All stories about "Steven Holl"

Yardsmania: From 'Grim Referendum' to 'Damning Indictment'

When the details of the five bids for the Hudson Yards were released back in November, Times architecture oracle Nicolai Ouroussoff slammed the process as "a grim referendum on the state of large-scale planning in New York City," before anointing Extell's Steven Holl-designed proposal as the only one worth a lick. Now that Tishman Speyer has been selected by the MTA as the winning developer, it's not surprising that Ouroussoff is singing the same tune, though the lyrics are slightly different. Today, he writes that the Hudson Yards are "a damning indictment of large-scale development in New York," while still singing the praises of Extell's bid. Ouroussoff's take is that the Hudson Yards will be a depressing office park cut off from the rest of the city via a wall of skyscrapers that some people will have the misfortune of living in, and it's an opinion that most people would probably agree with. Meanwhile, in a Times news analysis, Charles Bagli writes that the final architecture will probably look nothing like the current plans anyway, and perhaps not even Tishman Speyer can navigate the minefield that will accompany this ten- to twenty-year build-out. Folks, this is going to be a fun next couple of decades. Join us, won't you?
· Profit and Public Good Clash in Grand Plans [NYT]
· For Railyards, the Hard Part Is Still Ahead [NYT]
· Yardsmania: OK, So Now What? [Curbed]

Yardsmania: Brookfield Wins Popular Vote, Related Revamps, Al Qaeda Anti-Extell

Now that all the instant reaction to the Hudson Yards proposals clustereff has died down, it's time for the propaganda war to begin. In the end, the unpredictable MTA possesses the only opinion that matters, but that won't stop the developers from scoring every press mention as either a win or loss for their cause. Extell already took home a huge victory in securing the Ouroussoff seal of approval, and here are some other Hudson Yards odds and ends:

1) The Curbed readers' poll has ended, and the winner is Brookfield Properties and its collection of architects. Related's Murdochville was a somewhat distant second. Tishman Speyer's office park brought up the rear. What, no love for color coding?

2) Related's bid, while somewhat warmly received, was peppered with negative feedback regarding the lack of building details. Apparently Stephen Ross & Co. were listening, as a Curbed reader alerts us to some changes over at the Yards displays on 43rd Street and Vanderbilt Ave.: "Related has revamped its presentation, adding a very detailed video and another scale model, big improvement." Well played, Related. Well played.

3) New York's Intelligencer, after dissing the bids altogether a la Ouroussoff, also appears to be veering toward the Extell camp, giving project architect Steven Holl a forum to spout off about how terror-proof the Extell design is. So if you're looking to side with Osama bin Laden's preferred Hudson Yards design, look elsewhere. Like, maybe to Tishman, with that whole Morgan Stanley headquarters thing. Just saying!
· Curbed Poll Reminder: The Hudson Yards Winner Is... [Curbed]

Premature Yardsification: Extell Unloads Full Plan

It appears that Extell is playing spoiler to the Hudson Yards redevelopment bids big reveal on Sunday. They've already slapped some renderings up on the company website, and now, the PDF of the full Steven Holl Architects-designed plan is up. We'll be bringing you blowout bids coverage on Monday, but here are some preliminary things of note regarding Extell's longshot bid:

1) Hello, Mr. 1,200-foot-tall, three-million-square-foot mixed-use tower!
2) Extell wants to preserve the upper-third of the High Line. Kudos.
3) The tall buildings, mostly kept to one side of the site to avoid a canyon effect, would all be built on terra firma and not on top of the rails.
4) Lots of green space for frolicking.
5) A new ferry/water taxi terminal to ship in all those office drones every morning.

