Open House New York weekend may have come and gone, but that doesn't mean your only shot at seeing some of the city's secret spaces is lost and gone for another year entirely. OHNY is currently running a raffle for the chance to win a private behind-the-scenes tour of the Woolworth Building in the Financial District, one of the oldest and most gorgeously designed skyscrapers in the city. more ›

The Bowery in its latest, absurdly hip, incarnation is no stranger to ugly architecture. Just look at the Cooper Square Hotel, the Sculpture for Living (technically not on the Bowery), or the finger coming out of the middle of Fourth Street. And yet each time a new piece of hideous design is introduced we're dismayed once again. Which is to say, remember how the old Salvation Army on Third Street is going to become a boutique hotel? Well, Curbed got its paws on the rendering you see above. more ›

Yesterday we posted a top 10 list of NYC's ugliest buildings according to the AIA Guide to New York City. However, these are not the opinions of AIANY, they are only the opinions of the guide's authors. AIANY Communications Director Emily Nemens must be getting death threats from Renzo Piano, because we've gotten several panicked messages today regarding this clarification. She explains: "[We] are proud of our history with this book (the first edition was published by the chapter in 1967), but it is an independent publication now, which we are happy to help publicize because of its attention to design quality." more ›

The AIA Guide to New York City is back to bullying what they dub the city's ugliest structures, and here's a visual guide of the worst of the worst! Last year when a similar discussion arose, an architectural critic declared, “The ugliest buildings are the anonymous ones. Even if an experimental, high-profile building doesn’t quite deliver, at least the architect is trying something. A boring building is a warehouse in the middle of New Jersey.” But AIA's list seems to be a mixture of both... [via the Daily News] more ›

Not too long ago the Manhattan Bridge archway was filled with proposals for the Pearl Street Triangle (including one that would have turned the space in to a giant interactive piano). Currently the space is simply painted green, with a few sculptures, chairs and tables scattered about (an improvement from the parking lot it used to be). Last night a winner was announced for the recent "ideas competition," which aimed to find a new way to utilize the public space. DUMBO's own Coburn Architecture won with their design called "The Tracks: Ride the Rails!" (Note to artists: they're also seeking mural proposals for the DOT Fence which used to display this colorful piece) more ›

After firing famed architect Frank Gehry in an effort to cut costs, the developer of the controversial Atlantic Yards project is in talks with the man who designed the Freedom Tower. Architect David Childs told the Brooklyn Paper that Atlantic Yards builder Bruce Ratner asked him to give plans for the proposed basketball arena a "once over," and also discussed hiring him to construct one of the 16 skyscrapers that Ratner wants to build on the site. more ›

A judge ruled yesterday that embattled Brooklyn architect Robert Scarano Jr. can no longer file construction plans after he was caught "deliberately overbuilding" and making multiple false statements "so deceptive that they call to mind out-and-out fraud." The prolific builder—beloved by developers and reviled by community groups for manipulating zoning rules to construct taller and bulkier structures—will no longer be able submit documents to the Department of Buildings, "threatening, at least temporarily, his ability to work as an architect in the city," according to the Times. more ›

For the first time since the 1950s, the city's ubiquitous sidewalk sheds are going to get a makeover. The new scaffolding design — selected after an international contest — is intended to "improve quality of life, reduce construction impacts on businesses, increase pedestrian safety and increase available space for pedestrians on sidewalks," according to the Mayor's Office. The so-called "The Urban Umbrella" will "complement the city's architectural beauty rather than take it away from it," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Sidewalk sheds are a part of New York life, reflecting the face of a city that is constantly changing — yet the sheds themselves haven't evolved at all during the past four decades and its time to bring them into the 21st century." more ›

A Columbia University educator accused of punching a female coworker after a racially-heated argument skipped his court appearance on Monday. After failing to appear in court, a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of associate urban-planning professor Lionel McIntyre, and a judge ordered that his parole be revoked, according to the Columbia Spectator. more ›

Why live in a Bushwick trailer park when you can live in a Williamsburg shipping container? The folks over at Curbed say shipping container architecture is a "Bigfoot" in the city's development circles, meaning it's "endlessly discussed yet rarely seen." Though it's been used in commercial applications — like the modular Subway sandwich shop installed atop a crane at the World Trade Center site — this narrow two-family home at 351 Keap Street in Williamsburg might be the city's first residential use of the environmentally-friendly, cost-conscious building material. Back in 2008, the Office of Emergency Management held a contest to design temporary housing for the thousands of New Yorkers who might be displaced in the event of a catastrophe, like a direct hit from a Category 3 hurricane. Most of those designs utilized shipping containers, so these Keap Street residents aren't just setting trends, they're braced for the end of days! more ›

