Blog OHNY - Part 3

Gregory Wessner is OHNY

December 6, 2012 I AM OHNY Gregory Wessner

Gregory Wessner
OHNY’s new executive director
Lives in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn

1. Are you a native New Yorker? If not, when and why did you move here? I just celebrated my 20th anniversary as a New Yorker this past summer. I grew up in New Jersey and came to the city for the first time on an 8th grade trip. There was no turning back.

2. Do you have a favorite place/neighborhood in the city? There are a lot of neighborhoods I love, so it’s hard to name just one. But in terms of places, I would say the waterfront parks, especially Hudson River Park. One of my favorite things to do is to walk down the west side of Manhattan through Hudson River Park and then continue through Battery Park City to the Battery. And now it’s getting even better because with a little effort you can keep going and connect with the East River Promenade. Brooklyn Bridge Park is another favorite place of mine. I’ll always remember the first time I walked out onto Pier 1, with the Lower Manhattan skyline on one side of the East River and the Brooklyn skyline on the other. It is an amazing vantage point to see the city. Ellen Ryan, our recently-departed interim executive director would love you for plugging Brooklyn Bridge Park since she worked there before coming to OHNY! I know! I tell Ellen every time I see her how much I love Brooklyn Bridge Park.

3. What does OHNY mean to you? It’s about opportunity. We walk around the city day after day, always wondering what’s inside this building or that building. You never get a chance to go inside. OHNY gives you that rare opportunity to go inside

4. Why is OHNY important to New York City? New York prides itself on being a city of change. But for those of us who live here, change is not always easy. One reason why OHNY is really important is that it gets people out into the city to experience it first hand. OHNY helps us have a more informed conversation about the kind of New York we want for the future. You can’t overestimate how important that is.

5. How and when did you first learn about OHNY? Certainly by the first weekend in 2003. I think the first site I went to was Governors Island in 2004 or 2005.

6. What has been your favorite OHNY site or program? Oddly enough, it is a site I visited this past OHNY Weekend. I went to the Brooklyn Historical Society, which is just around the corner from where I live. I have walked by it everyday for four years and never went inside. It’s open to the public and I could have gone in at any time. But that is what is great about OHNY – it took OHNY Weekend to prompt me to explore even those places that are right in front of me.

7. If OHNY could grant you a New York City all-access pass, where would you go first? My first choice is the (former) Cloud Club at the top of the Chrysler Building, but I know everyone must say that, so my second choice is the Second Avenue subway tunnel. How often does New York City build a new subway? That would be a very cool tour.

8. Who is your favorite architect/designer/artist in the city? Well, I’m certainly not naming any living architects, for obvious reasons! Two of my favorite periods in New York architecture are the decades spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries and then mid-20th century. For a mid-century architect, I would choose Wallace Harrison, who had a hand in Rockefeller Center, the United Nations, and Lincoln Center. He also did the President’s House at Rockefeller University, which I was lucky enough to visit several times and it’s stunning. I think Cass Gilbert is a great early 20th century architect. He designed the Woolworth Building and the Brooklyn Army Terminal–what more do I need to say?

9. It goes without saying that we all love New York City. What do you find most inspiring about the city? The people. New York has incredible architecture and public space, but it’s the people who make New York City what it is. They are committed, enthusiastic, crazy, indomitable–when things are down, everyone pulls together. It’s inspiring. As much as I love architecture, it’s the people who live here that make the city what it is.

10. In one sentence, why should people support OHNY? OHNY opens New York to everyone–to support OHNY is to support New York.

Thanks, Greg!

2012 Focus on Architecture Winners

After tallying the votes from Facebook, we have determined the top three winners of the 2012 Focus on Architecture Photo Competition. Congratulations to Joan Tsen, Van Hsin-Hung Tsao and Joe David! Here are the winning photographs:

First place: Joan Tsen (African Burial Ground)

Second place: Van Hsin-Hung Tsao (TWA Flight Center)

Third place: Joe David (Park Avenue Armory)

Prizes for all winners have been provided by New York City Photo Safari.

In addition, the judges gave out four Judge’s Choice Awards. Congratulations to Roisin Collins, Van Hsin-Hung Tsao (photo above), Katie Killary and Michelle Songco. And here are the photos that received a Judge’s Choice Award:

Judges Choice Award: Roisin Collins (New York Marriott Marquis)

Judges Choice Award: Katie Killary (Wythe Hotel)

Judges Choice Award: Michelle Songco (Central Synagogue)

All Judges Choice Award Winners will receive an customized OHNY gift.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the competition and who voted for the winners. Together, all of the submissions create a dynamic portrait of the excitement and adventure that is the heart of OHNY Weekend.

