Bollards are objects that obstruct; often they are positioned in places where pedestrians are allowed and vehicles are not. Instead of created ordinary bollards, the architects created geometric shapes that are retractable to allow certain vehicles to enter the space.

Bollards

Marvel was commissioned by the MTA to design a modular grate system for five miles of streets in three flood-prone areas of Queens that would simultaneously protect the subway from flash flooding, enhance the streetscape and be easy to relocate and assemble as needed.

MTA Flood Mitigation Streetscape Design

Guido Hartray, of Rogers Marvel, discusses the MTA Flood Mitigation Street Design.

This light structure features LED lights that change colors in the evening, illuminating the box in shades of blues, greens, and pinks.

Beacon of Progress

Vacated for more than 20 years, the 1936 McCarren Pool, a Robert-Moses era landmark, has been brought back to its original the grandeur, updated and added on to for contemporary uses.  A year-round indoor recreation and community center now occupy the historic bathhouse and the pool, completely rebuilt, offers a new ‘beach’ peninsula which transforms into an ice skating rink in the winter. 

Modern insertions within and adjacent to the original buildings defer to historic elements - the main archway entrance, the symmetry of the wings, and the exposed concrete ribs and vaults of the interior structure - and engage details from the building’s history, materials and function.  The symmetry of the plan informs the location of new changing pavilions poolside.  These poured-in-place concrete structures are lightweight, modern interpretations of McCarren’s own canopy overlook.  Inside the bathhouse wings, the concrete structure remains exposed in the restoration with new clerestories for visual continuity of the original vaults and added daylight.  The community center contains a basketball court, weight and cardio areas as well as multipurpose meeting rooms and offices. The original wire storage baskets for swimmers were discovered and reused on the ceiling of the two building lobbies. Salvaged wood planks from the Coney Island boardwalk were refinished and line many of the walls of the community rooms and pavilions. 


McCarren Pool & Bathhouse

St. Ann’s Warehouse built its new home in the 1860 Tobacco Warehouse along Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO. Within this much beloved ruin-like brick building, the design celebrates contradiction with discrete yet unexpected materials of glass bricks, black steel and plywood. An overall discrete volume is inserted snugly into the walls on three sides, allowing the historic arched doors and varied windows to remain untouched. The fourth side is occupied by support spaces and community amenities which open onto an intimate triangular park within the warehouse’s walls. A broad circulation hall defines theater and community spaces, and offers flexibility to host events and expand.

St. Ann's Warehouse

Expressing the innovative nature of this green research and manufacturing center and preserving the structure of the grand historic hangar that houses it is the concept behind the design of the New Lab at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The central axis, preserved as a simple circulation spine, exposes building-through views, a recall of the building’s original factory floor layout. Once a stunning cathedral of ship manufacture, Building 128 has been transformed into a hub that supports entrepreneurs, engineers, and designers who are defining the future of technology.

New Lab, Brooklyn Navy Yard

 Located at the intersection of Oliver Street, East Broadway, the Bowery, and Park Row, Kimlau Square stands at the center of Chatham Square. In 1961, a local law named this island within Chatham Square in recognition of the contributions of Lt. Kimlau and the Lt. B.R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post 1291, founded by Chinese-American World War II veterans in 1945. A statue of Lin Ze Xu, a 19th-Century Ching Dynasty drug-czar who ignited the Opium War is also on Kimlau Square. 

Second Lieutenant Benjamin Ralph Kimlau (1918-1944) was a Chinese-American bomber pilot who died serving his country in World War II.&amp;nbsp;Born in Concord, Massachusetts, Kimlau moved to New York City with his parents when he was fourteen.&amp;nbsp;After graduating from Dewitt Clinton High School in 1937, Kimlau first traveled to China, where he witnessed firsthand Japanese military aggression.&amp;nbsp;The next year, he returned to the United States and entered the Pennsylvania Military College (now the United States Army War College).&amp;nbsp;Kimlau graduated with honors, earning a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Field Artillery.&amp;nbsp;  

&amp;nbsp;[2 American Legion Medallions]  

Intersection of Oliver Street, East Broadway, the Bowery, and Park Row

Kimlau Square

Rogers Marvel Architect’s design for this Brooklyn urban renewal site creates a respectful dialogue between old and new. Taking design cues from the historic National Register houses adjacent to and across from the site, the new townhouses’ subtly varied façade planes and contextually sensitive materials make a visually compelling and neighborhood-friendly street front. The project is an anchor for the area’s broader redevelopment and reconnects the site to its brownstone neighbors in historic Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and Cobble Hill.

