April 2008
New York Magazine praises Helpern's Congo Gorilla Forest for "major impact" on New York
New York Magazine is 40. So it decided to publish the most essential and influential works that have defined New York in these four decades.
Justin Davidson called the line-up for Architecture, “Where the mightiest towers meet the most delicate details”: 19 buildings that “had a major impact, upheld [their] ideals, and became part of our lives.” He included most of the icons: The Lipstick Building, Ford Foundation Building, and Hearst Tower, among them. [more]
March 2008
Architecture Can Differentiate a Hotel's Brand
“Investors interested in building hotels – and New York City is still a good market for them – need to differentiate their hotels with architecture,” David Helpern, FAIA, LEED™, said while serving as the only architect to participate in a panel of hospitality industry experts at the 2008 Real Estate Round Table at Columbia University on March 4. [more]
October 2007
Chronister, Guillen Teach at City Tech
Lisa Chronister, AIA, and Amauri Guillen are two recent additions to the adjunct faculty at New York College of Technology. “City Tech”, a CUNY school located in Brooklyn with over 13,000 students, is the only college in New York City to offer evening classes in architecture, allowing students to pursue a degree while working. [more]
October 2007
David Helpern Addresses AIA on Preservation
Is it appropriate to place a vertical addition atop a landmarked building?
A packed room of architects at the AIA New York State convention gathered to hear about the topic and question noteworthy panelists in a program David Helpern set up and moderated. [more]
August 2007
LaGuardia Community College
Master Plan Crosses the Finish Line
After two years of intense work and consensus-building, the Helpern Architects master plan for Queens-based LaGuardia Community College, one of New York City’s six community colleges, will have final presentation at the late-summer meeting of the CUNY Board of Trustees’ facilities committee. [more]
Ongoing
Helpern Awarded Major Contract for Restoration of UN Library
When the Dag Hammarskjöld Library at the United Nations was commissioned, its goal was: “To assure the United Nations of a building of the highest quality, aesthetically designed, furnished, and equipped in conformity with the most modern library standards.” Designed by Harrison & Abramovitz and built with a Ford Foundation Grant in 1961, it carries the name of the esteemed late Secretary-General. [more]
Ongoing
The Berkeley-Carroll School Grows in Brooklyn
Helpern Architects has developed two master plans for The Berkeley-Carroll School, which teaches preK-12 and is one of the oldest independent schools in the city [1886]. The first, a rehabilitation plan, helped Berkeley-Carroll to identify major needs, including deferred maintenance and handicapped access.
The second plan that Helpern provided, which was for space utilization, considered the 800-student school’s growth needs. [more]
July 2007
Best of Chicago College/University Buildings Showcased at SCUP
Ever go to a conference and wonder in what city you are? Days at the hotel book-ended by hours at airports could leave you in limbo.
Curious about why Chicago – site of the 42nd annual conference of the Society for College and University Planning – consistently builds outstanding higher-education facilities and wishing also to avoid this numbing conference-attendance sensation, David Helpern decided to survey local SCUP members about what to see and why. [more]
July 2007
Reading in New York City Becomes Easier
Under a Term Contract with the New York City Department of Design and Construction [DDC], Helpern Architects is providing comprehensive architectural design services to restore, modernize, and improve a variety of public libraries in Manhattan and The Bronx, four of which are historic Carnegie Library buildings. [more]
July 2007
A Community Church Expands
Helpern Architects is working with the growing Fort Washington Collegiate Church in Washington Heights – an old country church in the northernmost reaches of Manhattan, and part of the Reformed Church of America – to renovate and expand its existing buildings. The plan, undertaken under the aegis of the Collegiate Church Corporation, is to provide new space for expanded offices, meeting rooms, and daycare facilities. [more]
April 2007
Broadcasting Network To Go Live in New York
A three-story, 15,000-sf building will soon become the New York home for California-based Trinity Broadcasting, the “world’s largest religious broadcasting network.” The conversion represents a functional switch for the Union Square-area structure that TBN picked; built as a social club in 1854 and the site of a theater since 1996, it will now become a major TV studio that includes audience spaces. It is expected to open at year’s end. [more]
April 2007
Helpern Transforms NYU Townhouse Yet Again
In 1987, NYU asked Helpern Architects to convert the dilapidated Greek Revival structure at 58 West 10th Street for an educational foundation. Twenty years later, Helpern has again adapted the building, this time as Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, for NYU’s creative writing program.
The history of the building – once the home of the fabled Tile Club, an informal association of artists, architects, and musicians – and the quality of the restoration earned the house a feature story in Architectural Record. [more]
February 2007
Learning Comes to Life in Fordham Residence Hall
Fordham University is moving fast-forward for fall-2007 re-occupancy of a 1960s residence hall. The upgrade is the pilot project for Fordham University’s program to transform its dormitories into integrated learning environments.
The Tierney Hall renovation will enable Fordham to create multipurpose spaces and common areas for dialogue between students and faculty. [more]
December 2006
We’ve had details stolen before
but never an entire building
Maybe the perp just wanted to give the SoHo Grand Hotel – the high-profile luxury hotel in lower Manhattan that we designed – to someone special for the holidays, but his several attempts to claim ownership were foiled. Kouadio Kouassi tried repeatedly to file a phony deed with New York City, thus transferring ownership of the 1996 hotel to himself. [more]
September 2006
David Helpern named GSA Peer Professional
Public Buildings Services Commissioner David Winstead has named David Helpern to the National Register of Peer Professionals, a select, experienced group of private professionals who provide expert advice to the US General Services Administration [GSA]. A Federal agency, GSA acquires products and services for non-military purposes, including public works and buildings. [more]
June, 2006
“The Rescue of Two Treasures at Yale”
At the invitation of the New Haven Preservation Trust, Margaret Castillo and David Helpern presented Helpern Architects’ work to preserve two exceptional New Haven homes – the Skinner-Trowbridge House on Hillhouse Avenue and the Davies Mansion on Whitney Avenue – now known as the Yale School of Management’s International Center for Finance and Betts House, respectively. The talk was the feature of the Trust’s 2006 Annual Meeting held on June 1st. [more]
January 2006
St. Francis College Opens New Academic Center as Phase Two of the Master Plan Ends
St. Francis College, a Brooklyn Heights institution for 147 years, celebrated the opening of its new Academic Center. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, St. Francis President Dr. Frank J. Macchiarola, and Board of Trustees Chairman Thomas J. Volpe cut the ribbon.
The Academic Center, a 35,000-sf facility adjacent to the College’s Remsen Street campus, increases available instructional space by one-third, although the College will maintain its current enrollment of 2,300. “As we use the new addition, it is clear that your work has added immensely to the physical layout of the entire college,” wrote Dr. Macchiarola.
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