Escola Primaria-Portuguese Architecture

When I was in Portugal on business last month, I was lucky enough to have a lunch in the countryside. Located approximately 140 Km away from Lisbon, an old school house is running successfully as a restaurant offering many traditional Portuguese meals and local wines. As I sat inside the restaurant, I noticed the interesting arches that span the length of the dining room. Later in NYC, I searched on google to find the meaning behind the asymmetric arches. I found images of the school house abandoned.

In the 1940s , the New State of the Centennial Plan launched a program of school construction in mass that was intended to allow all children to have a Portuguese school at your fingertips, enabling you to increase the level of public education. Schools Plan of centenarians were built according to models typified adapted to local conditions, which allied with the feature traditional Portuguese architecture. Until the 1960s , were built more than 7000 of these schools, going to be at least one in almost all parts of the country, what became a trademark of Portugal.

The photos above were taken while I was at the Escola Primaria restaurant somewhere between Grandola and Santiago do Cacem.

Something Different: Roman Baths

I have been a bit distracted and unable to blog lately. I cannot talk much about my new project in detail, but I can say that it's one: Luxurious. Two: I'm using the metric system. Three: It involves Roman Baths.  (Above) I added some photos that I took while in Pompeii, Italy. I am hoping to draw some inspiration from the these historic Roman Baths.  I also watched this NOVA special on Roman Baths to prep me for the design challenges.  http://www.hulu.com/watch/23353/nova-secrets-of-lost-empires-ii-roman-bat

The above photos represent a hamam (or hamman) bath which is a middle eastern interpretation of a steam bath. Although in the modern world, we imagine a typical steam room or warm bath as a relaxing place to collect our thoughts (alone, most times), Many Roman and Middle Eastern cultures would use these baths as a social place, where many people would gather to eat, drink, and gossip (hmmm....kinda like a modern day bar).  

The Life of a Building's Development

Countless meetings, public hearings, approvals, objections,  inspections and revisions later, we have a building....And it's all worth it in the end. 

2 Cooper was announced NYC Best Luxury Rental Building by Real Deal Magazine. 

Port Ten

While working on 2 Cooper, our project team was asked to step in and re-design the Gym, Lounge, & Cafe at Port Ten. I looked at this as an opportunity to take a break from the stamping of shop drawings for 2 Cooper and pull out trace paper, colored pencils, and use my imagination! (Branding image by Tag Creative)

I took the role as one of the lead designers to develop this space. The idea of a youthful and industrial space was originated due to the site's proximity to a garbage lot surrounded by corrugated metal fences. YES! GARBAGE! However, Our client decided to make his building as hip and cool despite its neighboring lot, after all IT IS along the trendy and happening HIGH LINE.

Pictured above is the Cafe. We used rusticated woods and metals to give the space an industrial feel. The idea of using a circular bar was introduced to increase circulation as tenants moved into the entrance space into other amenities spaces. Adjacent to the bar is a lounge with a large over-sized couch, flat screen tv and pinball machines. Thru the glass doors on the other side of the bar, is the gym space. 

Pictured below is the Gym. We left the columns and ceiling as a raw concrete finish. The room is simple in its color palette of grays, complementing the machinery and concrete, with pops of color throughout.

(renderings not by me; plans by me)

They grow up so fast, don't they?

2Cooper New York City from Kimberly Payne on Vimeo.

2 Cooper is up and running

The Website for my latest project, 2 Cooper,  is finally up and running.

I believe the first move-ins will be July 15, 2010! Well that's the word on-site.

Grilles, Frills, & Obama

Yesterday was an exciting day at the site. I arrived with the hoist shut down and our construction administration team staring out the windows. "What's going on?" I am thinking. My team tells me that the construction site is shut down from 11am to about 1:30pm for the Presidential arrival at Cooper Union. Cooper Union is adjacent to 2 Cooper Square. As we proceed with our meeting, we hear sirens. We watched as 15-20 vehicles pass us by, carrying the President and his entourage. An hour or so later....our meeting still going-on....the President leaves Cooper Union and we watch it all over again.

After the construction meeting, I walked the site to inspect the installation of our decorative grills and glass railings on the 7th floor. The pictures below illustrate the new installations.

The continuous glass railing detail provides optimum viewing down the bowery and up towards midtown's Empire State Building, while also meeting building code's required parapet height. The glass railing is not visible from street view.

The decorative grille above is an aesthetic piece that conceals the PTAC louvers that allow fresh air intake. The pictures above show the grille concealing a blank off panel (where there are no PTACs or louvers under window unit). To be consistent we located decorative grilles under every window unit.

The Gramercy, New York, NY

Early in my career, I was given the opportunity to work along side a very dynamic team to develop The Gramercy Building in the Gramercy neighborhood in Manhattan. I was on this project for 2 1/2 years, preparing construction documents, coordinating engineering systems, & working on site as the field architect. I prepared over 200 sketches for complicated details & worked through construction problems with contractors. I was influenced heavily by the interior design team, YOO by Starck, and Michael Shvo's marketing team. Meeting with these teams regularly allowed me to realize their visions and use this influence when preparing construction details & coordination. 

I attached some images that I took while working on site. I have hundreds of construction photos. First image: lounge space while studs are being placed. Second image: skyline view from penthouse level. Third image: one of the three interior finish palettes, this one is called CULTURE. Fourth image: interior view of one of the bedrooms.


If you want to live at the Gramercy, visit: http://www.gramercystarck.com/

Cooper Square, New York, NY

This is my current project Cooper Square.  The new marketing signs have been hung as illustrated in the below image. I wanted to start my entries with my largest current project. Our projected opening date is in mid May. I am looking forward to the roof top pool, one of my favorite details about the building. Check out the building, plans and more on www.2Cooper.com