The great porous globe that has suddenly landed among the ivy and trees of verdant LaGuardia Place turns out to be a structural model for a radical type of affordable, prefabricated housing. This single eye-catching installation -- Buckminster Fuller's Fly's Eye Dome -- marks the opening of a a week of Buckminster Fuller celebrations in NYC. R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), known as "Bucky," was a pathbreaking architect, inventor, and author who believed innovative design could......

Photograph by Jake Dobkin Later today, the city will discuss whether the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers should be landmarked. The Observer reported that NYU announced its support today, a reversal from an earlier position over three years ago. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation pushed for landmarking the complex, located between Bleecker and Houston Streets and LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street, a few years ago, calling it "an innovative modern design by I.M.......

BENEFIT: Tonight catch a special performance by Alanis Morissette, while rubbing elbows with Matt Dillon...all for a good cause! The inaugural fundraising benefit for the Adrienne Shelly Foundation will be held this evening, and you can get in with a ticket from $150 to...well, $10,000 bucks. You'll be supporting the late Shelly's foundation which "supports the artistic achievements of female actors, writers and directors through a series of scholarships and grants." 6pm // Skirball Center......

EVENT: Talking Head David Bryne joins Elizabeth Diller, recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant, for a talk about new tendencies and relationships between architecture and music. Christopher Janney moderates. More information here. Friday // 7 to 9pm // Center for Architecture [536 LaGuardia Place] // $15 THEATER: The 3 Legged Dog Art and Technology Center (3LD) saw its headquarters at 30 West Broadway destroyed on 9/11. They’ve since rebuilt a fantastic new space, which......

The Villager is reporting that the Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation last week submitted a report calling for the creation of a South Village Historic District. Comprised of 38 blocks and about 800 buildings, it would be the city’s first tenement-based district. “Landmark designation of this area is one of the great pieces of unfinished preservation business for Greenwich Village and, indeed, for New York City as a whole,” said Andrew Berman, executive director......

British light artist Jason Bruges unveiled his new, interactive installation at the Center for Architecture last night. Titled "Visual Echo," the installation translates the colors of viewers' clothing into a luminous LED river of light that winds a course around the floor and walls. Paired with free martinis, this meant big fun for all. The artist (pictured right) told Gothamist, "I've supersaturated the colors so they're a bit over the top, so it works......

The hard-hitting polemical film, Brooklyn Matters, lucidly articulates and amplifies the movement to stop Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan. Directed and produced by Isabel Hill, the film portrays the AY project as an outrageous scam to be perpetrated upon hoodwinked Brooklynites. Numerous interviews with critical residents, planners, critics, and elected officials portray a scenario in which a cynical developer and corrupt State agencies have hired gullible community allies and a star architect to conceal......

This Sunday, Time's Up! is organizing a 2006 Cyclist Memorial Ride that will honor all cyclists who were killed on NYC streets last year. There are two routes - one for Queens/Brooklyn/Manhattan and one for Bronx/Upper Manhattan - that will converge at West Houston and LaGuardia Place, where Derek Lake died in June and then visit other spots where cyclists were killed. More information after the jump; additionally, here's a list of Ghost Bike Memorials......

While trying to hail a cab at Bleecker and LaGuardia Place around 1:30AM on Sunday, a 23 year old woman was grabbed by a man and taken into his car. He raped her and then dropped her off on East 46th Street, where she called the police. According to a Daily News source, the victim said there were at least two people in the car, but could only say that a white male had pulled......

+ Belgian block-edged sidewalks and park benches are coming to Cortelyou Road, reports The New York Sun. Is Flatbush the new Fort Greene? + Speaking of Brooklyn and the Sun, Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner is teaming up with CUNY to build a one-million-square-foot tower in downtown Brooklyn for classrooms and, natch, condos. + The NY Times has its turn looking at the booting of Fashion Week from Bryant Park. We looked at this issue......

If you think that laughter is the best medicine, then the volunteers of the New York City Free Clinic have a dose for you. This Thursday, February 23rd, the Clinic is hosting "Stand-up For Healthcare Access," an evening of stand-up comedy and dinner to raise funds for the Clinic. Performing are nine of America's top comics including Colin Quinn, Greg Giraldo (of Comedy Central), and Greg Rogell (The Aristocrats, Half-Baked). The event takes place at......

