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. 

And, for 1999, Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo takes its place in the pantheon.  This is Davidson’s comment in the issue currently on the newsstands of the city:

What might have been an exercise in zoological kitsch – follow the winding path into a Vegas-ish miniature rain forest, complete with mist – turned instead into a way to commune at close quarters with disturbingly familiar primates.  In Helpern Architects’ ape house, spectators and displays both press their cheeks against the glass, but the gorillas are the ones frolicking freely, watching the humans packed together in their dark shed.

Let’s hope that the gorillas and their curators are celebrating. We certainly are.

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. 

“Hotels in New York City are a good business today.  People continue to be optimistic about the hospitality marketplace,” he commented.  There are fewer hotel rooms in New York City now than in the 1950s and 1960s, and there appears to be a major need. 

“Investors – and we see many more from Europe and the Middle East among them – who want to meet that need and buy a hotel are finding people aren’t selling quickly.  There’s not a lot of product available, so you have to buy at a tremendous premium.  Therefore you might as well develop,” Mr. Helpern said. 

“Hoteliers and owners with whom we’re working currently prefer a new building because it’s an opportunity to differentiate their hotel’s brand,” Mr. Helpern told the Forum’s large audience.  “This is a critical area.  Most hotels haven’t truly found ways to differ.

“One hotel we’re currently designing will have a visually arresting, and thus memorable, façade and public spaces with a very generous and unique architectural character.  Most brands rely on small differences rather than big gestures.  Big gestures will differentiate your brand.”   

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.

A graduate of City Tech, Amauri taught his first class in 2006.  He currently teaches 3D rendering and modeling to a class of 22. Lisa, who had taken a design studio at City Tech, learned of her colleague’s involvement to the college and decided do the same. She teaches model making and drawing presentation to 16 students.

Amauri has been with Helpern Architects since January 2006. Besides serving as the firm’s CAD Manager, he is currently working on a church restoration project and a mixed-use development. Lisa, a Helpern Associate, is working on a 240-room hotel, a laboratory renovation at Hunter College, and the renovation of the Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations.

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.

Speakers included Shelly Friedman, land-use attorney and partner at Friedman & Gotbaum; Roger Lang, director of community programs and services for the New York Landmarks Conservancy; and Richard Olcott, FAIA, former landmarks commissioner and design partner of the Polshek Partnership.

The panel referenced additions proposed or built that have engaged or enraged New Yorkers, including proposals for Grand Central Terminal by Marcel Breuer and IM Pei and, most recently, Norman Foster’s Hearst Tower. As Bill Millard reprinted in e-Oculus, the online publication of AIA New York chapter, “The discussion distinguished between preservation as a practical activity, where particular people negotiate real-world decisions, and preservationism as an ideology.” To read Millard’s article in its entirety, click here.

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.

LaGuardia’s 60,000+ students are an amazing amalgamation, reflecting the Borough of Queens: more than 60 percent of them have emigrated to the US from 150 foreign countries.  In the 10/28/05 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, LaGCC President Dr. Gail O. Mellow, wrote about her passion for a new kind of built environment for community colleges: “We need an architectural vision that matches our mandate.” 

Helpern’s master plan affects LaGCC’s four main academic buildings, which occupy 1.6-million square feet of former industrial buildings in Long Island City. The one most targeted is the 860,000-sf former Sunshine Biscuit Factory, being incrementaly converted into a multi-level campus that uses vertical circulation to link student activity spaces, programs, and departments into an urban campus green. The conceptual design brings natural light deep into the building and provides visual connections to the outdoors.

Ongoing
Helpern Awarded Major Contract for
Restoration of UN Library

A February 1962 view of the "new" library at the UN.

Currently at the end of Design Development as part of the total overhaul of the UN complex, the project is not yet scheduled for construction.

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. 

It has yielded ways to accommodate new educational programs and to reorganize and enlarge classroom buildings to maximize space.  Each of the school’s three Park Slope [Brooklyn] locations will receive a major upgrade or expansion.

Immediately after completing the rehabilitation plan, Helpern Architects began to implement the maintenance program.  Major projects include interior and exterior renovations to the gymnasiums and outdoor play areas, as well as a new dance studio; new windows and skylights; new facilities such as a teachers’ lounge; and significant building improvements, including weatherproofing and systems upgrades.

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.

As a result, David was given an opening conference slot, so he could present an armchair tour of the six higher-ed buildings currently in use – five new and one landmark – that the locals consider are Chicago’s best.  Chosen were:

• DePaul University’s Loft-Right residence
• DePaul University/ Columbia College/Roosevelt University’s University Center of Chicago
• IIT’s McCormick Tribune Campus Center
• Roosevelt University’s Auditorium Building [restoration]
• University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business
• University of Illinois at Chicago’s Student Recreation Facility

At the podium with David were senior administrators from each institution.  They explained how these buildings came about; how problems encountered in their development, design, and construction were resolved; and how the results were assessed. Although architecture had something to do with their selection, it was the back stories that earned these buildings their Best-Of status and brought the standing-room-only crowd.

Special thanks for superb presentations go to DePaul’s James Doyle, IIT’s Robert Aaron Jones, University of Chicago’s Julia Parker, Roosevelt’s Paul Reis, and UI/C’s Robert Rouzer.