OK, we can't resist, one more tidbit: The residential buildings are called the Sunslice Towers. Awesome. Read up and do your homework over the weekend, because this is coming back in a big way on Monday.
· Hudson Yards Design Presentation [Extell; warning: PDF]
· Extell Prematurely Blows Load on Hudson Yards Plans [Curbed]

Steven Holl Gives NYU Philosophers Something to Smile About

[All photos copyright Andy Ryan]

All eyes may be on Steven Holl's Towering S planned for the 30th Street Spur of the High Line, but the architect has recently—and somewhat quietly—completed another New York City project: the renovation of 3-5 Washington Place, home to NYU's Department of Philosophy. The landmarked exterior of the 1890 building wasn't touched, but Holl & Gang did quite the job on the 30,000-square-feet of interiors, shaping them "around a concept of the phenomenal properties of light and materials." We first noticed the amazing pictures on Dezeen, then we begged Holl's people to let us use them here. Success!

And off we go, to a wonderland of higher education. >>

Idiot's Guide to the Hudson Yards Building Bonanza

The map of the day comes via the Real Deal, which details every major project and land buy near the Hudson Yards. Some we've already discussed, such as Extell's plans for Steven Holl's Towering S (#24) and the McSam Midtown West hotel empire (#11). All in all, a must read to get you up to speed on what will be the biggest construction pit in town. As for which megadeveloper is reigning supreme, it's Extell all the way, for now:

Extell may lead the way with the greatest number of large planned projects, bids or recent buys, with a total of five. The firm has already completed one condo building in the area, the Orion; has plans for a mixed-use tower and an office tower; is bidding on a massive hotel project; and just purchased a tract of land on 34th Street.

But it's the Related Companies, Brookfield Properties and Vornado Realty Trust that may end up covering the widest amount of land, even with fewer total projects in the works.

And of course there's the matter of the Yards themselves, which Related, Brookfield and Vornoda are all bidding on. Hey, let's say we settle this the old fashion way: grab a ruler and meet us in the bathroom in five minutes.
· Major players gobble up Hudson Yards sites [TRD]
· Hudson Yards Major Sites Map [TRD; warning: PDF]

Holl's Towering S Update: 'A Great Piece of Hope'

The website for the Charlie Rose Show has posted the interview with architect Steven Holl in which he first reveals plans for his Towering S skyscraper planned for the 30th Street spur of the High Line. (Two crispy fresh screengrabs above.) In the interview, Holl relates that the sway of the building is inspired by the High Line: "The idea is taking the movement of the High Line and moving it vertical so it picks up the western sun." And to our conclusion that the planned bridge to the High Line bodes well for the survival of the upper third of the elevated track, Holl is somewhat more circumspect: "This is a great piece of hope to save the north spur."
· Conversation with Architect Steven Holl [CharlieRose.com]
· Steven Holl's Towering S Revealed! [Curbed]

Steven Holl's 'Towering S' Revealed!

Whoa. Here's the architectural reveal of the month: Steven Holl's towering residential/hotel tower that's being developed by Extell on Tenth Avenue between 30th and 31st Streets, across the street from the Hudson Rail Yards. Holl disclosed his involvement in this project on the Charlie Rose Show Monday night, and showed off some early renderings of the tower and the plan to build a bridge to connect it to the 30th Street spur of the High Line. Per CityRealty, "The rendering seemed to indicate that it would be more than 50 stories tall and that it would rise in three major setbacks and that the silhouette of the slender tower would somewhat resemble an elongated, angled 'S.'" Hard to get a sense of the S in the rendering above, but screengrabs from an alert member of Wired New York shows the sway. Early verdict: pretty damn awesome.

The more interesting angle, though, concerns the High Line. The 30th Street spur juts off the Hudson Yards portion of the raised train tracks (good photos of the spur here). That makes it part of the upper third of the High Line, the portion that Friends of the High Line says isn't yet guaranteed to survive the Hudson Yards redevelopment process. Yet Extell now says they're going to invest $2 million in a bridge from Holl's tower to the 30th Street spur—pretty good evidence, one might conclude, that the upper third of the High Line's going to survive the redevelopment around it just fine.
· New Extell mixed-use tower [Wired New York]
· Steven Holl designs major mixed-use tower on Tenth Avenue [CityRealty]