Tag: master plan architects

Battery Park City Master Plan – North Neighborhood design by hanrahan Meyers architects – + the Visonaire win Urban Land Institute Awards : Urban Waterfront Design

September 29th, 2010

hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa) are proud to announce that the firm's Battery Park City Master Plan project has won a Heritage Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Since 1997 hMa have been the Master Plan Architects for Battery Park City's North Neighborhood. In that capacity, the firm has been a Leader in applying Sustainable Design practices. One of the firm's achievements includes writing the Green Guidelines for the Solaire - the world's first Green Residential high-rise Tower.

In addition to hMa's Green Master Plan winning a coveted Heritage Award, Battery Park City's Visionaire was also honored with a 2010 Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute. The Visionaire is a high-rise residential tower that received the top design Award from the ULI as 'America's Greenest Residential High-Rise Tower' - one of only 10 buildings in the Americas - and the only building to be recognized for Green Design in New York. The Visionaire received the US Green Building Council's highest rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED Platinum).

ULI Awards for Excellence define the standard for real estate development practice worldwide. In its 32nd year, the awards program is the centerpiece of ULI’s efforts to identify and promote best Green practices in all types of real estate development.

aerial view of North Neighborhood, Battery Park City Master Plan. Post: Victoria Meyers architect

In 1997 hMa was hired as the Master Plan Architect for Battery Park City Authority’s North Neighborhood, the most forward-thinking Green urban master plan in the United States. The North Neighborhood is the location of the first Green high-rise residential tower in the United States (Green Guidelines by hMa) and is the first Sustainably designed high-rise neighborhood in the world (Green Guidelines by hMa). When the Master Plan is complete in 2012 it will include a total of 5 million square feet of sustainable buildings, an array of new technologies and operating practices and a unique integration with the spectacular natural features of New York's waterfront.

hanrahan Meyers Architects' configuration of the North Neighborhood buildings emphasizes the area's engagement with nature by creating an interweaving grid of outdoor spaces – including 4 major parks – with 11 residential and public buildings including Stuyvesant High School. Individual buildings are designed to complete the urban blocks by aligning with lot lines up to the 11th and 14th floors, after which towers are placed up to the 25th and 32nd floors in a complex pattern of offsetting alignments to open up view corridors to the Hudson River, and bring light and air into the parks below.

Read more about the ULI Awards competition and view other award winners at http://www.uli.org. Read more about hMa and their master plan designs by visiting our website: www.hanrahanMeyers.com, and go to: 'Master Plans and Landscapes'. To see more of hMa's cutting edge Green Designs go to 'Green'.

diagram : environmental standards for BPC Master Plan (click image to enlarge)
Urban Renewal and the Current Downturn: Levi’s leads the WayLevi’s ‘Ready to Work’ campaign; Levi’s ‘Go Forth’ campaign; urban renewal in Braddock, Pa.

July 10th, 2010

Post by hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa) principal, Victoria Meyers:

I often travel from New York City to Baltimore on Amtrak. Whenever I take that train ride, I look out at an urban landscape that I refer to as the: ‘Amtrak Urban Corridor’. It starts at Trenton, New Jersey, and continues right through Baltimore, Maryland: an unbroken corridor of urban decay and poverty.

abandoned factories and warehouses: the Amtrak Corridor. Post: Victoria Meyers architect

This landscape is an urban map that describes many of the things that have gone wrong in American society.  What is really concerning, first and foremost, are the empty and abandoned warehouses and factories. In between the abandoned and ruined industrial buildings, are blocks and blocks of neighborhoods that are half abandoned, where the residents are obiviously impoverished, and could use the jobs that have left from those factories.   This country could reuse and recycle these warehouses to build up a new industrial base for the 21st Century. What happened to the American spirit? How could we have allowed this to happen? If one of us is impoverished and in need, all of us feels that condition. We are all without.

What is needed here is a plan. An Urban Corridor Master Plan! A Master Plan that links new 21st Century start-up businesses with abandoned places. A Plan that links unemployed people with jobs.

People in these neighborhoods need the jobs that these factories could create if some smart or philanthropic investor would provide the start up money, coupled with a smart entrepreneur with new technologies to be assembled.  America needs to rebuild. Our Cities represent who we are and define us. Abandonment is not a pretty legacy.

abandoned brick row houses: Baltimore, MD.

President Obama has led the thinking on a lot of the innovations in urban renewal, with his push for a new ‘Green Economy’, with a new, post-industrial jobs base building the components we need to develop Solar, Geo-Thermal, Wind-Power, and Bio-Fuel technologies. In the 21st Century, the country that solves the current energy crisis is the country that will emerge as a super-power. The consequences of not changing the United States' energy-based economy to sources other than oil is evident right now in the Gulf of Mexico.