Helpern Architects provided a Chicago map plus a fact sheet on each building. There is also a press release with more details.  These are available by contacting Susan Garrett at s.garrett@helpern.com.

July 2007
Reading in New York City Becomes Easier

The East 67th St. branch of the NY Public Library. 

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.

American Libraries’ 2006 national Showcase of New and Renovated Facilities featured the restoration of the 14,000-sf [East] 67th Street Branch.  Construction begins in late August on the century-old, three-story-high, classically-Carnegie St. Agnes branch on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. Helpern is restoring St. Agnes’ arched windows and skylight shed.

Helpern Architects has provided a full range of services from design through construction administration services with the mission to help maximize usable space at existing branches. As part of the program, the architects have added new circulation desks, updated finishes, added furniture, and inserted community rooms and staff work spaces, including lounges.

With accessibility and circulation improved, these libraries now also satisfy requirements related to the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]. New building infrastructure includes updated mechanical and electrical systems, technology, and lighting.

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.

The project includes the renovation of the church, which will receive a new seating configuration plus new heating and air conditioning, and a new entrance pavilion to join the church and parish buildings.  Now that Helpern’s schematic design is complete, the Church is working to secure the necessary funding. 

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.

Upgrading the interior spaces with additional electricity, lighting, and cabling will enable the network to accommodate live and taped broadcasts, as well as occasional performances. Where possible, Helpern Architects is preserving many of the original 19th-century details. The 298-seat theater will receive new finishes and decorative touches, camera platforms, and handicapped seating, plus an enlarged stage and additional means of egress.

The existing ballroom on the second floor will get theater-style lighting so it can be used for taping broadcasts. The third floor will contain technical rooms and administrative offices.

April 2007
Helpern Transforms NYU Townhouse Yet Again

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.

The latest improvements update the structure to conform to the current building code and reverse wear-and-tear.  The renovation restores the exterior, and restores and rehabilitates the interiors and historic details.  Almost all mechanical, electrical, and lighting systems are new.

The new program calls for 15 faculty offices, three seminar rooms, and student lounges.  All have state-of-the-art systems, which were inserted without disturbing the building’s historic character and original features. Since the building is in a landmark district, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission had to approve the work. 

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.

To improve visual and physical connections within the residence hall, Helpern Architects is renovating the lobby and upgrading a large lounge adjacent to the entry for special lectures. The two upper floors will contain study/seminar rooms, a recreational lounge, café, and kitchen. Along the corridor, alcove spaces encourage study and casual interaction as residents mingle in the public areas.

Interior spaces will receive bright colors, as well as new carpets, finishes, light fixtures, and plenty of natural light. Glazed doors will allow views into the common areas and improve communication throughout.

December 2006

uding the great dome - Helpern Architects master-planned and executed, wasn’t just a complex assignment.  “Getting the color of the stone and windows right for the 2001 card – gradations of color to make shadows and details authentic, perhaps a dozen tones – was also complex,” he recalls.

The smallest building on a card was in 1990: the St. Marks Church in East Islip, an historic building that Helpern Architects restored after it had almost burned down.  The tallest card, in 1985, was 667 Madison Avenue, a 25-story tower for Hartz Mountain Industries, which the New York Times’ critic had called “The Building of the Year.”

Whitehouse & Company has been the graphic designer for the cards for many years; Roger Whitehouse is an architect turned graphic designer.  The original concept was from Carla Hall, an artist turned graphic designer. 

What is David Helpern’s favorite card?  “Next year’s” is his response.  “We really appreciate our client’s encouragement and the opportunities we’ve been given to craft great architecture for them, providing reasons to celebrate in this way.”

December 2006
We’ve had details stolen before

but never an entire building

The Soho Grand Hotel

In truth, as we can attest because we were the architects, the Hartz Group owns the land and built the 367-“key” property at the south end of SoHo, the first hotel in the area in a century. 

The NYC Department of Investigation suspected that the undaunted Kouassi’s persistent, unsigned claims were false.  According to the Commissioner, “He may now find himself sleeping in less glamorous accommodations.”  To give him his due, however, he did want to own one of our most successful buildings.

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.

Peer Professionals specifically assist with the selection of architects, provide expert advice on design proposals submitted by their colleagues, help interpret facilities options, and ensure that the agency makes the best choices possible for major civic projects.

As a peer reviewer, David Helpern will help to build consensus and advocate on behalf of users, as well as the general public, in support of design excellence, environmentally responsible construction, and high-quality buildings that reflect their Federal mandate.

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.

David Helpern spoke about what determines whether a house is suitable and adaptable: “When a university converts an historic residence – or one that is rich solely in local lore – for institutional use, it gains a visible opportunity to simultaneously enrich campus and community.  This act brings joy and security, and the house’s history comes to blend with the university’s own historic context.”

Larger questions he addressed concerned standards, values, legacy, definition of success, historic integrity – actually, what is “historic” – and fiscal obligations.  Site, program, finances, internal and external community questions, government regulations, and architectural considerations all appeared on his “Conversion Issues Checklist.”  “This checklist,” Helpern pointed out, is not for a house museum, but rather for a hand-functioning educational center.  No normal home can withstand this level of use.” 

Helpern then introduced Margaret Castillo as a “fiercely determined historian and preservation architect.”  She spoke at length about how the firm restored the functionality, integrity, and beauty of the “two treasures.” 

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.