Manhattan-based firm Hollwich Kushner‘s research design project, New(er) York, imagines what Art Deco landmarks in New York City would look like if they were designed with contemporary styles and construction techniques. The project explores how a city’s built history can inform its future construction, and explores the question of whether it is a building’s inherent character that elevates it to iconic status, rather than only its aesthetics, since stylistic tastes change with time.
The firm studied the design and geometry of each landmark by creating 3D models of each building, stripping away the details, and reinterpreting proportions and massings to capture the unique characteristics of each structure in a contemporary façade. At the heart of the research is the idea that “designing a landmark means designing for longevity,” Hollwich Kushner said in a release.
The buildings imagined as part of the project include 1 Wall Street, which The Landmarks Preservation Commission calls “one of New York City’s most extraordinary Art Deco masterpieces,” the Eldorado, and 214 West 29th Street.
1 Wall Street:
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
The Eldorado:
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
214 West 29th Street:
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
The 3D Process:
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
Courtesy Hollwich Kushner
