NEW YORK | MiMa (440 West 42nd Street) | 617 FT / 188 M | 63 FLOORS

[NYguy]

Will-Joel-Taylor

[NYguy]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/0...s_revealed.php

Frank Gehry's New Hell's Kitchen Theaters Revealed



Tuesday, March 16, 2010, by Joey

That the 60-story mixed-use tower now under construction by the Related Companies at 440 West 42nd Street will have a pod hotel is not the most interesting thing about the building. Nope, that title goes to the development's three theaters and adjoining lobby designed for the Signature Theatre Company by I-am-not-a-starchitect Frank Gehry.

According to a Times story on the Signature's new home, the interiors will be built out beginning in August, and the show will go on in January 2012. The plywood look seen above in Gehry's models will carry through to the finished products.

Collect 'em all!

The Jewel Box (first in the photo gallery): The most intimate of the three theatres and has 199 seats. The intent of this space is to pull the patrons as close as possible to the stage, creating a compression that will allow for an intense and intimate theatre experience. This theatre has a single balcony and is reminiscent of a tiny opera house. This room has the most articulated architectural expression with shaped plywood panels framing the proscenium, wrapping around the balcony front and creating a ceiling under the lighting bridges above the house. These panels will be stained a deep chocolate brown that will disappear as the house is faded to black.

The End Stage: The largest of the 3 theatres in the Center with 299 seats. It is the most similar to the Peter Norton Space, the company’s current home. A straight rake of seating rises from the stage edge and is contained within plywood walls that give the space a subtle architectural expression. The shaped panels of the walls will be painted to fade to black as they approach the stage, creating a transition from the architectural space of the room to the scenic space of the play. A large doorway will connect this theatre to the lobby. The closing of this door will indicate that the play is about to begin.

The Courtyard: A 199-seat flexible theatre. The courtyard form, which has a long history in the development of theatre, will give this space distinction from the other two theatres. This theatre can be used in an endstage format, as a modified thrust stage, a runway center stage configuration, or in a flat floor format for experimental work. Each of these configurations has a second level gallery that seats patrons in a single line overlooking the stage. This small theatre will place patrons in a very intimate relationship with the actors.

Lobby : The Signature Center is entered from the sidewalk on 42nd Street under a glass canopy that will protect patrons from the elements and identify the Center with signage. This sculptural design element will give the Center a strong presence and sense of arrival. The street level lobby is compact and visually dominated by a plywood clad stairway that will lead to a gracious upper lobby and then to the three theatres. The extensive 2nd floor lobby will be used for informal gatherings and includes a bar and informal café seating. The lobby also includes a small bookstore area where books by current and past Playwrights-in-Residence will be sold, and audience enrichment materials relating to current Playwrights-in-Residence and their Signature residencies will be made available.

_______________________________________________

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/th...ml?ref=theater

New Signature Theater, Close to the Old



By ROBIN POGREBIN
March 15, 2010

It is a far cry from the freestanding performing arts center, designed by Frank Gehry, that was supposed to be the Signature Theater Company’s new home at ground zero and that was expected to cost $700 million.

But the space where the Signature has ended up instead — in the base of a residential high rise now being built on West 42nd Street — has retained some of the key elements of the original project: three theaters of varying sizes; an open lobby with a cafe and a bookstore; and the prominent Mr. Gehry as designer.

Perhaps most important, the project is budgeted at a mere $60 million and is actually under construction, in contrast to the planned arts center at the World Trade Center site, which increasingly seems like a pipe dream. The bones of the new Signature are already visible on three low floors of the tower, which was designed by the Miami firm Arquitectonica and is being constructed by Related Companies.

The “fit-out” of the interiors is scheduled to begin in August, and the Signature plans to start its first season in the new space in January 2012.

...In all three of the new theaters Mr. Gehry has used plywood to create intimate, casual spaces with craftsmanlike elements. The largest, a 299-seat theater called the End Stage, features a plywood wall that Mr. Houghton said evoked the surface of the earth as water evaporates and it begins to crack.

The second theater, the 235-seat Courtyard, is a flexible stage with a movable floor and modular platforms.

The third, the 190-seat Jewel Box, was modeled after a European opera house, Mr. Houghton said. It is enclosed by plywood panels that resemble folded scraps from a paper bag.

...The theaters wrap around a central lobby, an open, loftlike area that flows into the cafe and bookstore. “The lobby is meant to be a very animated space,” Mr. Houghton said. “I really view it as a fourth venue.”

The theater will have 50 feet of the building’s facade, at street level, and a sculptural stairway leading to the lobby on the second floor.

[NYguy]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/0..._hell.php#more

Construction Stealing Neighbor's View of Hell



Wednesday, March 17, 2010, by Joey

There's excitement buzzing around the rising 440 West 42nd Street in Hell's Kitchen, with its 60 floors of hotel pods and Gehry-designed outlets of dramaturgy.

There's less excitement next door, where a neighbor writes: "I live next to the Related development going up on West 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Ave. I spoke to some construction workers at the diner who mentioned they are going at a rate of 5 floors every two weeks. Sadly my view will be gone soon!"

