● MICHIELLI + WYETZNER
Emergency response in W’burg
The Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn now has an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Station designed by Michielli + Wyetzner Architects (M+W) for the NY Fire Department.
Occupying a site on Metropolitan Avenue, the two-story, 12,400 s/f facility that supports FDNY ambulance crews and vehicles has a strong, contemporary form.
The $9.3 million station is part of FDNY’s plan to improve response time to medical emergencies throughout the city.
“This is an iconic building that conveys the message of readiness to serve and connectedness to the community, said NYC Department of Design and Construction Deputy Commissioner David Resnick at the opening. “It’s a symbol of what EMS represents to the community.”
●GENSLER
Trophy job for design firm
Gensler has been selected to perform an extensive renovation on Overlook at Great Notch, a 425,000 s/f trophy office building at 150 Clove Road in Little Falls, NJ.
The renovation kicks off a multi-million dollar repositioning program for the building, following its recent recapitalization.
The renovations will modernize all common areas of the building including the lobby, elevator cabs, bathrooms, corridors and cafeteria and will create a state of the art conference center, a fully equipped fitness center and a grab-and-go with a coffee bar.
“Ownership selected Gensler through an in-depth interview process of the top architecture firms and are confident that their world-class work will further enhance this Class A trophy asset,” said Richard Mirliss, executive managing director, Colliers International, who along with colleagues Richard Madison, Anthony Rinaldi and Brian Cass, represents Overlook at Great Notch exclusively.
“Ownership is fully committed to the refinanced property and this full-scale renovation will make it the leading corporate space in the area.”
● think!
Kapell opens new firm
Martin Kapell, until recently a partner at WASA/Studio A, has opened a new architecture office in Hudson Square called think! architecture and design.
Although think! is committed to the general practice of architecture, it is currently designing several multi-family residential projects.
Among these are 267 Rogers Avenue in Crown Heights, a 125,000 square foot, 165-unit rental building in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, and 421 Kent Avenue, an ultra-high-end 440,000 square foot, 216-unit condominium in Williamsburg.
The firm is also building on Kapell’s expertise in the design of performance spaces with current projects at La Mama, the off-Broadway theater company, and the recently completed master plan for Symphony Space.
Kapell has been working as an architect in New York since the early 1980’s, first as a partner at Kapell & Kostow Architects, then in collaboration with Charles Tannhauser and Jack Esterson at TEK.
For the last eight years, he has been the senior design partner at WASA/Studio A
think! has established an ongoing joint venture with the Spector Groupto pursue larger projects. The two firms are already working together on several jobs.
● GRAN KRIEGEL ASSOCIATES
New LIC school a standout
Gran Kriegel Associates’ colorful new pre-K through 8th grade school in Long Island City stands out among its neighbors in the rapidly maturing Queens West development along the East River.
“We intentionally departed from the fairly uniform Queens West palette of glass and black brick,” said David Kriegel AIA, lead architect for the school. “We wanted something friendlier, that children would perceive as more familiar.
“As a nod to the Queens West context we wove some of the black brick into our polychromatic façade, but it doesn’t dominate the scheme.”
The new school at 46-08 5th Street was occupied in September by the students and administration of a nearby school, PS 78, which lacked amenities for the age group it housed.
The school’s 25,000s/f site shares a block with a 42-story apartment tower, and it was designed according to requirements of both the NYC School Construction Authority (SCA) and the Queens West Development Corporation.
