Author: Ethan Wolff

“We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.” —Winston Churchill

By Ethan Wolff

To live in NYC is to be attuned to real estate, from street level to skyline. Get under the surface with our picks for the best in New York talks on design and architecture. We’re especially looking forward to a hunt for the remnants of the original Penn Station, access to 40 open studios and the story of the building that broke the world’s toughest tycoons.

Tuesday, June 30th. New York’s postwar classics are obvious candidates for preservation. The fate of late modern and postmodern architecture of the 1970s and forward is more complicated. Learn more about potential landmarks from an era with some definite clunkers with Robert A. M. Stern and a panel at the Museum of the City of New York.

Wednesday, July 1. Get a look at Chongqing, one of the fastest growing cities in the world, through the eyes of a photographer who’s spent the last decade documenting China’s whiplash evolution. Asia Society and Museum.

Wednesday, July 8. As the art world scales ever bigger and disciplines overlap, architecture is increasingly infiltrating its sister realm. Catch a panel conversation on artists inspired by architectural theory, process and material, along with a reception at the Center for Architecture, in honor of a new group show.

Saturday, July 11. Get an inside look at the crafting of the future through the Emerging Voices program of the Architectural League. An Open House New York tour provides access to 40 architecture and design studios that illustrate what’s to come along with the best of the last three decades.

Monday, July 13. Harry B. Macklowe made his name by dropping over a billion on the General Motors Building and immediately doubling its value with an all-glass Apple store in the plaza. Just five years later he lost it all. Hear the story at the Mid-Manhattan Library from the author of The Liar’s Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How One Building Broke the World’s Toughest Tycoons.

Tuesday, July 14. Nearly 30 years after his passing, Isamu Noguchi’s works are still a presence in New York City. Hear about his playground designs, Sunken Garden at Chase Manhattan Plaza and iconic “Red Cube” in the free talk “Everything is Sculpture” at the Museum of the City of New York.

Wednesday, July 15. Architect/artist Andrew Geller earned fame building intriguing Modern beach houses around the mid-Atlantic (Pearlroth House, Elizabeth Reese House, and Leisurama in the Hamptons are some highlights). His grandson, who’s compiled a definitive book complete with never-before-seen images, will provide insight in a lecture at the Center for Architecture.

Monday, July 20. New York’s grand architecture makes its own case for preservation. Less so historically important but visually jumbled areas like Tin Pan Alley and Chinatown. A panel mulls the question “Is Preservation Elitist?” at the Museum of the City of New York.

Wednesday, July 22. To see the immaculate stained glass, carved wood and starry ceilings of the 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue, you’d never guess the building spent decades on the verge of collapse. Enjoy an insider’s look and vintage cocktails with Untapped Cities after a tour of neighboring Lower East Side architectural highlights.

Sunday, July 26. It will be a long time before New Yorkers stop mourning the loss of Penn Station. Seek out the hidden remnants of the McKim, Meade & White original and hear about plans for the hub’s next iteration on an afternoon tour.