Looks like the Atelier, Silver Towers and a host of others are already obscuring that river view, so it's not the biggest loss. Plus, based on the second photo below, there are plenty of new friends to chat with!

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by NYguy

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/ny...l?ref=nyregion

By CHARLES V. BAGLI
February 16, 2010

The second station would be on land at 41st Street and 10th Avenue where Related Companies is erecting a large residential tower. “I’m not slowing my building down for it,” said Related’s chief executive, Stephen M. Ross. “We were told there’s no money around at all. God knows, the M.T.A. doesn’t have any money.”

The man means business...

gmpicket

[NYguy]

We have glass...

Tecttonic

[NYguy]

• Video Link

[sbarn]

Super frustrating. The station really should be built. I would guess it fits the description of "shovel ready".

[Jularc]

I saw this today. Such a massive building!

[steveshack]

This is what it looked like in February. I've taken a photo every single day. They're on my Facebook page under my name: Steve Schalchlin



And here it is today, April 13, 2010.

[NYC4Life]

Great photos Steve and impressive growth. You should create a timelapse video when the tower is done.

[scalziand]

Wow. That last pic really shows how MASSIVE this tower will be when it's done.

[Bucktown718]

Its looks like the tower is 20 something floors up already and im guessing 30 something left to go.
I like the glass color which is dark blue/black
For some reason i like dark color tower's better than silver buildings. Depends on the design though.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by steveshack

It's funny, this thing sat as "lake Related" for so long. Now it's almost an "angry build". One of the fastest I've seen rise in a long time. The glass looks very dark from that angle.

[steveshack]

I should introduce myself. I am a songwriter in real life, and found this forum doing a search on this particular building. My partner and I are in NY while he's doing a play (Zero Hour, about Zero Mostel). I'm a creative associate on the production, which basically means I'm a gofer. But, it's fun.

I'm taking these photos from a friend's apartment. It has been a fascinating and educational experience, watching from above as the floors get added. A neighbor asked if the right (west) side was going to stop and he said that this was the last floor. I noticed that, unlike all the other floors, on this one they installed some huge machines. They looked a bit like giant air conditioning boxes, but I couldn't tell.

I've always loved buildings and architecture. So, we were curious about this building when we saw it. A google search led me to you.

And, to answer a suggestion above, I am, indeed, putting them all into my video editor. I'll render something soon, if you're interested.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by steveshack

I've always loved buildings and architecture. So, we were curious about this building when we saw it. A google search led me to you.

Great, we look forward to more updates from this or any other skyscraper rising nearby...

[Dac150]

It’s going to be good to have some additional bulk added to that canyon, and this tower will certainly provide that.

[Onn]

I'm really liking this one so far. It's not that tall, but the bulk is quite desirable. The dark blue glass it also very slick. Can't wait to see it get further up and take in the full impact it's going to have on this part of the skyline. Let's all hope the subway portion goes through too, that would be a major bonus to the area.

[NYC2ATX]

This is actually an especially exciting building to me because of how massive it is...it's massing reminds me of One Penn Plaza.

It's funny, I see buildings go up like the Saya or 785 Eighth Avenue, the new towers at Fordham even...it makes me wonder if the future is of these narrow towers; if we are being forced to build these thin buildings due to the fact that, every day it seems, more buildings are landmarked or protected, or even being blockaded by NIMBYs. It's as if, in many places in the city, we either can no longer build large projects or we must build around other buildings or projects in order to actually build.

That being said, towers like this and larger megaprojects like the Trade Center and Atlantic Yards; Hudson Yards and Manhattan West, to name a few, are really encouraging. When desert oases like Vegas and Dubai are building massive superprojects...or in China where whole 2,000-foot-tall business districts are rising from the rice paddies, it makes me happy that we can still build big and expand our city for the 21st Century. I guess New York will always be one of the greatest supercities on Earth.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

This is actually an especially exciting building to me because of how massive it is...it's massing reminds me of One Penn Plaza.

That's true, though early indications are this will be slightly more massive.

it makes me happy that we can still build big and expand our city for the 21st Century. I guess New York will always be one of the greatest supercities on Earth.

The great cities are constantly evolving and adapting. It's why new towers will always be built in New York, even if that means some older towers must die. It's the cycle of life, New York style.

[Onn]

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

That being said, towers like this and larger megaprojects like the Trade Center and Atlantic Yards; Hudson Yards and Manhattan West, to name a few, are really encouraging. When desert oases like Vegas and Dubai are building massive superprojects...or in China where whole 2,000-foot-tall business districts are rising from the rice paddies, it makes me happy that we can still build big and expand our city for the 21st Century. I guess New York will always be one of the greatest supercities on Earth.

I'm not sure for all cities in the country this is true, I think in New York you have a lot of history (for a young country) compacted into a very small space. So saving all the buildings that they are, and discouraging skyscrapers, I don't think is all that unusual. New York for the US could probably be compared with London, Paris, Berlin...places of the sort in Europe. I think New York is doing pretty well for itself in spite of all the NIMBYs. In places in Europe it’s probably a lot worse. Many of the major developments you mentioned they could only dream about.