A rendering of the East River Waterfront Esplanade by ShoP Architects

Four new sections of the $165 million East River Waterfront Esplanade will be ready to go in plenty of time for summer, a city official told DNAInfo. Scheduled for April openings are the glass-walled Maiden Lane pavilion, under the FDR Drive at Maiden Lane and South Street; a hunk of  riverfront pathway; and two pavilions on Pier 15, according to Terri Bahr, a project manager for the city Economic Development Corporation. The first section opened in July 2011…. [more]

Barclays Center

The brand new Barclays Center is still weeks from opening but its facade gives the appearance of a building many years its senior. That’s because, the New York Times noted, the arena’s SHoP Architects-designed exterior was made with weathering steel.

The steel is made to rust quickly, and that layer of rust protects against moisture and slows the corrosion process. Other buildings in the city made with the weathering steel, including the East of East condominium building at 13-14 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City and a Greenwich Street townhouse, applied a fresh layer of it and therefore stained sidewalks and nearby glass orange from dripping rust. [more]

From left: Vishaan Chakrabarti, 200 Chambers Street and the apartment he sold

A noteworthy architect’s renovation can lend a certain cachet to a New York City apartment. If the architect in question called the residence home, so much the better. That’s the case with a duplex condominium in Tribeca of the architect and urban planner Vishaan Chakrabarti, which recently sold for $5.7 million, according to city records filed today.

Chakrabarti — whose latest post is a partnership at SHoP Architects, the firm that designed the Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards, among other high-profile projects — put his architectural chops to use on his own home, combining two units at 200 Chambers Street into a 3,250-square-foot duplex apartment. [more]

From left: Bruce Ratner and a rendering of Atlantic Yards’ first residential towerFrom the January issue: The most remarkable thing — perhaps the only remarkable thing — about the recently released plans for a residential high-rise at Brooklyn’s much-debated Atlantic Yards site is not the design itself, but rather the manner in which the project will be built.

Conceived by SHoP Architects for Forest City Ratner, the building will be made up of prefabricated units constructed off-site and then assembled on the premises. The prefab component of construction should allow for considerable savings. [more]

Howard Hughes CEO David Weinreb and Pier 17

South Street Seaport leaseholder Howard Hughes Corp. unveiled plans to the local community board to replace the mall that currently sits on Pier 17 with a three-story glass retail building. According to the Tribeca Tribune, the community walked away impressed with the plan — but aware that a taller tower will likely follow.

“You can’t just be doing one building without knowing what your master plan is for the rest of the pier,” said John Fratta, chair of Community Board 1′s Seaport Committee. “I’m willing to bet there is going to be a high-rise in the future.”… [more]

Renderings of the FIT building on 28th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues (source: SHoP Architects)

Budget cuts this summer have left a sleek glass tower proposed for the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Chelsea campus in limbo, and now the school is hoping the project will be saved by a private donor.

According to the Architect’s Newspaper, the state awarded the State University of New York school located between Seventh and Eighth avenues at 27th and 28th streets, half of the $148 million needed to complete the SHoP Architects-designed project in 2003. (SHoP is also the firm behind the Barclays Center in Atlantic Yards.) The rest, it said, would need to come from local funding within 10 years. In 2006, the city contributed $2 million to the project, prompting the state to match it, so the architects could finalize the design. … [more]

Atlantic Yards and Forest City CEO Bruce Ratner

Forest City Ratner has filed its first application with the Department
of Buildings for its planned construction of a residential tower at
Atlantic Yards, Brownstoner reported. The permit seeks to
build a 33-story, 368-unit tower at Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street,
right next to the  arena. Half of the building’s units will be
affordable housing. According to Brownstoner, it is not yet clear if
the tower, designed by SHoP architects, will be prefabricated. SHoP’s website does not yet show any renderings for the site. [Brownstoner] … [more]

Interior renderings of the Barclays Center (credit: SHoP Architects)

While basketball fans will be greeted by some of the best site lines of any American arena, from the looks of interior renderings of the forthcoming Barclays Center released yesterday by Nets officials, those who aren’t keen on the game will enjoy some impressive sites of their own, the New York Post reported.

The arena, set to open at the Atlantic Yards in September 2012, will feature a grand atrium, wide concourses with views of a practice court and several unique lounges and bars. … [more]

An interior rendering of the Barclays Center and Bruce Ratner

Investors, city officials and developer Bruce Ratner, CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies, came together today to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Barclays Center at the Atlantic Yards development. The 18,000-seat arena, which will serve as the home of the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets, is expected to open in 2010. At the ceremony, Mayor Michael Bloomberg described the Barclays Center as “the first piece of what will be one of the largest private investments and job generators in Brooklyn’s history.” Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Governor David Paterson were equally effusive in their praise, describing the development as “a dream” and “a boon to Brooklyn,” respectively. The arena, which is being designed by the Ellerbe Becket and ShoP Architects firms, is also expected to host upwards of 200 events annually, including concerts and non-NBA basketball games. Clarification: these comments were released in advance of the ceremony and were the planned statements of the individuals quoted. TRD

The Nets basketball team released renderings of the new Barclays Center interior today, designed by Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects. The 18,000-seat arena in Downtown Brooklyn will also include luxury suites, currently available for sale. See slide show above for images.