By Matt Chaban 7/10/12 5:46pm

Starchitects

Updating Park Avenue: an early conceptual rendering by L&L of the potential for 425 Park. Might these designers do them one better? (ll-holding.com)

Everybody But Frank Gehry: Four Top Starchitects Finalists for 425 Park Redesign

It is one of the stranger developments in the city, but it could also prove to be one of the most spectacular. David Levinson is poised to tear down most, but not all, of 425 Park Avenue—were he to totally demolish the tower, what he could replace it with could be quite a bit smaller, given a quirk in the 1961 zoning that reduced the density of the site, where a rather unremarkable and outdated 1958 tower now stands.

To fix this problem, L&L Holdings, Mr. Levinson’s development firm, tapped 11 of the planets top architects to sort out this challenge. He has now winnowed the designers for 425 Park down to four, according to The Times, with an unveiling expected shortly. All of them are Pritzker Prize winners with a mixed history in the city. Read More

By Matt Chaban 5/22/12 3:55pm

Stratospheric Sales

Jagged! (Atelier Jean Nouvel)

You Can Soon Buy a Piece of MoMA! Or At Least a Piece of Its 1,050-Foot Condo Tower

Last year, The Observer discovered that Jean Nouvel’s soaring MoMA Tower—called “the most exhilarating addition to the skyline in a generation” by The Times‘ architecture critic—would not be a jagged victim of boom time hubris but in fact a real part of the skyline after all. Hines, the project’s developer, filed amended plans for the tower last July, showing that even at its Burden’d height of 1,050 feet, the Pritzker prize would still rise.

Now, more encouraging news that this project will actually become a reality: Hines has tapped Corcoran Sunshine to market the MoMA Tower, officially known as the Torre Verre, according to Crain’s, which means sales can’t be too far away Read More

By Elise Knutsen 2/21/12 1:10pm

Manhattan Transfers

6 Photos

Haute moderne, haute couture.

Supermodel Natasha Poly Walks Into Nouvel’s Chelsea Dream

Supermodel Natasha Poly took the world by storm in the early aughts, establishing herself in the modeling elite. Having graced the pages of every global iteration of Vogue, Ms Poly, née Natalya Polevshchikova, is the picture-perfect face of the moment. She now has a picture-perfect condo to accompany her severe looks. Ms. Poly has purchased a posh condo at Jean Nouvel’s crystalline creation at 100 11th Avenue. Sources say she bought the place with her husband, Peter Bakker, though his name does not appear on the deed. Read More

By Elise Knutsen 11/28/11 11:39am

Starchitecture

New York by Frank Gehry at 8 Spruce Street (Photo from NYC Loves NYC)

Starchitecture Is Actually Worth the Money

Once, living in a building with celebrity residents or prewar pedigree was the goal of every nouveau riche New Yorker. Trump International, anyone? Yes, please, 740 Park.

Now upwardly mobile denizens of our great city have slightly different aspirations: starchitect developments; that is, buildings designed by jet-setting, Pritzker-prize winning  architectural wizards, typically of the old guard variety. While some have suggested that the starchitect craze is the result of pure unadulterated vanity, it turns out that buildings have made a pretty penny since they began to sprout up a decade ago, Crain’s reports. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/15/11 6:12pm

Dizzying Designs

Amanda approves.

Amanda Burden: Shorter MoMA Tower ‘Is Glorious’

It was Amanda Burden who stopped the MoMA Tower, giving Jean Nouvel’s 1,250-foot spire a haircut, and it is up to her if the project will ever snake its way onto the skyline. As The Observer revealed last month, developer Hines Interests has resubmitted plans for the shorter, stockier Torre Verre, and they await Ms. Burden’s approval. Where the head of the City Planning Department once thought the top of the tower was undignified, unworthy of sharing space with the Empire State Building, she now loves it. Read More

By Matt Chaban 8/08/11 6:09pm

Starchitects

20 Photos

By the 59th floor, there is only one apartment per floor.

MoMeh: Nouvel’s New Museum Tower Looks Very Familiar [Pics]

When Amanda Burden and the City Planning Commission cut Jean Nouvel’s Torre Verre down to size, the architectural cogniscenti were dismayed. Hines, the project’s developer, had sworn the project would be financially infeasible 200 feet shorter. At only 1,050 feet, it would no longer rival the Empire State Building on the skyline but instead share a midtown profile with the likes of the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center and the MetLife Building. Still, even in a downturn brought on by bombastic overbuilding, real estate has a way of persevering in New York. As The Observer revealed two weeks ago, Hines is currently pursuing a new set of plans for the oft-called MoMA Tower. And here they are.

Hines declined to release new plans, and initially suggested there were none. Through a public information request, The Observer has obtained copies of architectural drawings from the City Planning Commission. While they may not be as sexy as the kind of full-color renderings architects usually prepare to wow the media , they shed plenty of light on the new shape of the project. Read More

By Matt Chaban 2/09/11 1:37am

Manhattan Transfers

Nouvel College Bound: Publisher Buys at 100 11th

Another day, another sale at Jean Nouvel’s spectacular 100 11th Avenue.

Self-made man Luciano Rammairone went from studying at Pace to having college kids write about it for high school kids at College Bound magazine. Now, his CollegeBound Network rivals the likes of Kaplan and Princeton Review, and the proceeds have helped finance a move Read More