 The Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility is a processing center for New York City`s curbside metal, glass, and plastic recyclables which is being undertaken by Sims Municipal Recycling and the City of New York. Located on an 11 acre waterfront pier in Sunset Park, the design was influenced by its programmatic use as a recycling center which inspired reuse throughout. The masterplan organizes buildings to support functionality, creates distinct circulation systems to safely separate visitors from operations, and adds two acres of native plantings. Buildings are also organized to create the site`s own urban context. The 140,000 sf facility includes a Tipping Building, where recyclables arrive by barge; Processing and Bale Storage Buildings; and a Visitor Center containing a program of conservation-related exhibitions and workshops for students and the public. The Education Center is one of the project`s most unique features. The structure contains programs for school children and the public including classrooms, exhibitions, and interactive demonstration displays. A key element of the design is a steel bridge which connects the Education Center to a viewing platform inside the Processing Facility. The viewing platform allows students and visitors to see the recycling process in action. Working within a pre-engineered building, one of the design challenges was to find ways to articulate the program and give an overall expression to the facility that would distinguish it from ordinary big box construction. In response, structural elements are inverted to appear on the exterior, giving steel girders and lateral bracing a greater visual impact. The facility makes a major environmental contribution by delivering recyclables by barge&mdash;a strategy which minimizes the distance collection trucks must travel and eliminates 240,000 miles of annual vehicle travel from roadways. Recycled materials are used throughout: site fill is made from a composite of recycled glass, asphalt, and rock reclaimed from the Second Avenue subway construction; buildings are made from recycled steel; and plazas are finished with recycled glass. Other sustainable measures include one of the largest application of photovoltaics in New York City, a wind turbine which generates 15% of the facility`s power, and bioswales for stormwater management. 

 To support the facility&amp;rsquo;s mission of reuse, the project is built from recycled material: site fill is made from a composite of recycled glass, asphalt, and rock reclaimed from the Second Avenue subway construction, building components are made from recycled steel, and plazas are finished with recycled glass; the project also includes the largest installation of photovoltaics in New York City, a wind turbine that generates 25% of the facility&amp;rsquo;s power, and bioswales for stormwater management   the Architect

 Working within a pre-engineered building, one of the design challenges was to find a way to give an overall expression to the facility that would distinguish it from big box construction; in response, structural elements are inverted to appear on the exterior, giving the steel girders and lateral bracing a greater visual impact   the Architect

 This 125,500 sf recycling facility is located on an 11 acre waterfront site in Sunset Park; the center processes all of New York City&amp;rsquo;s curbside metal, glass, and plastic recyclables and is the largest facility of its kind in the United States   the Architect

Sims Sunset Park Material Recovery Facility

The Sims Recycling Center is the largest and most technically advanced recycling facility on the East Coast.  The Architect shares some of the thing that impacts the design of the building.

200 11th Avenue is 19-story residential tower with lower three floors designed as the plinth responding to the historic West Chelsea context. The luxury condominiums are provided with parking facility outside their front doors with a car elevator running along the east side of the building.

200 Eleventh Avenue

The San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art is focused on the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of works of art from 1950 to the present. Two museums--one in La Jolla and a satellite museum in downtown San Diego--hold the collection.

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla

Formerly extension of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

This world renowned luxury hotel has been a symbol of elegance in New York City since its opening in 1907. It was designed as an adaptation of French Renaissance architecture.A French Renaissance-inspired château-style building, it contains 21 stories and is 251.92 ft (76.79 m) tall. The Plaza Hotel's floors use a European floor-numbering pattern, where floor 1, corresponding to the second story, is directly above the ground floor. The first and second stories of the facade, are clad with rusticated blocks of marble. The fourth through fifteenth stories, are clad with white brick and typically contain rectangular windows. These stories contain terracotta veneers that harmonize with the marble facade below it and the mansard roof above.Frank Lloyd Wright designed many buildings while staying at the Plaza. Many movies and books, such as North by Northwest and Eloise, have featured scenes at the Plaza. Occupants enjoy unbeatable views of Central Park and Fifth Avenue.The corner of Fifth Avenue, Central Park South, and 59th Street was developed with the Plaza, Savoy, and New Netherland hotels during the 1890s; the Savoy would be replaced in 1927 by the Savoy-Plaza Hotel, which itself would be demolished in 1964. All three hotels contributed to Fifth Avenue's importance as an upscale area.

Summer Garden, a&amp;nbsp; seasonal restaurant opens, is to be known later as The Rose Room, which reverts to a space for private functions in 1940  

 Introduced with the hotel&amp;rsquo;s opening in 1907. The Porch was a seasonal outdoor restaurant with only ten tables, patronized by the likes of Diamond Jim Brady and the Prince of Wales. Today&amp;rsquo;s Champagne Bar was beautifully renovated in 2014 and is located adjacent to The Plaza&amp;rsquo;s lobby and Fifth Avenue foyer.  

The leaded glass dome was removed around World War II, reportedly to prevent it from being a beacon during air raids  

Plaza Hotel

Selldorf Architects, established by Annabelle Selldorf, has worked on public and private projects that range from museums and libraries to a recycling facility; and at scales from the construction of new buildings to the restoration of historic interiors and furniture design. Their design approach engages a critical process that eliminates the unnecessary and proposes clear, succinct solutions. Selldorf Architects is certified by New York City and New Jersey as a women-owned business enterprise (WBE).

Selldorf Architects has collaborated with Hauser &amp; Wirth on its spaces internationally since the founding of the gallery in 1992. In each location, the goal is always to create strong, well-proportioned spaces that place art at the forefront of the visitor’s experience. This project is Selldorf's first purpose-built, ground-up building with the Gallery. Subtly articulated, various scaled volumes of space throughout the 36,000 sf structure feature natural light and flexible configurations.

Selldorf Architects designed both interiors and exteriors of this 11-story, 75,000 sf condominium building in Chelsea. With commercial space on the ground floor, the building has 26 residential units, including two penthouses. The street-level façade is made of dark blue curved terra-cotta blocks; the same material appears throughout the façade, alternating with bands of floor-to-ceiling glass. 

This contemporary art gallery is located in West Chelsea. The neighborhood’s industrial heritage inspired the design’s simple monumentality. Made from exposed concrete, the façade has a simultaneously rough and refined expression with a grittiness that resonates with nearby industrial structures and an elegance that creates a distinguished identity for the gallery. The teak storefront and windows provide a warm contrast to the concrete.   

The gallery is built to museum standards and specifically designed to accommodate works by estate artists—modern masters such as Dan Flavin and Donald Judd. Gallery spaces are diverse in their scale, materiality, and lighting, offering a flexible range of environments for art. The mainexhibition space is an expansive 5,000 sf column-free gallery. Concrete floors bring an industrial sensibility to the space, along with four north-facing sawtooth skylights.  Public exhibition space continues on the second floor with a more intimate series of galleries. The upper levels contain private functions such as viewing rooms, offices, a library, and art handling areas.  

Exposed concrete forms the entry spaces as well as the central stair. The board-formed texture appears on atrium walls, while the more delicate stair runs have a smooth finish. Open to each of the five floors, the central stair creates a counterpoint to the restrained exhibition spaces. The building is permeated with natural light coming via the stair skylight or windows which provide side light for office, galleries and showrooms. 

The building sets a new environmental standard for art-related facilities as the first LEED-certified commercial gallery in the U.S. The LEED Gold project incorporates five green roof spaces, premium efficiency mechanical, maximized daylighting, and locally and responsibly-sourced materials.

Selldorf Architects

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