Design Finalists Selected

Four teams of architects, landscape architects, engineers, planners and other design professionals have been selected as finalists to create a master plan for the High Line, an elevated rail structure on Manhattan's West Side.

Each team is led by an architecture firm, a landscape architecture firm, or multiple firms joined in collaborative leadership. Team leads and principal consultants selected were:

• Field Operations, landscape architects; Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, architects; Olafur Eliasson, artist; Piet Oudolf, horticulture; Halie Light & L'Observatoire International, lighting.
  
• Zaha Hadid Architects, architects; Balmori Associates, landscape architects; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (Marilyn Jordan Taylor), architects; studio MDA (Markus Dochantschi), architects.
  
• Steven Holl Architects, architects; Hargreaves Associates, landscape design; HNTB, technical design.
  
• TerraGRAM: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, landscape architects; D.I.R.T. Studio (Julie Bergmann), industrial site design; Beyer Blinder Belle (Neil Kittredge), urban design.

The design approaches of each of the finalist teams will be on display until Aug. 14 at the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, New York, N.Y.

Calatrava Designs on Display

Preliminary designs by architect Santiago Calatrava for a new residential tower at 80 South Street in Downtown Manhattan will be on display at the Center for Architecture until Aug. 7. The center is located at 536 LaGuardia Place, New York, N.Y.

This is the first residential building in the United States that Calatrava has designed. It is being developed by Frank J. Sciame, of Sciame Development. The designs are based on a series of cubist sculptures Calatrava began creating more than 20 years ago. The exhibition features this early inspiration for the design as well as looks into the engineering of the structure and the impact it will have on Lower Manhattan.

YOO Introduced DOWNTOWN

The DOWNTOWN by Philippe Starck project at 15 Broad St. in Lower Manhattan will feature the YOO design concept.

The 42-story tower across the street from the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall is being converted into 326 condominium residences. The project architect is Ismael Leyva.

YOO is a conceptual design and development firm formed by Starck, John Hitchcox and Matthew Freud in 1999 to create unique living environments in destination cities around the world. Residents of YOO developments are given the opportunity to personalize their space through the use of colors, textures, materials and furnishings that fit best with their lives. The concept has already been introduced in a number of locations including London, Madrid, Sydney, Miami, Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires.

ADS to Study Energy Efficiency

ADS has been awarded a term contract to conduct engineering studies for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to reduce electric energy consumption in buildings.

ADS will be participating in NYSERDA's new initiative, New Construction Financial Incentives PON 815, to provide financial and technical assistance to candidates to improve the energy efficiency of new and substantially renovated construction projects. The program aims to encourage candidates to install energy efficient equipment and to construct buildings that exceed the energy efficiency of standard design practices, and the energy conservation code, by offering a financial incentive and technical support to do so.