The project qualified for NYSERDA (NY State Energy Research and Development Authority) support, and RMA used energy modeling to direct the design of building assemblies. Key mechanical components, including furnaces, condensers, and water heaters, exceed required standards. An energy recovery unit makes the heating and cooling systems more efficient, and all windows are insulated with low-e coatings and argon-filled airspaces.


14 Townhouses

The new 12,000 sf Sanctuary and 14,000 sf Religious School and Study Center for Westchester Reform Temple establish a West to East axis of increasing privacy and spirituality: from campus and world to community and social hall, to sanctuary and worship, to a spiritual garden and contemplation.  

The concept for the sanctuary is based on Tikkun Olam – ‘repairing the world’. Seven cedar and plaster bands of varying dimensions are broken by daylight: representing our world’s finished and unfinished efforts. Each band is inscribed with a quotation in Hebrew and English about the use of 7 in Judaism. The seventh band frames the ark and connection to the outside world.  When the sanctuary and social hall combine into one large space, there are twelve bands, the twelve Tribes of Israel.  

The East Wall holds the Bima within, made of glass louvers with mirrored undersides. The wall merges three views:  a subtle view directly to the Garden revealing the world of nature, an idealized reflection of the garden as the multi-colored diverse world of nature and thought, and a quiet reflection of the congregation and the lights of the sanctuary.  Collectively these views hold the floating Ark: within the world, in this place, by these people.  The ark Cabinet, made of olive ash, recalls the original Ark carried in the Sinai desert.  The olive panels are aligned in sephardic scale, acknowledging the role of music in the services.  A bronze collar, lit by a solar-powered Ner Tamid, lines the Ark opening in a continuous and mysterious band that, like Torah, suggests the need for study and interpretation.  The memorial garden, lined with bronze yarzheit screens, is centered in the new lobby, connecting existing and new buildings, the past and present, external and internal light.  


Westchester Reform Temple and School

This new Manhattan tower for the Stephen Gaynor School and the Ballet Hispanico houses elementary and middle school for children with learning differences on the first seven floors; the ballet occupies the top three.  The design addresses the unique needs of these students who often have orientation and navigation challenges. The project recaptures the intimate spirit of the school’s former small brownstone site by dividing the program into upper and lower schools, stitched together with a generous atrium stair.

The two schools intersect at a common core curriculum level featuring shared art, science, occupational therapy and library spaces. An outdoor classroom above a large library window gives students a visual connection to the surrounding neighborhood. The Ballet Hispanico above the Gaynor School houses three large studios, new offices, and services for the company and school staff. The studios are floor-through spaces to allow optimal natural light and ventilation, and to permit a broad range of choreographic possibilities. Each studio has panoramic views of the city to the north and south.

Steven Gaynor School & Ballet Hispanico

 This is a comprehensive streetscape masterplan which will transform the district's public realm into a socially and environmentally sustainable network of spaces. The scheme addresses traffic congestion and streetscape with an innovative approach, beautifying public spaces, identifying open spaces, greening the streets, branding and defining the neighborhood identity, enhancing the retail environment, and creating a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood that can be implemented in phases as the district continues to grow and change. 

Hudson Square Streetscape Improvement Plan

 Landscape Architect Signe Nielsen talks about the changing neighborhood of Hudson Square and the challenge involved in transforming the streetscape from industrial into a more pedestrian friendly environment. 

 Pratt School of Architecture at Higgins Hall, a historic landmark, was almost consumed by a four-alarm fire which destroyed the central wing, gutted the north wing to its masonry shell, and laid bare the building`s six previous constructions. The renovated school reveals the poetic within the ruin and creates a contemporary workplace for architecture furthering the School`s mission and purpose. Previously hidden arched openings, timber lintels, cast iron columns, curved masonry, and 100 year-old scars from an earlier fire were incorporated in the renovation. New openings in the old masonry`s bearing walls create light filled studio spaces while double-height spaces created by the fire become review spaces with gallery balconies. With the tectonics of the original structure and the new interventions clearly revealed, the building participates in the teaching of architecture. The deteriorating exterior of the south wing was reconstructed using primarily salvaged material and its roof profile reconfigured to allow new operable windows, clerestories and skylights. A cantilevered blackened steel stair completes the original ornate cast iron stair with drama. The new construction of the central wing creates an entryway and lobby for the school. With a series of ramps and stairs and open studios, it negotiates significant floor height differences between the two other wings. Its mechanical systems are located in the north wing for maximum light and openness. Steven Holl Architects was a collaborator on the new entry and glass connector. The South wing is a pilot project for LEED-CI commercial interiors. The complete reconstruction project spanned ten years. A phasing strategy helped surpass the client`s desired schedule by immediately minimizing the need for swing spaces and allowing continual programming on fully functional floors while ongoing work proceeded above. reactivating as much space. 

