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August 12, 2014

Drawing connections to the 1964/65 World’s Fair site

The new 10,000 s.f. annex to NYC Parks Department's Olmsted Center in Flushing Meadows. The building is targeting LEED Gold certification.
The new 10,000 s.f. annex to NYC Parks Department’s Olmsted Center in Flushing Meadows. The building is targeting LEED Gold certification.

Our team is currently putting the finishing touches on the new 10,000 square foot annex to Olmsted Center at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. The milestone marks the close of the first of two phases on this project, which includes the renovation and expansion of the home for the  Capital Projects Division of the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation. Timing-wise, there is also another reason to celebrate: this year is the 50th anniversary of the 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair, for which Olmsted Center was originally built, in order to support fair operations. In pausing to admire our team’s work, we can’t help but notice some interesting parallels between the design goals of today and those of half a century ago.

1. Architecture of Efficiency
Many of the fair’s pavilion structures were designed to be awe-inducing, their scale and sleek modern forms hinting to 50 million+ Fair visitors that the future had arrived. It was the dawn of the Space Age. However, the fair’s impermanence called for construction that could be quickly disassembled. As a result, the 1964 portion of Olmsted Center is a pre-engineered kit of parts manufactured by Butler, no doubt specified for reasons of cost and construction efficiency. BKSK’s new annex is also a pre-engineered structure, albeit a customized one. Here, the steel structure has been pushed outwards, like flying buttresses, to reveal the elegance of the structural system. The pre-engineered industry, premised on the notion of efficiency, was uniquely positioned to become an early of adopter of environmental initiatives like recycled content and reduced construction waste. Structures like the original Olmsted Center building did, in many ways, foresee the future.

2. Relationship with the Landscape
Before it was converted into fairgrounds in the mid-1930s for the World’s Fair of 1939/1940, Flushing Meadows served as an ash dump, a dump made famous as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “valley of ashes.” Prior to that, it was a tidal marshland that supported a diverse natural habitat. At the time of the Fair’s creation, master planning at this scale still held firm to the idea that the natural environment could be controlled. Water management systems of the era often worked against natural rhythms. In our post-Sandy world, we are acutely aware that it is to our detriment when we fail to align with these rhythms, and much of our current work at Olmsted Center addresses the site’s frequent flooding. In addition to raising the annex above the flood line, new wetland detention areas and a raised water channel system will convey the power and beauty of water, while directing it away from the building.

3. Expressing the Spirit of a Place
In 1964, Flushing was host to a fair that showcased global achievement and human innovation. The Fair’s monumental centerpiece and emblem, the Unisphere, still presides over the park today. While it is now a relic of a bygone fair, the sculpture’s presence remains very appropriate for the  location—as the world, quite literally, has taken root in Queens. Since the Fair’s end, the neighborhood of Flushing has flourished and grown into one of the most ethnically diverse communities on the planet. While architects for the World’s Fair were challenged to create designs that reflect the grand ambitions of mankind, much of the new civic and community architecture in the area retains a similar spirit of accomplishment and possibility, but on a more localized scale. Not far from Olmsted Center is a prime example of this—BKSK’s award-winning Queens Botanical Garden Visitor Center, which served as its own showcase of innovation by becoming New York’s first publicly funded LEED Platinum project. The center is a built extension of the Garden’s mission: to demonstrate environmental stewardship while celebrating the cultural connections between people and plants. In looking to the future, the Garden has propelled itself into the front ranks of its field as the first botanical garden in the country devoted to sustainable environmental stewardship.

BKSK_Olmsted_Raimund-Koch-658_LR
The new annex at Olmsted is elevated above the flood line. Phase II, anticipated to begin construction next year, will introduce berms and other flood mitigation strategies into the landscape around the center.

 

BKSK-Olmsted_WaterManagementDiagram_7000px
These stormwater diagrams illustrate the impact of new flood control strategies at the Olmsted Center before implementation (left) and after (right).

 

BKSK_Olmsted_Diagram-RainShed-700
This diagram illustrates how we modified the design of the pre-engineered Butler building to both reveal its structural elegance and address the flood-prone nature of the Olmsted Center.