There was a very interesting article in the June 23, 2010 New York Times, titled: ‘Levi’s Features a Town Trying to Recover’ – that deals with many of these issues. Levi’s has ‘adopted’ the town of Braddock, Pennsylvania: a town trying to pick itself back up after losing its industrial base. Levi’s is doing a great thing by doing this, and deserves credit for their foresight.  Levis is making a difference not just in the lives of the people in this small American town, but also in the overall recovery and re-invigoration of the American psyche and Vision. The campaign slogan: 'Ready to Work' – is a tagline for America in the current downturn. The campaign also states: 'we are all workers'.



Braddock, Pa.: Levi's 'Go Forth' campaign and urban renewal

We all could use the Vision that Levi’s is bringing to their ‘Go Forth’ campaign. I encourage anyone reading this blog post to visit the Levi’s campaign website, and watch some of the film clips there: http://www.levistrauss.com/news/press-releases/levis-proclaims-we-are-all-workers-launch-latest-go-forth-marketing-campaign. The campaign shows many images similar to the ones I've been describing along the Amtrak corridor, and includes some very smart film clips by very talented filmmakers, including one short that won an award at Sundance Film Festival this year. I have just one complaint. If Levi's is really sincere about this campaign - they'll also renovate one of the abandoned factories in Braddock, and install a new Levi's factory. (Levi's - I'm throwing down my glove).

hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa) is an internationally known design firm with experience designing sustainable master plans and landscapes for urban centers (hMa are the Master Plan Architects for Battery Park City's North Neighborhood, winner of the 2010 Heritage Award from the Urban Land Institute); small town centers (hMa designed a 550-acre zero-carbon footprint site plan and master plan in Claverack, New York), as well as private, residential landscape design (Holley House landscape layout and design).

Battery Park City, North Neighborhood: Teardrop Park. Master Plan design by hanrahan Meyers architects. Post: Victoria Meyers architect

hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa) is a full service Master Planning and Design firm. We bring expertise and experience to landscape and master plan projects. hMa has successfully laid out site topography, overviewed the installation of site services, including electrical, water, sewage, and gas. hMa has advanced expertise in integrating high-energy use, traditional site planning with the latest sustainable ideas and services, to create an integrated approach to achieving LEED certified design goals, and Zero-Carbon Footprint site designs.

For more information about hanrahan Meyers architects, and their innovative and green ideas for cutting edge 21st century Master Plans and Landscapes, visit hMa’s website: www.hanrahanMeyers.com; go to ‘Projects’: ‘Master Plans and Landscapes’.
Battery Park City Master Plan wins Urban Land Institute Heritage Award : Urban Waterfront Design

July 10th, 2010

hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa) are proud to announce that the firm's Battery Park City Master Plan project has won a Heritage Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Since 1997 hMa have been the Master Plan Architects for Battery Park City's North Neighborhood. In that capacity, hanrahan Meyers have been Leaders in applying Sustainable Design practices to Master Plan and Landscape Design. One of hMa's achievements includes writing the Green Guidelines for the Solaire - the world's first Green Residential high-rise Tower.

In addition to hMa's Green Master Plan winning a coveted Heritage Award, Battery Park City's Visionaire was also honored with a 2010 Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute. The Visionaire is a high-rise residential tower that received the top design Award from the ULI as 'America's Greenest Residential High-Rise Tower' - one of only 10 buildings in the Americas - and the only building to be recognized for Green Design in New York. The Visionaire received the US Green Building Council's highest rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED Platinum).

ULI Awards for Excellence define the standard for real estate development practice worldwide. In its 32nd year, the awards program is the centerpiece of ULI’s efforts to identify and promote best Green practices in all types of real estate development.

North Neighborhood, Battery Park City Master Plan, hanrahan Meyers architects. Post: Victoria Meyers architect

In 1997 hMa were hired as the Master Plan Architects for Battery Park City Authority’s North Neighborhood, the most forward-thinking Green urban master plan in the United States. The North Neighborhood is the location of the first Green high-rise residential tower in the United States (Green Guidelines by hMa) and is the first Sustainably designed high-rise neighborhood in the world (Green Master Plan by hMa). When the Master Plan is complete in 2012 it will include a total of 5 million square feet of sustainable buildings, an array of new technologies and operating practices and a unique integration with the spectacular natural features of New York's waterfront.

diagrams showing park spaces, green roofs and green landscapes – Battery Park City North Neighborhood Master Plan, hanrahan Meyers architects. Post: Victoria Meyers architect

hanrahan Meyers Architects' configuration of the North Neighborhood buildings emphasizes the area's engagement with nature by creating an interweaving grid of outdoor spaces – including 4 major parks – with 11 residential and public buildings including Stuyvesant High School. Individual buildings are designed to complete the urban blocks by aligning with lot lines up to the 11th and 14th floors, after which towers are placed up to the 25th and 32nd floors in a complex pattern of offsetting alignments to open up view corridors to the Hudson River, and bring light and air into the parks below.

