Designs for the restoration of the New York Public Library System’s iconic structure at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, formally known as the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, have been finalized putting the project on pace to be completed for the library’s centennial celebration in 2011.

“When the restoration is completed, the striking building will once again welcome visitors with the full impact intended when it was founded as a centerpiece of the city's intellectual life” said library spokesman Herb Scher.

The library has hired national engineering and architectural firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates to create and implement the restoration plan for the landmark. The firm has restored some of Manhattan’s most storied buildings, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History.

The landmark was the largest marble structure in the United States when it opened in 1911 and cost $9 million to build. The current restoration of the exterior, which has been worn by a century of pollution and weather, is budgeted at $54 million.

The restoration will strictly adhere to the library’s original design, according to Wiss, Janney, Elstner project manager Tim Allenbrook. Since 2006, the team has been studying the original drawings created by architects Merven Carrere and Thomas Hastings to ensure accuracy.

The project will pay special attention to the façade, roof, fountains, attic figures, pediment groups as well as approaches, stairs and plazas.

Engineers identified nearly 3,000 cracks in need of repair. The walls will be cleaned with high temperature, low-pressure steam, while the many ornate sculptural elements adorning the façade will be carefully protected and preserved.

The oldest building on the The State University of New York’s New Paltz campus, Old Main, is progressing in the design phase of its latest project and is preparing for a major renovation.

Old Main, located at 800 Hawk Drive on the New Paltz campus, originally housed the entire school when it was built in 1908. The $25.9 million renovation will allow classrooms to fully take advantage of the latest multimedia teaching methods as well as create additional administrative spaces.

Hall Partnership Architects of New York was chosen to design the renovation. “We want to make it the showpiece on campus,” said HPA project manager Cathy Martone. “It’s their history.” HPA previously designed a renovation for the school’s Vandenberg Learning Center.

The classrooms will have zoned lighting, centralized control systems to allow for easier operation of the rooms’ multimedia functions, and will be wired to allow new technologies to be incorporated in the future.

Old Main’s square footage will increase from 79,158 sq ft to 87,254 sq ft by infilling what was once the building’s gym. In the 1960s, the gym’s main floor was converted into offices while the upstairs track area was abandoned. The renovation will reclaim this unused area by installing two additional floors.

Although the school is seeking LEED certification for Old Main-which would make it the campus’ first LEED-certified building-the hope is that the building will incorporate enough green features to make it comparable to LEED Silver, according to David Smith, the New Paltz campus architect.

Energy efficiency will be increased by installing a high albedo roof and by configuring the mechanical systems to ensure optimal performance. More efficient plumbing such as low-flow toilets and landscaping with plants that do not require irrigation will lower water usage. At least 10% of all construction materials will be extracted, processed and manufactured from within a 500-mi radius and more than 50% of the wood will be FSC-certified. Low-VOC finishes will be used throughout the building.

The State University Construction Fund is overseeing Old Main’s design and renovation. A general contractor has yet to be selected.

SUNY is projecting a fall 2010 or spring 2011 completion date for Old Main.

A new 106,000-sq-ft, 21-story luxury hotel on Duffield Street in downtown Brooklyn is being designed to satisfy the tourism spike expected from the $9 billion revitalization on schedule for completion in 2012. Hotel Indigo, which V3 Hotels intends to make as its flagship office, will be within the mixed use project involving 23 million sq ft of office, retail, hotel and residential space, as well as a professional sports arena and new cultural facilities.

“Downtown Brooklyn is experiencing a major boom in every sector across the board, and the hotel industry is poised to capitalize on this wonderful time for one of the country’s most historic cities,” said Ben Nash, chief executive officer of V3 Hotels, the developer of Hotel Indigo.

Karl Fischer Architects has been retained for the design of the hotel. Demolition on the site, led by New York-based TMI Wrecking, began in December 2007. The construction manager has yet to be selected.

The 164-room hotel will feature oversized lobby chairs, guestrooms with hardwood-style flooring and spa-inspired showers and a fitness room weights. The hotel will also offer a 24-hour business center, high-speed Internet access in all guestrooms and wireless in the hotel’s public areas, as well as meeting space for business functions or special events.

“The front wall of each room will have a bay window,” said Fischer. “Some will bow out and some will bow in, creating an undulating effect.”

The hotel will also have two lounges with indoor and outdoor space, one located on the rooftop and the other on the third floor.

“The challenges for this project were getting the maximum number of keys in for the developer, creating exciting spaces to make it a destination hotel and making [the building] memorable,” said Fischer.

The design of the hotel also allows for 15,000 sq ft of retail space. “The kitchen will have room service but there is no restaurant for the hotel,” said Fischer. “Hopefully a restaurant will come in.” Establishments have yet to sign on for the ground floor retail space.

The $60 million hotel is slated for occupancy in early 2010.