Higgens Hall

Higgens Hall:  Pratt Institute School of Architecture

&nbsp;After 9/11 there was a huge initiative to reimagine and redesign much of Lower Manhattan. &nbsp;Parking lots were transformed into parks. &nbsp;Many of the historic buildings which were in disrepair were repurposed and renovated. &nbsp;A conservation study was done of the Battery Maritime building which led to the exterior renovation. &nbsp;

The 162,000-SF facility is fully re-activated. The ground floor serves public ferry operations alongside a porte-cochere driveway and two gracious new lobbies. The civic second floor has been re-imagined as an events venue centered about the restored Great Hall. The third and fourth floors have been reconstructed as a boutique hotel. Finally, a modern fifth-floor glass addition houses a membership club with sweeping views of the upper Hudson Bay. The redevelopment had three main goals. First, to activate the building with new uses ensuring its economic viability into the future. Second, to complete the historic preservation of the building interiors and exteriors. Finally, to sensitively enlarge the existing building and support modern program requirements and capitalize on the views. This project saved an important New York City landmark for the foreseeable future while contributing to a revitalized waterfront.

Originally the Whitehall Ferry Terminal, the Battery Maritime Building is the only historic ferry terminal on New York City's waterfront. &nbsp;When it was built, it was the jewel of the city's water based transit system. &nbsp;Times change. &nbsp;The building spent decades as an unused relic. &nbsp;With the help of Federal tax credits, a private development team was able to renovate it and repurpose it as an event and hospitality space. &nbsp;

Pier 5

Battery Maritime Building

The short video is a virtual tour of the building.&nbsp;

Giovanni da Verrazzano first observed the village’s residents – Canarsie-speaking Lenape, who called the island “Pagganck,” which means “nut island,” so named for the area’s abundance of hickory nut trees.&nbsp;

The first settlers in New Netherland settled on what the Dutch called Noten Eylandt ("Island of Nuts") purchased by Wouter Van Twiller for two ax heads, a string of beads, and some nails for private use initially, confiscated by the Dutch government a year later. A group of 30 Dutch families settled on the island. &nbsp;Wouter van Twiller commandeered the island for his personal use, and he drew up a deed with two Lenape leaders so he could cultivate a farm on the island.

During the American Revolution, Governors Island was strategically fortified by American colonists in 1776 with 40 cannons and defensive earthworks. However, following their defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn in August, the British seized the island. It remained under British control until the end of the war in 1783, and became the property of New York State.

The island is a prison during the American Civil War. Captured Confederate soldiers are held there.

The Army Corps of Engineers supervised the deposit of 4,787,000 cubic yards of fill on the south side of Governors Island. The fill was the rocks and dirt that came from the excavation of the Lexington Avenue subway line. The island is expanded and is now 172 acres. In 1939, the island becomes the headquarters of the U.S. First Army, the longest-established field army of the United States. In 1966, budget cuts from the Department of Defense close the Army Base on the island. Governor’s Island becomes a Coast Guard Base. It is the largest installation of the Coast Guard, with a self-contained residential community and a total population of 3,500. The Coast Guard base is closed in 1996 after 30 years.

1st United States Army activated at Governors Island throughout the 1930s and WWII

150 acres of Governors Island were sold to New York City for $1, following a 2001 agreement by President George W. Bush, Governor George Pataki, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The agreement aimed to return the island to public use for a nominal cost, excluding the 22-acre landmarked area, which remained federally protected.