Irish Hunger Memorial – Battery Park City North Neighborhood Master Plan, hanrahan Meyers architects. Post: Victoria Meyers architect

When the Master Plan is complete in 2012 it will include a total of 5 million square feet of sustainable buildings, an array of new technologies and operating practices and a unique integration with the spectacular natural features of New York's waterfront.

Read more about the ULI Awards competition and view other award winners at http://www.uli.org. Read more about hMa and their master plan designs by visiting our website: www.hanrahanMeyers.com, and go to: 'Master Plans and Landscapes'. To read more about hMa's Green Designs, visit our website, http://www.hanrahanMeyers.com, and go to: 'Green'.

Teardrop Park – Battery Park City North Neighborhood Master Plan, hanrahan Meyers architects. Post: Victoria Meyers architect
Modern Public Building Designmodern minimalist public buildings; Pratt Design Center; Award winning Public Buildngs, steel and glass

June 9th, 2010

hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa) have a twenty-year track record designing public buildings. If you are an institutional client – a college, university, church, or other public institution – hMa brings a full roster of outstanding and award-winning experience to public projects. hMa has experience designing the master plan for over 1,000,000 square feet of sustainable, green construction for Battery Park City Authority; designing a campus center for Pratt Institute; and creating the unique interior space for the Infinity Chapel in Manhattan.

This is what people are saying about hanrahan Meyers architects' award-winning public works:

"Pratt Design Center is extraordinary because it achieves a visionary model not only in concept, but also in purpose and design"
Juliana Curran Terian on Pratt Design Center, Real Estate Weekly 3/21/2007

hanrahanMeyers architects' Juliana Curran Terian Pratt Pavilion in Brooklyn, NY click here to see more on www.hanrahanMeyers.com

"With its curved roof, this multi-use theater looks like a grey sea wave playfully lapping at the base of the bland public housing tower next to it"
Lisa Delgado for The Architect's Newspaper, Issue 17, Oct 17, 2007 "Studio Visit : hanrahanMeyers"

hanrahanMeyers architects' WaveLine Pavilion in Queens, NY click here to see more on www.hanrahanmeyers.com

"When the new reading room and Infinity Chapel are finished, it’ll be intriguing enough that (people) will come in and say, ‘What is this all about?’ Anyone even interested in design will want to come in and see this incredible space.”
excerpted from Architect magazine, June 2007 "Christian Science Reading Room" by Amanda Kolson Hurley

hanrahanMeyers architects' Infinity Chapel in Greenwich Village, NYC click here to see more on www.hanrahanmeyers.com

"Finding a way to do that [create spiritual places that put you in direct contact with nature] in urban spaces like Battery Park City or a 1,600-square-foot urban loft in midtown Manhattan may seem impossible, and that's why [hMa's] work has won so many architectural awards"
Kris Frieswick for Arrive Magazine, May/June 2007 "Six People Changing the Way We Live"

hanrahanMeyers architects' Battery Park City Community Center in NYC click here to see more on www.hanrahanmeyers.com
Urban Design: American Campus Design Glass and Steel Building Design – campus master plan design; minimalist building design

July 23rd, 2009

Juliana Curran Terian Pratt Pavilion

Phase 5 : Finished Building – Timeline 2007

We are showing the finished Juliana Curran Terian Pratt Pavilion. The project is depicted in various states of finish on this blog, where we posted a chronical of the construction process for the building. To see the building in progress, go to posts dated: July 20, 2009; July 10, 2009, and July 6, 2009. Pratt Pavilion opened to international acclaim and attention in the fall of 2007. Pratt Pavilion is a key part of an overall campus planning strategy for the Pratt Institute campus.