Get your cameras ready and stay tuned for the next edition of the Focus on Architecture Photo Competition coming in October 2013!

2012 OHNY Focus on Architecture Finalists

November 15, 2012 OHNY Weekend Focus on Architecture, New York City Photo Safari, OHNY Photo Contest, OHNY Weekend

Every year OHNY holds its annual OHNY Focus on Architecture Photo Competition and welcomes OHNY Weekend visitors to submit their best images taken from one of the hundreds of sites & programs offered. This year photos were judged based on the following criteria.

The spirit of openhousenewyork focuses on collective urban exploration and a shared appreciation for the past and present of New York City’s built environment. With that in mind, we are looking for photos that:

are taken during OHNY Weekend (October 6 & 7, 2012) at a participating OHNY Weekend site or program
demonstrate the energy and excitement of exploring a new space, place or neighborhood
show not only architecture and design, but also your fellow explorers and participants at the OHNY site/program (including OHNY participants, volunteers, guides, etc.)

The panel of judges included Sean Hemmerle, Elliott Kaufman, Margaret Morton and Erica Stoller. Thank you to StreetEasy for hosting our judging session. Below, we are proud to announce the top 10 images selected by our esteemed judges.

This year OHNY is asking YOU to determine the final top three winners of the contest. Vote for your favorite image by visiting Facebook, scrolling through the album titled 2012 OHNY Focus on Architecture Finalists and clicking “like” on your favorites. Based on the most number of “likes” for each photo, OHNY will determine the top three winners. Prizes courtesy of New York City Photo Safari.

Voting will close at 4pm MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26th. The final winners will be announced on Tuesday, November 27th.

Vote now by visiting us on Facebook!

Click here to read the full rules and conditions for the contest.

Field Trip Friday: The Whitney Studio

October 26, 2012 Field Trip Friday Field Trip, LOT-EK, Whitney Studio

This past Thursday, Jailee took a break from the OHNY office to join Archtober’s tour of the building of the day: The Whitney Studio. This temporary 2-story structure was designed and built by LOT-EK and sits in the South sculpture garden, one floor below the ground level. The tour of the Whitney Studio was led by Ada Tolla, one of the principals of LOT-EK. Find out what Jailee learned on her visit to see this intriguing addition to the Whitney’s Upper East Side space.

Whitney Studio

As most readers probably know, the Whitney Museum of American Art will be moving soon to a new space in the Meatpacking District, just adjacent to the High Line. Because of the move, the museum has started to consolidate and has lost much of the space that they used for programming and studio art classes. The museum wanted to continue to provide these programs during the transition but needed a new space to do so.

The museum decided as opposed to renting space, they would like to create a new, temporary space to conduct their studio art classes. They needed it fast and they needed it to be as cost effective as possible. That’s when they contacted LOT-EK architects. The firm is well-known for re-purposing industrial materials, most notably shipping containers. The museum identified the south side of the sculpture garden located below ground level as a space that was under-utilized and asked LOT-EK to develop a design plan.

Ada Tolla explained to the tour group that the space measured about 24 feet by 21 feet. Since shipping containers come in two sizes – 20 feet long or 40 feet long – the architects immediately decided to use small sized containers for the structure. Because of the height of the available space, the architects also decided to create a 2-story structure. Therefore, the completed design consists of 6 shipping containers boxed together.

Another important requirement laid out by the museum was to not have a closed, boxed up space. They wanted the studio to create a dialogue with the building and visitors coming through the museum. To address this, the architects developed a diagonal cut through the containers with large glass panels color treated in yellow. This allowed the structure to have some transparency without creating what Tolla described as a “fish bowl effect.” The cut is oriented towards the museum (not towards the street) and also provides a skylight so as to let natural light into the studio.

Tolla talked about how much the firm adores the Whitney’s Marcel Breuer building. The architects felt that the cut harmonizes well with the strong geometrical elements of Bruer’s modernist design. Tolla also mentioned how fabulous it is to view the Whitney Studio from the inside of the museum on the lower level with the repeated reflections of the distinctive light fixtures of the Breuer interior. And I have to agree!

