New York state Senator Michael Gianaris has revealed plans to construct a new planetarium at 21-12 30th Road in Astoria, Queens. Construction of the planetarium is a major facet of plans to renovate the site’s existing building which currently houses the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, a non-profit organization that offers youth development, physical fitness, and seasonal programming for local children and teens.
Demolition work is underway for the New Museum‘s eight-story expansion at 235 Bowery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu of OMA and Cooper Robertson & Partners, the 174-foot-tall annex will rise directly to the south of the SANAA-designed main building from 2007 and nearly double the institution’s footprint to 115,277 square feet. The sleek, angular volume will connect laterally to the original museum and house three gallery floors, a cafe, a bookstore, offices, community and educational program space, art storage, and outdoor terraces. Sciame Construction is the general contractor for the property, which is located at the intersection of Bowery and Spring Street.
Silverstein Properties has repurposed vacant commercial space on the ground floor of 529 Fifth Avenue in Midtown into an interactive public art space. Dubbed “Wonderland Dreams,” the exhibit invites patrons to explore an immersive 3D painting created in partnership with artist Alexa Meade and Catching Flights.
Construction has passed the halfway point on 50 East 112th Street, the tallest tower in the Sendero Verde mixed-use complex in East Harlem, Manhattan. Designed by Handel Architects and developed by Jonathan Rose Companies, L+M Development Partners, and Acacia Network, the 34-story tower represents the second phase of construction and will yield 361 permanently affordable rental units for low- to moderate-income families and the formerly homeless. The edifice is rising directly to the west of the completed first phase, which encompasses a 15-story tower at 60 East 112th Street and a ten-story structure at 75 East 111th Street. The latest tower will span 395,000 square feet, making it the largest affordable Passive House development in the world. L&M Builders Group is the general contractor for the property, which is located at the corner of East 112th Street and Madison Avenue.
Culturespaces and IMG have transformed the base of the historic Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank into Hall des Lumières, a multi-level immersive art exhibition and cultural venue at 49 Chambers Street in the Civic Center section of Lower Manhattan. Now open to the public, the 33,000-square-foot space represents a multinational collaboration among 3D projection artists, local design studios, historic preservation teams, and sound designers.