 

BKSK_QBG_P1000174-700
An architecturally distinguished backdrop for the opening celebration of the Queens Botanical Garden Visitor Center.
Tags: (po)st, Flushing Meadows, LEED, Olmsted Center, Queens Botanical Garden, World's Fair

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#repost @michelle_._rose ⁣
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Run, don't walk, to the incredibly beautiful new @center4fiction location in Brooklyn. Lucky to have had the opportunity to photograph it for @bkskarchitects @bkskinteriorsAnnouncing our 2019 promotions! Congratulations to Will Russell, Pablo Kohan, Paolo Agostinelli, Marcel Perez-Pirio, Karen Chubak and Joe Hogan. These promotions reflect the design capability, leadership and commitment of each individual to our firm and our mission.“The couple’s architects [BKSK] pushed them a bit out of their comfort zone with the slatted wood screening that served as an added layer on the exterior. ‘To be honest, it was the one thing I didn’t quite understand, but once the screening went up, the whole house transformed and it added another level of architecture that has made a huge impact,’ says Taube of the element that melds form and function, as it also provides shade.⁣”
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The Barrier Island House was featured today in @archdigest. Link in bio for the full story.⁣
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Photo by @michelle_._rosesome of the interior details at the @center4fiction’s new #downtownbrooklyn hqpreview of the custom neon signage by @litebriteneon for the @center4fiction’s new home in the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District.⁣ ⁣
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Celebrating local craftman and makers, BKSK’s design vision infuses the space with 19c inspired metalwork, warm natural materials and bold environmental graphics.
Photo by @litebriteneonkingstonour soon-to-be completed Tribeca project on a sunny weekday morning