Here is Tolla inside the Whitney Studio explaining the complicated process of installing the Whitney Studio. On Vimeo you can view a 3 minute video demonstrating how the project began and how it was installed. Much of the structure was pre-fabricated off-site and then installed at the museum over two weekends. Because the containers are a tight fit in the space, the installation required lowering two containers down at a time and then rolling them back into place. The interior was finished once the containers were in place. The inside was designed to be as functional as possible and all of the structure of the Whitney Studio is exposed.

On the top left of the photo above you can see some piping. Luckily for the architects, a utility closet is located just behind the Studio wall inside the museum. Therefore, the architects could easily tap into the electrical and water lines to service the temporary space.

The most impressive part of the project for me was the incredibly fast turn around. Tolla explained that the Whitney approached them beginning in October of 2011 and the installation began in February 2012. Wow! A contributing factor in the streamlining of the process was both the unseasonably nice winter, which allowed the architects to progress quickly as much of the construction was done outside, and also the Whitney’s large building project downtown. Since the Whitney was already involved with another project, they had the people in place to make quick decisions and to get fast approvals.

When asked what will be the fate of the Whitney Studio once the museum moves downtown, Tolla smiled and said that she is not sure but it has always been part of the plan to make sure that the Studio has a continued life, whether it stays with the Whitney, becomes part of the space used by the Metropolitan Museum (the Whitney Building will be run by the Met in 2015) or is given to another institution.

She coyly added that the small-scale model of the project (that you can see in the photo further above on the table) was designed in the same scale as the Renzo Piano model of the new museum building that the Whitney has put on display in hopes that the Whitney Studio might eventually be part of the museum’s new home.

The Whitney Studio can be viewed from the ground level street entrance of the museum and will be there at least until the Whitney Museum moves out of the space in 2015. After my tour, I forgot to ask if museum visitors can enter the Studio with museum admission but it seems as though they leave the door open as long as there are no classes taking place. Even if you just happen to be walking by, make sure to take a look!

The Whitney Studio
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street

Field Trip Friday: WeRecycle!

October 22, 2012 Field Trip Friday Field Trip Friday, WeRecycle!

For this week’s Field Trip Friday, we have a guest post from architectural desginer Eric Ball who takes us into one of the processing facilities of WeRecycle! a regional company whose programs focus on the ethical recycling and management of electronic waste.

On an early August morning Lauren Dykes from WeRecycle! welcomed me into their largest facility in the Bronx for a thorough factory floor tour led by Youness Khouraibchia.

Since April 1, 2011 New York State has required manufacturers to take back used electronics for recycling. By 2015 it will be illegal for consumers to dispose of electronics any other way.

WeRecycle! has been refining this local process that returns life to our cyclical piles of outdated cell phones, monitors, tvs, and printers; keeping them out of our drawers, landfills, groundwater, and cargo ships that frequently deliver these toxic materials to cheaper labor.

Outfitted in metal-toed shoes, reflective yellow vest, hard hat, & ear plugs, I entered the factory floor of 15 people tending to the organized sequences of conveyor belts that return an old monitor back to its separate, valuable parts (circuit boards, plastic, aluminum, metal, & steel) in order to be sold.

PROCESS

WeRecycle! collects used electronics from: OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), businesses, consumers (mostly CRTS and Monitors), and asset managers (server racks)

The remaining data within the used electronics are destroyed, and printer cartridges and hazardous components are removed. Everything is dropped into a shredder, which crushes everything between two steel notched rolling pins. What remains is then separated by a giant magnet into ferrous (contains iron) and non ferrous metals.

Non ferrous metals are further refined by hammermills and magnets. Ferrous metals travel over a screen capturing smaller pieces below. The larger pieces move onto a magnetic field causing various degrees of reaction to identify iron and aluminum. The remainder then travels down a sensored conveyor belt which can identify and separate any remaining heavy metal.

This option is available for FREE to all consumers and businesses with fewer than 50 employees and non-profit organizations with fewer than 75.

The Lower East Side Ecology Center also now has a permanent collection center at 469 President Street in Brooklyn. To find out where to recycle your electronics near you, visit go recycle’s website http://www.werecycle.com/

Thanks Lauren and Youness for this fascinating look behind the scenes, and to much success continuing to innovate this important, growing industry!

OHNY also thanks Eric for sharing his experience at WeRecycle! If you are interested in writing about one of your adventures to a unique space in New York City and having OHNY feature it as a Field Trip Friday post, please contact Jailee Rychen at jailee@ohny.org.