Prior to Pratt Pavilion opening, the 'front doors' of the two adjacent industrial loft buildings opened onto DeKalb Avenue, an adjacent street, instead of opening toward the Pratt Campus. hanrahan Meyers architects were part of a larger effort by Pratt Institute to reorient the Institute's buildings toward the Institute's central campus space. In addition to contributing to master plan efforts at Pratt Institute, hanrahan Meyers architects are just finishing their work on Battery Park City's North Neighborhood Master Plan, where hMa have been master plan architects since 1997. At Battery Park City's North Neighborhood, hanrahan Meyers architects wrote all of the design guidelines for several million square feet of sustainable construction, including the design guidelines for the world's first built LEED certified residential tower, the Solaire. To see more about hMa's efforts at Pratt Institute, as well as for Battery Park City, visit hMa's website: www.hanrahanMeyers.com. To see more about Pratt Institute as well as hMa's experience designing green masterplans, go to 'projects'; educational spaces / masterplans and landscapes.

Pratt Pavilion acts as a new 'front door' to two larger loft buildings that house several of the Institute programs, including Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Industrial Design and Interior Design. At the rear of the Pavilion is a new 'bridge' of sloping corridors that connect the formerly disconnected loft buildings together, so that all of the programs are now housed within a single, connected building. The second floor of the Pavilion, above the clear glass entry, houses a gallery to showcase work by Pratt students, faculty and alumni.
Urban Design: American Campus Design Phase Two: Form – Timeline 2005

July 10th, 2009

Juliana Curran Terian Pratt Pavilion: Phase Two: Form – Timeline : 2005

hanrahan Meyers architects present their design studies for the Juliana Curran Terian Pratt Pavilion. The project opened to international acclaim in 2007. To see the finished building, visit hMa's post on the hMa blog dated: July 23, 2009. To read more about the Juliana Curran Terian Pratt Pavilion, visit hMa's website: www.hanrahanMeyers.com, click on 'projects' and go to 'educational spaces'.

The studies show the following, starting from the top of the post: hMa's initial water-color / massing study for the building design. This is the building's earliest study presented to the Pratt Institute Board. Next to that are two physical model studies, showing the massing for the building from the front and from above.

Below, hMa's massing study / isometric showing: the entry ramp / building ground plane; adding the stair and infrastructure; and adding the shapes of the two adjacent loft buildings. Pratt Pavilion was designed as a new 'front door' to a larger complex, the new Pratt Design Center. The Design Center connects together the floorplates of two large loft buildings, totalling 200,000 square feet. These buildings house all of Pratt's Design programs including industrial design, graphic design, interior design and fashion design.

Below the isometric are two of hanrahan Meyers' early perspective studies for the Pavilion's exterior and interior finishes. This collection of images were originally catalogued for hMa's winning entry in the Architectural League of New York's competition: Starts and Finishes.

Pratt Pavilion is the first building built on the main Pratt Campus as part of a larger master plan strategy to reorient the front facades and front doors of the campus buildings from neighboring streets, toward the main campus. When Pratt Institute was originally founded by the Pratt family, the central campus did not exist and was bisected by a street with a trolley. In the one hundred years since the Institute's original founding, the original street was de-mapped and removed, and Pratt formed an internal green campus to replace the street, around fifty years ago. Recently, the Institute has embarked on a cohesive master plan strategy to complete the School's orientation toward its central campus by turning the facades of the Insitute's buildings away from the surrounding streets, and toward the campus. hMa played a key role in this planning process, developing the first building to implement the new Master Plan.

To see more about hanrahan Meyers' master planning projects, visit hMa's website: www.hanrahanMeyers.com, and go to: Projects: masterplans and landscapes.
Victoria Meyers to participate in the first “Sustainable Cities Design Academy”

January 9th, 2009

North End Avenue in Battery Park City's North Neighborhood for which hMa were Master Plan architects (photo: Paul Warchol); click here for more about this project on hanrahanMeyers.com

Victoria Meyers has been invited to participate as a Resource Team Member for the first Sustainable Cities Design Academy, a conference that is being hosted by the American Architectural Foundation. Ms. Meyers was chosen as a Resource Team Member based on the expansive experience that her firm, hMa, has in the area of complex, Green and Sustainable Master Plans, as well as Landscape Designs.

Since 1997, hMa have been the official Master Plan Architects for Battery Park City’s North Neighborhood. In that capacity, hMa has overseen the development and written guidelines for the design of the first Green high-rise residential development building in the United States. When Battery Park City is built out it will include four million square feet of sustainable construction, with even its parks maintained without fertilizer. In 2003 hMa were part of the team receiving an Environmental Excellence Award for the green planning and design which has set standards for green construction and planning throughout the United States.

Other master plans that hMa have overseen as designers include the design of Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York, as well as Pratt Institute’s Main Campus redesign. At Pratt hMa was part of the team that redesigned the campus, and hMa also designed the first building that implemented the new master plan: the Juliana Curran Terian Pratt Pavilion. This building marked the first piece of a major redesign and rethinking of the Pratt campus.