While most subway stations rely on sidewalk grates for fresh air, the new stops on the long-awaited Second Avenue line will be cooled with a modern ventilation system. But residents and politicians say the ventilation system, which will be housed in permanent above-ground structures, "many as large as midsize apartment buildings, rising up to nine stories tall," will turn vibrant Upper East Side blocks into "dead corners," blighting the neighborhood and lowering property values, according to the Real Deal. more ›

The city has stopped a developer from completing a large rooftop addition in Carroll Gardens — but that doesn't mean it has any way to force the builder to remove the two stories of steel girders he has already erected. more ›

The slightly less epic version of what was once dubbed the MoMA Monster, now standing at just 1,050 feet, was approved by the City Council today in a 44-3 vote. Curbed reports that "this was the last hurdle in the public land-use approval process made necessary by Tower Verre's desired zoning variances and air-rights deals." Last we checked there was word that developer Hines and architect Jean Nouvel may just leave that lot empty for a while so the NIMBYs can savor their precious view. more ›

The recently decapitated MoMA monster, which would have measured in at 1,250 feet (the height of the Empire State Building), has been surrounded with controversy from day one. Midtown NIMBYs didn't want a skyscraper going up in Manhattan, and they eventually got 200 feet taken off the tower so that it wouldn't impact the skyline. Sigh. more ›

If you've ever lived in an older building in New York, you've probably wondered what was behind your walls (a secret room, perhaps!). Or maybe that's just us. Anyway, the Tenement Museum is readying their visitors center, and has just posted up some gorgeous photos of the process. When they renovated their 97 Orchard space, there was more in-depth archeological research done; the selective demolition at 103 Orchard Street includes the basement, ground, and second floors of the building — which dates back to the 1880s. Click through for some hot shots of ceiling timbers! Phantom staircases! Old playing cards! And much, much more. more ›

Travel + Leisure takes a look at the World's Ugliest Buildings, and somehow no New York structures made the list. Not even the Verizon Building. Though the New York magazine architecture critic may have an explanation; he tells them: “The ugliest buildings are the anonymous ones. Even if an experimental, high-profile building doesn’t quite deliver, at least the architect is trying something. A boring building is a warehouse in the middle of New Jersey.” more ›

The MoMA Monster has officially been decapitated. The City Council's Land Use Committee approved (by a 12-2 vote) the City Planning Commission's height reduction of the building earlier today. Now the Jean Nouvel designed Monster Hines Tower set to be raised next to MoMA, will drop down from the iconic height of 1,250-feet, to 1,050-feet. That's 200 feet below the Empire State Building, and the exact height of the Chrysler Building. more ›

Howard Roark scoffs. A giant skyscraper, dubbed the MoMA Monster, keeps shrinking. Set to go up in the empty lot next to the museum, creators of the proposed 1,250 feet tower continue to fight a cut of 200 feet; WCBS reports that at a city council committee meeting yesterday, the real estate developer and the architect "saw their plans for a soaring Midtown skyscraper crumbling." more ›

Attention architecture porn aficionados: Open House New York is back for their 7th annual weekend event, which will give you the key to places you normally wouldn't be allowed to enter. This will all go down on October 10th and 11th, with 350 tours, talks and programs in all five boroughs. Renee Schacht, executive director of OHNY, says "This year, we are thrilled to feature private residences, historic landmarks, architect and artist studios, and new sites that demonstrate sustainable design.” more ›

Developer Bruce Ratner must be relieved this morning to see that big bad Nicholas Ouroussoff at Times does not revile the latest renderings for the Nets arena planned for Brooklyn. You'll recall that Ouroussoff dissed the last designs as "a monstrosity" and "a shameful betrayal of the public trust, one that should enrage all those who care about this city." But bringing young New York firm SHoP on board may be just the lipstick on the boondoggle Ratner needs; Ouroussoff, who had embraced Gehry's vision for the project, calls this new look "somewhat more promising." more ›

This week's episode of Mad Men looked at the 4th (and current) incarnation of Madison Square Garden (opened February 14th, 1968) at 7th Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets. The MSG men wanted the Don Draper treatment to spin their campaign and gain public approval for, you know, tearing down the street level portion of Pennsylvania Station; a beautiful Beaux-Arts structure that perfectly backdropped many long farewells during WWII. more ›