Architecture Spotlight: New York (8 Spruce Street, T38 and dlandstudio)
When it comes to architecture, mentioning New York City evokes images of tall skyscrapers that encapsulate man’s never ending quest to reach the heaven’s. Being the metropolitan hub that it is, New York City houses one of the most varied collections of skyscrapers on the planet. In addition, New York City’s robust transit system, large number of design schools, diversified consumer base and rich funding make it a viable center for forward thinking innovation and also attracts some the best architectural firms and designers on the planet. New York is featured in my novel, Eteka: Rise of the Imamba in a very exciting way, so it’s only fitting that we highlight this location’s architectural prowess. For this post, lets take a closer look at three architectural highlights: #8 Spruce Street (aka New York by Gehry), T38 Studio and dlandstudio.
8 Spruce Street
Designed by the legendary Frank Gehry, this building is one of the tallest residential buildings in the entire wold, standing at an impressive 870ft (76 floors). The most notable feature of this building is its use of “Deconstructivism” (a really cool architectural technique that centers around complexity and controlled distortion in a building rather than functionality and convention). Other notable examples of buildings with this design type are The Dancing House in the Czech Republic (Prague), the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada (Toronto) and the famous Crooked House (Poland). In the case of 8 Spruce Street, the building looks as if it is melting, and also resembles the movement curtains make as they dance in the wind (my opinion).
The site for the building was originally a parking lot and owned by the New York Presbytarian/Downtown Hospital (the actual hospital is next door). In an effort to build up their budget as they faced financial troubles, the hospital sold the site to Forest City Ratner (developer) in 2004 only after Forest City Ratner proposed using Frank Gehry to design a skyscraper unlike anything ever seen before in New York (the benefit to the hospital would be a boost to their image being next to such an innovative building). Besides residential apartments, the building also contains a school and street level retail.The building received the Emporis Skyward Award in 2011.
T38 Studio
Created by Alfonso Medina, this young firm (founded in 2009) is based in both New York and Mexico and has logged some impressive accomplishments in both regions. Machiavelli’s quote: “…the greatest good to be done is that which one does to ones own city” is embedded in their lifeblood, and evidenced by their great work in Mexico. Alfonso together with T38 are proving they are forces to be reckoned with. The design style he employs on many of his projects reminds me of an artist I collaborated with some years ago on a poetry project, Stella Lillig. Like Stella, Alfonso’s designs seem to place a unique emphasis on sharp angles and sharply contrasting window sizes created with 90 degree angles to immediately capture the onlookers attention. On a personal note part of the appeal for me with Alfonso’s story is his government’s willingness to invest and promote one of their own at home. A very positive success story on all fronts. T38 has also spearheaded projects in the United States, including renovating The Mistake Room in Los Angeles. I look forward to seeing more of their projects.
dlandstudio
Created by Susanna Drake in 2005, this firm offers a variety of services that cover both buildings and landscapes and their work can be found across the world. I personally enjoy their take on urban ecology and their focus on collaboration. The firm is currently taking the lead in the industrial renovation of the Gowanus Canal Sponge Park in Brooklyn. Check out the below video to watch Sussana speaking on this innovative project.
Hopefully you enjoyed learning about these accomplished architects and awesome projects. It takes a lot of effort to create anything from scratch and embark on these kinds of projects, so it’s important to celebrate and highlight the individuals among us who take such strides to add value and color to the human race. I’m personally keen on seeing more diverse faces pop up as leaders on the New York architectural scene, and hopefully in the near future as diversity and inclusion become more accepted pillars of American culture, this will be the case.
Hope you enjoyed this article! Be sure to check out my website to learn about my other projects!
