With news that British architect Norman Foster will "transform" the beloved Fifth Avenue Beaux Arts building of the New York Public Library, one can only be curious about the seven floors of stacks and basement--equivalent of 1.25 million cubic feet--that will be renovated. There are no renderings yet, but there are some clues about the stacks and basement from archival drawings and photographs, courtesy the NYPL. more ›

British architecture firm Foster + Partners has been selected to renovate the New York Public Library's Fifth Avenue Beaux-Arts building. Norman Foster, who married new with old at the British Museum in London and the Hearst Tower in NYC, told the NY Times, "It's the greatest project ever." more ›

This week, reports the Downtown Express, the Landmarks Preservation Commission recommended that architects incorporate elements of the Battery Maritime Building's original architecture into a proposed plan to renovate and expand the ferry terminal. The Dermot Company seeks to develop a glass boutique hotel (complete with roof lounge) and specialty foods marketplace above the Beaux Arts ferry terminal. more ›

Five days before the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, developer Larry Silverstein released yet another round of renderings of the three Greenwich St. towers that will rise along the eastern edge of the 16-acre World Trade Center site. The final designs were unveiled yesterday at 7 World Trade Center. The buildings are scheduled to begin construction in January. more ›

Governor Spitzer who once called the Freedom Tower a “white elephant” and questioned its economic viability announced his support of the project today in lower Manhattan alongside the Mayor and NJ Governor John Corzine. Spitzer said that after looking into alternatives, he decided that it was best to proceed as planned, citing the strong real estate market. Plus, it's a good photo op. more ›

, which chronicles these affairs from the point of view of the novel design team with which he collaborated. He also chucked a few zingers in the direction of the architect David Childs and former Governor Pataki. Left relatively unscathed was the developer Larry Silverstein, owner of the acclaimed new building (7 World Trade Center) in which the event was held. more ›

The Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday stalled Aby Rosen and Norman Foster’s proposed glass tower above the 1949 Parke-Bernet building at 980 Madison Avenue. While the commission didn’t formally reject the plan, it did not approve the addition or support a zoning waiver, two requirements for the project to proceed. All but one commissioner said during the public meeting at the Surrogate’s Court building that they could not support the building because of its scale, massing, materials and location. more ›

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Yesterday, there was a sprawling editorial (literally sprawling too - it covered two pages) in the NY Times Week in Review by Tom Wolfe. And in it, he ripped the Landmarks Preservation Commission, most of its commissioners, and Mayors Koch, Giuliani and Bloomberg a couple new ones. more ›

Yesterday's Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing over 980 Madison Ave. was a relatively staid affair. On the second floor of the Surrogate's Court building on Chambers Street, Lord Norman Foster told the 150-plus audience that 980 Madison Ave. was about one thing: regeneration. more ›

Well, this wasn't a surprise: An Upper East Side community board committee moved to reject plans for a 30 floor apartment tower at 980 Madison Avenue. The design by Lord Norman Foster, ballyhooed for his addition to the Hearst Building and a design for the World Trade Center, is shorter than the Carlyle Hotel nearby, but the Carlyle's height is less obtrusive due to set backs. more ›

+ The New York Sun calls the Queens Museum of Art building "fascist" and its redesign renderings "weak." Rare feat. more ›

The unveiling of the new buildings - Towers 2, 3, 4 - that will accompany the Freedom Tower at the redeveloped World Trade Center was met with excitement yesterday, proving there's nothing that beautiful computer renderings, a who's who of architects, and a healthy dose of optimism can't do. The NY Times updated its article about the announcement yesterday and also has an article about the pink elephant in the room: How slow progress has been at Ground Zero, thanks to battling egos and dollars on all sides. more ›

The new designs for the other buildings at the World Trade Center have been released, and forgetting all the other arguments, the computer renderings show a glittering, rather dazzling skyline. And the buildings will be TALL. The NY Times' David Dunlap reports on the new designs and give some analysis of how the buildings would work within the city:

The developer of the new World Trade Center unveiled the designs this morning for three skyscrapers at ground zero, which in their gargantuan scale would reshape the New York skyline. more ›

The New York Times compared its occupant to the Sheraton hotel chain and The New Yorker called it a "gorgeous gemlike tower." And, ahem, plenty of others have weighed in. more ›

At noon today, Suzanne Vega and Lou Reed will play a free concert at the opening of 7 World Trade Center. As we all know, 7 WTC is the only tower to be rebuilt since 9/11; the plaza already opened this week. more ›

Before the September 11 attacks, the Vesey Street Staircase was seen and used by the public on a daily basis. Located near the intersection of Vesey and Church streets, it consisted of two granite-clad outdoor flights of stairs and an escalator that led from the World Trade Center plaza to Vesey Street. When terrorists crashed two planes into the Twin Towers, the staircase provided a path of escape for hundreds of individuals. The staircase now leads nowhere and consists only of concrete slabs and blocks, a few remaining pieces of stone cladding, and steel supports – but it is nonetheless an authentic and invaluable reminder of the World Trade Center that once stood here.

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If you ever want to figure out how to get the construction noise in your neighborhood reduced, look around to see if there's a school in the vicinity with a motived PTA. Parents at P.S. 234 in Tribeca are the subject of a NY Times article that highlights how parents were able to convince developers to meet their demands to make sure their kids' reading, writing and 'rithmetic wouldn't be unduly disturbed. They got the change the 200 Chambers Street (Sir Norman Foster!) developer to change the kind of hammers they would use at the construction site (from "pile-driving hammers" to "vibrating hammers"), which then empowered the PTA get builders at 270 Greenwich to pay $2 million for noise abatement of construction at that site - including a 20 foot sound wall. One of the parents behind the effort explains, "The competition for prime middle schools in the city is very, very intense. It's a very high-pressure situation that didn't need pile driving as a soundtrack." Yes - those kindergarten records totally matter. And let's not get started on Mayor Bloomberg's third and fifth grade social promotion tests. more ›

, a showcase of 25 high-rise buildings designed in the last 10 years. The exhibit takes a look at the evolution of the architectural genre for the 21st century, exploring innovations in structure and program as well as social and urban implications. more ›

The Fulton Street Transit Center project will bring together the A, C, J, M, Z, 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines. For more information about the project, visit the MTA's site. However, the project will be introduced today at the Center for Architecture, 536 La Guardia Place, between Bleecker and West Third Streets, at 4PM. The Times says that "models, computer animations and drawings will be on view at the center through mid-July, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays." more ›

Three Designs for Ground Zero Emerge as Favorites From Edward Wyatt's article: The three plans were created, respectively, by Norman Foster, Daniel Libeskind and Peterson Littenberg Architects. They have garnered the greatest number of favorable comments in an Internet forum sponsored by officials involved in the rebuilding plans, in independent discussions and reviews by civic groups that are closely following the rebuilding, and in responses to a citywide poll conducted by The New York Times." more ›

Dateline, Hong Kong
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