The Governors Island Park and Public Space Master Plan transforms 87 acres of open green space on the island into a regional destination by taking advantage of its unparalleled setting in New York Harbor. MNLA was the Associate Landscape Architect on the team that completed the master plan and the two-phased park design for the open space. The master plan rejuvenates existing landscapes in the National Historic District, transforms the southern half of the island into a twenty-first century park, and creates a 2.2-mile Great Promenade along the waterfront where strollers and bicyclists can experience 360-degree views of the harbor.Phase I includes the gardens of Liggett Terrace and Hammock Grove, a 10-acre afforestation project with more than 1,900 trees representing 50 species. The result is a design that engages people in unexpected ways and complements the unique character of Governors Island`s location. Phase II, also known as "The Hills," opened to the public in July 2016. The Hills were built from a combination of salvaged fill, clean fill, designed soils, and structural support. Their height and slope create complex gradations of planting conditions due to aspect and grade. As a result, MNLA`s planting strategy for them addresses the aesthetic, experiential, and technical aspects of design. Over 40,000 shrubs, comprising 19 species of plants, cover nearly five acres of the Hills, and, as visitors climb the paths, the viewsheds are controlled through the massing of both trees and shrubs.The design of New York`s Governors Island dramatically transformed this once-abandoned island from a utilitarian windswept military base into a vibrant, resilient and thriving mixed-use destination. The recently opened Hills represent the culmination of the Park and Public Space Master Plan, a 10-year planning process for the 172-acre island. Today, Governors Island is a major festival and events destination, a tourist draw within the region, and a public park for all New Yorkers.

Site-specific information panel, one of many installed by the National Park Service within Governors Island National Monument.&nbsp;Island map is a regional location map showing showing the positions of other federally administered park properties in Upper New York Bay.

as far north as Central Park, also the East River shorefront of Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint, and the New Jersey shoreline of Jersey City and Hoboken, Map VIII AA.R. Ohman Map Co. (Creator)Bolton, Reginald Pelham, 1856-1942 (Creator)Ohman, August R. (Creator)Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (Publisher)

Governors Island Park and Public Space

Governors Island

Marvel Architects is a multidisciplinary firm with over 20 years of experience dedicated to addressing pressing challenges in contemporary cities, communities, and the environment through collective action. From their offices in New York City, Richmond, Virginia, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, Marvel Architects brings together experts in architecture, landscape architecture, planning, urban design, and interiors. Their collaborative approach involves engaging all stakeholders, including policymakers, community leaders, clients, activists, and citizens, to develop long-term visions for buildings, places, and people. By synthesizing diverse expertise, they tackle complex problems and design shared urban spaces that contribute to both human and environmental well-being. Marvel Architects' portfolio spans a wide range of projects, from affordable housing to cultural institutions, schools, hospitality, and public spaces, earning them over 125 international industry awards.

Please join cultureNOW, the Lower Manhattan Historical Association, Center for Architecture, Consulate-General of the Netherlands in New York for a hybrid symposium about strategies for facing the urban challenges of the 21st century: mobility, resiliency, cultural heritage, water, housing. Architects from Amsterdam and other major cities in the Netherlands are global leaders in addressing these issues and will be invited to present their ideas in this program.

between Malcolm X Boulevard & Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard

Marvel Designs

New York as a Global City: The Future and the rebirth of Lower Manhattan

Admission Free

Bronx Point is a transformative, community-oriented, mixed-use development that will bring dynamic commercial/retail and community facility uses, affordable housing to the South Bronx. The project seeks to reconnect neighbors to the Harlem River waterfront through a new waterfront esplanade and park expansion and encourages community interaction via a cultural anchor of deep local resonance—a dedicated home to The Hip Hop Museum to attract local guests and global supporters of Hip Hop culture.S9 Architecture’s façade design uses building materials that are contextual, utilizing various bricks, stones, metals, and concrete materials on both the tower and podium with fine grained materials used on the podium. Marvel leads Bronx Point’s landscape design and planning, creating usable waterfront space with 18 contiguous acres of green space, and addressing issues of community access, programming, safety and resiliency at the water’s edge.

traffic island at 1st Ave and E. 47th St., along Raoul Wallenberg Walk in front of the United Nations building.

West Side Highway from 137th Street to 145th Street 

Bronx Point

AIANY

Marvel Architects PLLC

 Ken Smith talks about the collaboration in designing the plaza and light beacon. 

https://storage.googleapis.com/cnow-staging/captions/podcast/7XYYQ145F79F.vtt

Marvel Architects PLLC

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