For the past decade, design magazines have praised New York City’s architectural revival while business papers followed the ups-and-ups of Gotham’s hot property market.
Both phenomena are linked. Unlike other cities, where bold design is often sponsored by local governments, New York City’s development boom has been helped by private builders with artistic tastes. Like more policing and better schools, creative design has become an important force for rising property values.
Thus, for this month’s supplement, we peek behind the curtain wall and ask: When architecture meets real estate, what happens?
First, a re-examination of the rise of the so-called starchitects. Their styles are unique, have verve and are eye-catching. Yet are they really worth the extra cost? See Apartment buildings as canvases.
Sometimes, a great blueprint isn’t enough. Rem Koolhaas has been called the world’s most influential designer, but until recently, he’s been shut out of substantial projects in Manhattan. In the article City warms to Koolhaas, a look at his history, along with his firm’s proposed new building on East 22nd Street, shows that architecture is as much about salesmanship as it is design.
In another story we profile HL23, a new condo project designed by Neil Denari, one of the world’s most famous and respected “paper architects.” Why the phrase? Until he won his recent commission on the High Line, none of his designs ever left the drawing board. See Neil Denari getting high marks.
Increasingly, celebrity architects are forced to spend their time enhancing their brands, while the real work of designing gets done by younger architects in their ateliers. Yet the depth of our current building boom has allowed numerous protégés to step out of the shadows of their masters and establish their own firms. In the article Starchitect tide lifts apprentices, we show you that they are going on to design structures every bit as provocative as their famous counterparts.
Of course, every great design has a great model showing what a finished building will look like. As those models become ever more sophisticated and expensive, the industry of crafting those models has seen a surge. See Thinking big with a doll’s eye view.
Nowhere have art and commerce found more common ground than in the area of density bonuses, whereby cities permit zoning exceptions for taller buildings in exchange for public goods such as open space or public art. Take a look at Giving back for building up to see how density bonuses are working, or not working, in New York.
Since innovative design is becoming more technologically complex, in the article Drafting a new architecture education, we look at how architecture schools and developers are working more closely together.
Finally, a peek into the future. As a nationwide real estate slump grows worse, we examine how architecture firms are diversifying their practices. Check out our article Architects branch out.