Top of the Rock

Atop Rockefeller Center in the Top of The Rock Observation Deck.

From the windy 68th floor observation deck, one can walk to a panoramic view of New York City.  To the southwest the view is dominated by the iconic Empire State Building, with the flickering lights and spire-topped towers of Times Square apparent further toward the southwest.  Beyond Midtown and rising above Lower Manhattan, One World Trade Center reaches to the highest point in North America.  

Visible to the northeast is the expanse of Central Park and the new trend of residential skyscrapers, the tallest of which (so far) was designed by Rafael Vinoly and just recently topped out in height.  

    

About SoHo

SoHo.  As most New Yorkers know this is a charming low-rise shopping and commerce district located SOuth of HOuston Street.  It is a step back to the early reaches of the late 19th and early 20th centuries with quaint cafes offering outdoor seating, boutique clothing shops, and narrow streets in comparison to the wide avenues and huge superblocks as you traverse north into the Manhattan street grid.

SoHo's roots lie in textiles and manufacturing, with many of these structures remaining and re-purposed as unique office spaces with high ceilings and exposed brick, now adapted and suited for tech and design companies.

Our building at 137 Varick still shows an advertising remnant of the past.  Once housing a paper company, the building now comprises a diverse collection offices for architects, contractors, web developers, stock traders, publishers and more.

www.globalgraphica.com

Preserving Reminders of the Past

While land values skyrocket and the need for high-occupancy commercial and residential projects puts pressure on the Manhattan's low rise buildings, and buildings are being ripped down slowly, but surely, we are gradually losing a piece of the physical representation of our past.  

As architects, we are excited by development and new construction but we have to be aware of the cost.  There are some methods to preserve a part of the past, while still building at a size to meet today's unprecedented demands.

Here are a few bad and good examples.

Penn Station

The Midtown West train station once rivaled and possibly exceeded Grand Central Terminal in grandeur.  The beautiful, classic station was demolished in favor of a smaller, modern facility tucked under a new sports arena (Madison Square Garden).  One of the most frequented gateways to the city that was once a grand monumental entrance, became a crowded, claustrophobic experience in a station that is now ridiculed and dreaded by travelers.  Virtually nothing was preserved as a reminder of what once was.  One positive result of this scenario was the increase in awareness for Historic Preservation Societies, saving countless other buildings from the same fate in the name of "progress."  

Hearst Tower

This high-rise commercial building for the Hearst Corporation, replacing their old much smaller headquarters on the same site.  Norman Foster was commissioned to expand their space into a much larger tower.  The original 1928 cast-stone facade was braced while the interior was demolished. This preserved facade was then incorporated into the new 2006 design, creating a dynamic juxtaposition between the old and the new and implying a concept of the new growing from out of the past.  

Tate Modern

Now the most visited modern art gallery in the world, the Tate Modern in London is housed in the former Bankside Power Station.  This adaptive reuse, gave the building a whole new program life while retaining a majority of the former facility.  Additions are small, subtle, and respective of the overall architecture of the structure.

As you can see, there are examples of successful adaptive reuse of outdated structures.  The benefits include not only the preservation of the past, but conserve valuable resources by avoiding demolition and new construction from the ground up.    

Photo Sources:

http://untappedcities.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Hearst-Building-vintage-photo-NYC-Untapped-Cities.jpg

http://inhabitat.com/nyc/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2011/04/Hearst-Tower-Foster-St-537x415.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tate_Modern#mediaviewer/File:Tate_Modern_viewed_from_Thames_Pleasure_Boat_-_geograph.org.uk_-_307445.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Penn_Station.jpg/800px-Penn_Station.jpg

http://public.media.smithsonianmag.com/legacy_blog/penn-station-interior.jpg

Introducing Myself

Bonjour, Je m’appelle Clayton. I have been working as a Junior Architect here at JMA since November 2013.  I was born in Kansas City and lived there (or very near to) for most of my life. After attending Northwest Missouri State University for Bachelor’s degrees in both Business Management and Marketing, I continued my education to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming an architect.  I enrolled at the University of Kansas where I studied (very intensively) for 3 and a half years to earn my Master’s in Architecture.  Fortunately, KU Architecture enforces a mandatory study abroad for all students.  I chose to attend a month-long study in East Asia, specifically South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Macau.  Getting to know the food, the culture, the people, the architecture was all part of the unforgettable experience.  From there my love of travel was born.  My final year, I elected to finish school in Paris, France.  There I studied Architecture, Urban Design and a bit of French at École Nationale Supérieure d’architecture de Paris-Val de Seine (whew!).  Then, I had the incredible opportunity to work for a fantastic French Architecture Firm on a competition, where I was able to gain my first experience working in a firm.  After experiencing much of Europe working, studying, and traveling I was forced to return to the U.S. because of my impending visa expiration.  Upon returning, I worked for 7 months back home in Kansas City in a small architecture firm.  There I gained further experience in Construction Drawings, Construction Details, Site Surveying, and Adaptive Reuse.  I made the decision to move to New York City to join JMA and I couldn't be happier!  I value the ability to learn on-site and in studio at JMA in all aspects of design and construction.

JMA's New Office

JMA has completed the move into our new office in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan! The area is buzzing with commerce from businesses large and small. In our building alone, there are tech startups, urban designers, architecture firms, stock traders, app designers, and printing services. The variety of firms working in this area are what make it such a distinct and special place in Manhattan. The space is blanketed in natural light throughout the day, which complements the white interior and allows us to minimize use of artificial lighting. We do encourage energy efficiency and sustainability, so what better place to start than our office?! To contrast the nearly all-white interior, we use orange accents throughout. As you enter, you face an orange accent wall behind the metal-clad reception desk.

The conference room is used for client, contractor, and team meetings. The glass marker board stretches from wall-to-wall and allows us to draw and hang content for our meetings. It will also be able to be reserved by our fellow tenants for their use.

Our studio work-space is bordered by an exposed brick wall with large windows. They provide us with a view of the surrounding buildings and the activity on Varick Street. There is an abundance of storage in shelves and cabinets throughout. We also designed in plenty of counter space to sketch out our ideas.

The dedicated model shop will produce more of these in the near future:

JMA is thrilled to be in Manhattan amongst such great talent and excitement. It truly is a remarkable place to work and to be apart of. If you are interested in working in a flexible, creative-collaborative space, we currently have a few desks available and we LOVE working with designers and those in other creative industries. Inquire at 646-248-6664.