Read more and see photos of hMa's Master Planning projects at hanrahanMeyers.com/masterplans

Read more about AAF and SCDA at www.archfoundation.org
Project Update : Won Buddhist Training Center

December 22nd, 2008

hMa's Won Buddhist Training Center is a future spiritual retreat located in rural Claverack, New York. The property gently slopes toward the west, offering views of the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains. The project is scheduled to enter construction in May 2009. The Won Buddhist Center will feature all wood-frame buildings made with local materials to sympathize with and reflect the Center's natural surroundings.

AERIAL PERSPECTIVE

GUEST RESIDENCES

GUEST RESIDENCE COURTYARD

MEDITATION HALL
Teardrop Parkwalking tour; master plan architects; Battery Park City Master Plan; natural architecture

April 18th, 2008

Bob Gelber is hosting a tour of Battery Park City's North Neighborhood where, since 1997 hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa), have been master plan architects. As Battery Park's Master Plan Architects hMa were responsible for achieving several milestones in the development of one of the most forward-thinking urban master plan in America. Battery Park City’s ‘Green Guidelines’ set the standard for green guidelines for all other city agencies in the City of New York, and for communities throughout the United States.

view through the trees at Teardrop Park in Battery Park City's North Neighborhood; click to view more photos of the neighborhood at hanrahanMeyers.com

Teardrop Park, a major green feature and landscape design in BPC's North Neighborhood, is a project that hMa participated in from its beginning stages. The design team for the Park included hMa; artist Ann Hamilton; and Michael Van Valkenburgh, Landscape Architect. As Design Team members, hMa celebrates how Teardrop Park, a highlight of Mr. Gelber's tour, brings elements of the landscape of upstate New York and the original landscape of Manhattan, to Battery Park's North Neighborhood. The infusion of Nature into a high-rise residential neighborhood celebrates and embraces the values that h Ma places on bringing elements of Nature into their architectural and master plan designs. To read more about hMa's architectural designs and their master plans and landscapes, go to the hMa website.

Join Bob Gelber, founder of Walkin’ NY, for a tour of the North Neighborhood and take in lower Manhattan’s open spaces, waterfronts and environmentally friendly commercial, residential and retail buildings. Visit a model apartment in the Riverhouse, and gain special access to the photovoltaic grid on the building's roof, courtesy of the Sheldrake Organization. Tickets for the walk benefit Open House New York (OHNY).

Tour will begin at 10:30 am on Saturday, May 3. Purchase tickets here and learn more about OHNY on their website.

Teardrop Park in Battery Park City's North Neighborhood
Won Buddhist Training Centercampus master plan

November 30th, 2007

Campus Master Plan: A Rural Layout

hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa) have a designed a new Won-Buddhist Retreat that will be approximately 2 hours north of New York City on a rural site. The site is mostly wooded, with a swath of Meadow on the western edge where buildings can be built.

- The site features relatively unspoiled Natural features with native vegetation. All site development will occur in the western edge where the trees have been removed. The rest of the site will be untouched.

- The site plan shows buildings in a rural arrangement, creating a primary impression of the forest’s uninterrupted expanse reinforced by buildings oriented to the path of the sun. The site is large enough to accommodate the program without crowding, maintaining sufficient space so that the Nature of the site permeates the buildings. The Program that we are showing includes a Meditation Hall, a Dining Hall, and Housing.

- The Visitor experience hMa has designed for the master plan and buildings: One with Nature.

Nature Gate

Carefully planted trees and Grasses form a Natural Gate to the site. Gateways that are almost invisible, but present. Using the sound of Nature as the entrance to the site. Initial Entrance Experience: Stone crunching underfoot; leaves rustling in wind; tall grass blowing in breeze.

Stone Gate at the Ridge

A stone base marks a datum across the site. Structures with stone walls create a datum in the Landscape. Architecture becomes a means of measuring site.

From the Stone Gate at the ridge, visitors will be able to glimpse the various structures in the landscape. All structures to be constructed with the same sensibility as the Stone Gate using natural materials. Treating buildings as part of Nature.

View of the buildings

Buildings on the site all share common sense of Natural Materials with the Stone Gate; stone base with wood construction above. The buildings become like the site; like trees sitting in the earth.

View from Meditation Hall:

A sense of being outside when you are inside. A space lit by natural light, so the Meditation Hall is tied to the natural rhythms of Nature and sunlight. Beams overhead that modulate the light, like leaves on the trees. A place that allows the users to feel the awe of Nature.

Building the site into the building, as well as building into the site.