‘A hundred times I have thought: New York is a catastrophe, and fifty times: it is a beautiful catastrophe,’ wrote Le Corbusier. See how his musings measure up after the all-you-can-eat architectural buffet that is Open House New York (OHNY) Weekend.
The annual event, which gets underway this Friday and coincides with Open House Chicago, is the high point of the city-wide ‘Archtober’ festival, offering opportunities to step inside buildings that are rarely open to the public, take a closer look at beloved landmarks, and discover some new contenders for icon status in a city brimming with them. Here are our highlights.
Photography: Brendan Crain
Photography: Brendan Crain
‘We wanted passengers passing through the building to experience a fully-designed environment in which each part arises from another and everything belongs to the same formal world,’ said Eero Saarinen of his 1962 Space Age-meets-Jet Set terminal. Don’t miss what may be your last chance to visit the mid-century modern masterpiece before it is transformed into JFK’s only onsite airport hotel.
Photography: Nicholas Lemery Nantel
‘We wanted passengers passing through the building to experience a fully-designed environment in which each part arises from another and everything belongs to the same formal world,’ said Eero Saarinen of his 1962 Space Age-meets-Jet Set terminal. Don’t miss what may be your last chance to visit the mid-century modern masterpiece before it is transformed into JFK’s only onsite airport hotel.
Photography: Nicholas Lemery Nantel
‘We wanted passengers passing through the building to experience a fully-designed environment in which each part arises from another and everything belongs to the same formal world,’ said Eero Saarinen of his 1962 Space Age-meets-Jet Set terminal. Don’t miss what may be your last chance to visit the mid-century modern masterpiece before it is transformed into JFK’s only onsite airport hotel.
Photography: Nicholas Lemery Nantel
Okra, cucumber, and eggplant grow (sustainably) in Brooklyn – on this 35,000 sq ft urban farm. Based on the Williamsburg waterfront site that was until recently occupied by the Domino Sugar refinery, the new venture of North Brooklyn Farms makes the most of East River views that have been blocked for the last 150 years.
Photography: Andrew Kluger
Okra, cucumber, and eggplant grow (sustainably) in Brooklyn – on this 35,000 sq ft urban farm. Based on the Williamsburg waterfront site that was until recently occupied by the Domino Sugar refinery, the new venture of North Brooklyn Farms makes the most of East River views that have been blocked for the last 150 years.
Photography: Andrew Kluger
Another neoclassical stalwart – a 1917 office building – overhauled for booming NoMad, Huys is opening up its final for-sale residence for an OHNY Weekend tour. Architect Piet Boon has imported Dutch design (‘with clean lines and lots of symmetry,’ he promises), while his countryman, Piet Oudolf, has reprised his High Line plant choices for the rooftop terrace.
Another neoclassical stalwart – a 1917 office building – overhauled for booming NoMad, Huys is opening up its final for-sale residence for an OHNY Weekend tour. Architect Piet Boon has imported Dutch design (‘with clean lines and lots of symmetry,’ he promises), while his countryman, Piet Oudolf, has reprised his High Line plant choices for the rooftop terrace.
Save room for dessert. This year’s OHNY Weekend gets off to an early start with ‘Food Factory Friday,’ part of a year-long series of public programmes that explores the architecture of New York’s multi-layered food system. Among the sweetest options is a look behind the scenes at Li-Lac Chocolates, with a tour of the company’s Sunset Park, Brooklyn manufacturing facility led by owner Anthony Cirone.
Photography courtesy of Li-Lac Chocolates
The source of much buzz in the design world, the Spanish tile, kitchen, and bath company’s newly completed Manhattan flagship is the 1919 Commodore Criterion building. It has been reimagined by Norman Foster, who shows off his knack for creating dynamic, dramatic spatial connections within a protected, neoclassical shell.
One of SoHo’s best kept secrets, this two-year-old nonprofit organisation presents thoughtfully organized exhibitions in a loft space tucked away on the fourth floor of a historic cast-iron building. Its new show – an installation of Giorgio Morandi’s rarely seen paintings from the 1930s – includes related work by Tacita Dean, Wolfgang Laib, Joel Meyerowitz, and Matthias Schaller.
One of SoHo’s best kept secrets, this two-year-old nonprofit organisation presents thoughtfully organized exhibitions in a loft space tucked away on the fourth floor of a historic cast-iron building. Its new show – an installation of Giorgio Morandi’s rarely seen paintings from the 1930s – includes related work by Tacita Dean, Wolfgang Laib, Joel Meyerowitz, and Matthias Schaller.