Archive

2019
Harry Kendall joins Urban Design Council at the Museum of the City of New York
2018
BKSK’s newest principal, Harpreet DhaliwalFerry Point Comfort Station Receives Architecture MasterPrizeNYC by Foot (or Ferry): Brooklyn Army TerminalInterior Design’s PowerGrid NYC 50BKSK Interiors Making a DIFFArenceLandmarks approves West 13th Street designConnections to Civic Life: Welcoming Entrances in ActionSARA NY Recognizes 470 Columbus with Merit AwardFavorites from NYCxDesign 2018Getting Site-Specific470 Columbus Avenue Recognized for Green Good DesignWashington Square Park House = Excellence in Civic SpaceBKSK Interiors & Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Gala
2017
Donate to Lambaye this Holiday SeasonThree BKSK Projects Receive American Architecture PrizeThe Joy of Decoration at 529 BroadwayBKSK Ranked Among Top FirmsAward-Winning Brick at The Jefferson529 Broadway “On the Forefront of Storefronts”Architizer Recognizes “Daring Adaptive Reuse”One Vandam featured in Marie Claire Maison ItaliaAIA Brooklyn + Queens honors Olmsted CenterRetrofit = Preservation + SustainabilityIn MemoryFacade Feature for One Madison GatehouseVote for A+ Award Finalist Tammany HallS is for StewardshipA+ for One Great Jones Alley and TammanyHarry Kendall honored in TriBeCaThe University of Virginia: Industry Expert Discussionfree lunch & tammany hallThere IS such thing as “free lunch”Green Good Design in Washington Square Park2 Lafayette is Golden
2016
Reasons to Love NY (& BKSK)BKSK 2016 PromotionsSilver and Gold for The JeffersonPark House receives 2016 AIANY COTE AwardAward-winning Parks + PlaygroundsCCNY Women in Design: Career Night at BKSKArchitecture as Advocacy: A tour of QBG’s Visitor & Administration CenterReflections on BKSK’s Inaugural Research FellowshipBattery PlayScape receives AAP Honorable Mention2 Lafayette honored for Active Design ExcellenceMaking the GradeOlana Summerhouse…drawn outThe beginning of the Ende era(LEED)ing by Example: A conversation with Julie NelsonCelebrating on The Jefferson’s Blue RoofLiving Future: Truth + TransparencyAll that glitters is not gold…sometimes it’s platinum!Our neighbor, the Cathedral of St. SavaNew Residences in Greenwich Village Historic DistrictPartner Stephen Byrns’ Next ChapterBKSK featured at 2016 New York New DesignThe Wall Street Journal visits a BKSK-designed Park House
2015
Julie Nelson to present at NCGS Forum with Sacred HeartOculus shares the past, present, and future of 529 BroadwayEight takeaways from Greenbuild 2015The LAB to explore designing wellness and behavior at LF16Join BKSK in making the Lambaye Learning Center a realityThe New York Times features One Great Jones AlleyInteriors & Sources highlights new Center for Fiction projectSacred Heart recognized by American School & UniversityInterior Design counts 2 Lafayette as one of “New York’s finest”Center for Fiction selects BKSK for design of new Brooklyn homeCLOG : LANDMARK features insights from Harry KendallProposed design for Polhemus Memorial approved by LPCInhabitat highlights Citizen and its support of green lifestylesTaka Sarui and Gisela Garrett weigh in on the “State of Practice”One Great Jones Alley breaks groundFive leading-edge insights into today’s educational spacesTour the Queens Botanical Garden on “Archtober” 4thJennifer Preston to present LBC findings on “net positive water”Julie Nelson and Harry Kendall to speak on housingMaking news by making place in two New York parks and beyondThe Architect’s Newspaper features 2 Lafayette StreetTeam behind sustainable Chelsea condo strikes “Gold”Join us in exploring organic waste’s part in OneNYCJoan Krevlin to discuss “The World of Tomorrow, Today”Sacred Heart earns a Silver “Brick in Architecture” AwardAIA New York State honors Park House with a design citationTraditional Building profiles 2015’s Palladio award winnersAthletic Business features CSH in Architectural ShowcaseWashington Square Park House graces the cover of PRBA home without energy bills? It’s not as crazy as it seems.Julie Nelson weighs in on the physical space of communitiesBKSK’s first Living Future Accredited ProfessionalVoting is live through May 22nd for BKSK’s two SXSW proposalsArbor Hills featured in Metal Architecture’s May issueReflecting back on our Living Future(s)Washington Square Park House wins Palladio AwardStephen Byrns to be awarded the Place Maker AwardGrafting a vertical expansion onto a Landmark infamous for graftJamie Perez to speak at annual NY11+ exhibitionJames Wilson to speak at next annual EDRA conferenceFemale undergraduates visit BKSK for Career NightBKSK included in exhibition honoring NYC’s Landmarks LawIn Dialogue: Joan and Julie on the BKSK Women’s RoundtableCheck out the recap of #BKSKatWork with Rosa ShengLandmarks unanimously approves Tammany Hall designBuilt by Women NYC exhibition opensBKSK presents at City Council’s Renewable Energy ConferenceA sneak peek at 529 Broadway’s terra cotta contour panels100 sites, 5 boroughs, and countless female buildersOn March 16th, join #BKSKatWork with Rosa ShengJenniece Centrella promoted to Senior Project ManagerNew York YIMBY reveals the new look of 509 West 38thGliding through winter: Exploring the boroughs by skateSacred Heart featured in Metal Architecture’s latest issueBKSK selected to lead two sessions at Living Future 2015New athletics center is both teaching tool and teaching topicOlmsted Center up for ArchDaily’s Building of the Year awardOne Great Jones Alley and 25 Bond add to a “design-rich NoHo”The Jefferson ranked 2nd Most Popular NYC Building of 2014Julie Nelson joins Urban Green’s Monthly Programs CommitteeThe potential of school buildings to serve as teaching tools
2014
A Staircase with a ViewListen up: See art and architecture in dialogue this fallBKSK’s relationship with Tribeca continues with 11 Beach StreetFlushing Meadow-Corona Park: An incubator of innovationA celebration of Mamaroneck Library’s LEED Gold statusNew athletic center promotes holistic student wellnessConstructing in Senegal: a Photo TourDrawing connections to the 1964/65 World’s Fair siteBeyond Manhattan / Beyond the SupersquareNew architecture inspired by a historic building materialBKSK celebrates the Washington Square Park ribbon cuttingLearning to let go with nature at Living Future 2014Celebrating Active Design and a healthier built environmentThe value of poetry, performance, and idea exchangeThe new Park House at Washington Square proclaimed a “hit”BKSK opens its doors to the public with Open House New York
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