center of Williamsburg's New Domino went in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday, and it looks like the five-story glass box full of condos developers want to put on top of the 12-story, 1884 building might be getting some tweaks before all is said and done. The Commission didn't vote on the plan, but it scheduled more discussions and gave no indication it was any hurry to approve the change. The Williamsburg Greenpoint Preservation Alliance reported, in fact, that "none of the Commissioners are ready to stand up and support" the addition. Landmarks Chair Robert Tierney also told the developer to "look hard" to find a place to preserve the iconic Domino Sugar sign.

[Renderings courtesy of Rafael Viñoly Architects; click to expand]

Another day, another Domino story. After flying below the radar for months, the proposal for the massive New Domino development on the Williamsburg waterfront is definitely back. First up, there are new high-quality renderings of the Rafael Viñoly plan for the site. This, in turn, leads to a second point about what isn't there: the Domino Sugar sign that has been a Williamsburg icon for generations. Residents and preservationists aren't happy about the omission. A spokesperson for the developer told the Daily News that "there are engineering complexities involved," although they would like to save it. Meanwhile, the proposal to add that five-story glass box to the top of the landmarked factory buildings goes before the Landmarks Preservation Commission today. Again, there is less than universal praise. Lisa Kersavage of the Municipal Art Society tells the Sun: "This very large glass addition just plunked onto the top of it is just not appropriate." More to come.

Back in the fall, part of the old Domino Plant on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg was landmarked without a lot of controversy. In the end, even the developers of the New Domino project were behind it. So, the five-story glass box that architects Beyer Blinder Belle would add to the building will get aired out before the Landmarks Preservation Commission tomorrow. The Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint & Williamsburg has posted a more renderings of and plans for the the historic factory building. Glass box or not, it would be surrounded by a lot of Rafael Viñoly apartment towers, which aren't shown in images.

[Photo courtesy of Brownstoner]

Some renderings of what Rafael Viñoly and the developers have in mind for the Domino Sugar Plant site in Williamsburg have finally seen the light of day, and they certainly make an impression. Brownstoner got a bunch of shots of renderings that were shown at a community meeting in Williamsburg last night. The renderings show masonry towers with glass tops rising around the landmarked factory. The landmark itself would be radically modified with a five-story glass box growing from the top like a cousin of the Battery Maritime Building, but taller. The Daily News reports that "some frowned on the design," thinking it's "too boxy and too big," and the Landmarks Preservation Commission will have to approve the glass addition and other modifications. We await the detailed renderings in all their glory, but for now, we can't help but think it reminds us of a scandalous, tall love child of Co-op City and Domino, but without a pedestrian bridge to Manhattan.

Developers of the Domino Sugar Refinery site on the Williamsburg waterfront welcomed press to the site this morning to hype their development plan, which calls for 2,200 apartment and the preservation of the original refinery building. Tragically, no new renderings of architect Rafael Viñoly's towering towers (above) were shown, nor did Viñoly himself deign to make an appearance (an underling from his office showed in his stead). A few new details were revealed, however. Timeline-wise, developers hope for land use review by this fall or early winter, with groundbreaking slated for late 2008 or early 2009. The project, budgeted at a mind-boggling $1.2-$1.3 billion, will take six to eight years to build out, with work proceeding from the south end to the north end of the site. Also of interest: the 11.2 acre site will feature four acres of open space, and 120,000 square feet of retail space—including some sort of food store. About 100,000 square feet will be set aside for community use. Yay, art!

Finally, on the preservation front, turns out megatecht firm Beyer Blinder Belle will be the architect of record for the refinery building preservation. And as to the Domino Sugar sign, developers confirmed that they're looking at ways to save it, even though they plan to tear down the Sugar Box building on which it hangs. (We're expecting it to grace the waterfront like the Pepsi-Cola signage at QueensWest a little ways north in Long Island City.) And stay tuned: we'll have photos from the tour, snapped by Curbed's Brooklyn editor Robert Guskind, later today.
· Scope Plan for the 'New Domino' Revealed [Curbed]
· Landmarking Progress Details on Williamsburg's 'New Domino' [Curbed]
· Domino Sugar Sign Could be Saved [Brooklyn Paper]