Comedy Legends Live: The inimitable Carl Reiner speaks with Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman. Reiner—comedian, actor, novelist and director— was a creator, writer and producer for The Dick Van Dyke Show. In 1999, he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor by the Kennedy Center and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Come check out a legend. Tonight // 8:15pm // Kaufmann Concert Hall [ Lexington Avenue at 92nd St] //......

Is it too early to post about free alcohol? Of course not. Have you heard of MyOpenBar.com yet? We have, though sadly admit to never taking advantage of it. Tonight, however, the site is having it's official (and long overdue) launch party. Let's backtrack though. On a daily basis the site supplies you, the reader/alcoholic/cheapskate, with a list of where you can drink for FREE. They give you the place, the time, the "deal" and......

Last night, one of the walls of 496 LaGuardia Place collapsed, causing the evacuation of all residents and Houston Street to be closed. Luckily, no one was hurt as a "cascade of bricks" fell at 6:30PM. Residents told the Daily News that there was no construction at the buliding; the Department of Buildings is investigating the collapse. And according to Wired New York, 496 LaGuardia was built in 1909 and converted to a condo building......

It goes without saying that New York City is chock full of amazing buildings and spaces. And many of them aren't normally open to the public. But this weekend you can visit over 100 places throughout the five boroughs, free of charge, during the Second Annual Open House New York. From self-guided tours to discussions with designers, OHNY offers a rare glimpse into your fair city. Detailed information about each site - day(s) of......

Tomorrow night the Center For Architecture kicks off a Friday night film series devoted to designed and built environments, actual and fictional. On the inaugural marathon film night, Eames Demetrios presents two documentary short subjects and one feature-length film. One documentary focuses on the office of southern California modernists Charles and Ray Eames (Demetrios' grandparents), famous for many aspects of design from their kit-of-parts home to fabric patterns to their ubiquitous fiberglass and plywood chairs.......

If the hot, sticky weather of late has you yearning for one last hurrah before the reality of this post-vacation season sets in, head over to the Center for Architecture tonight for A-Frame Mania: The Rise of a Postwar Vacation Home Style. Chad Randl, architectural historian working for the National Park Service, discusses the historical and cultural significance of this distinctive, woodsy, modernist icon (that generally takes a back seat to the stainless steel sex......

The four finalists for developing the High Line have stage 2 of the RFP on display at the Center for Architecture on LaGuardia Place. High Line officials said the design teams "met our expectations and exceeded them," with visions of suspended valleys, rotating art exhibits, clear-bottomed pools and sunflowers. Read the Friends of the High Line press release. Gothamist is sad that NY1 called the current High Line state an "eyesore" because there is beauty......

Looking for something to do tonight, here are some suggestions: Ana Gasteyer - Let it Rip! An Evening of Song Saturday Night Live cast member known for singing characters like Bobby Moughan-Culp and Celine Dion, Gasteyer will sing tonight as herself. when: Tuesday, July 13, 8pm where: Ars Nova Theater, 511 West 54th St how much: $20 Dahlia's Flix and Mix Audiovisual artists Daniel Vatsky and Mike Berk perform tonight using a system of linked......

The MTA has revealed a design for the new Fulton Street Transit Center, and it looks incredible. The NY Times has a description of what the new transit center will offer, design wise, with special attention to the centerpiece of the station, a "tapering, conical, 110-foot-tall steel-and-glass dome that would emerge from within a 50-foot-high glass-box pavilion at Broadway and Fulton Street," which will bring light to the subway platforms and walkways. Reporter David Dunlap......

- The New York Times is sponsoring a welcoming party for the GOP, which will be a "Salute to Broadway." Mayor Bloomberg said this would be instead of "bad cocktail receptions" that are usually held. The Times, emphasizing their commitment to the arts (especially near their Times Square office), will be giving the 13,373 delegates and their guests tickets to musicals like The Lion King, Wonderful Town, 42nd Street, Fiddler on the Roof, Bombay Dreams,......