Design Excellence at the Department of Design and Construction and the Department of Parks and Recreation
Thomas Balsley, Scott Marble, Charles McKinney, David Resnick, and Jennifer Sage, moderated by Julie Iovine
Recorded: May 17, 2010
Running Time: 01:16:39

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The Design + Construction Excellence program was initiated in 2004 with the goal of pursuing an “innovative and ambitious public works program in partnership with the most creative and experienced design professionals in the world.” As outlined by the city’s Department of Design and Construction, strategies for achieving this goal focused on “new procurement methods, new business policies aimed at enhancing project management, developing more accurate project scheduling guidelines, tightening the budget process and creating contemporary continuing education and evaluation standards.”

This lecture focuses on how the New York City Department of Design and Construction and the Department of Parks and Recreation have implemented the “tools” created by the Design + Construction Excellence program—in projects that are completed, in construction, or in design in all five boroughs. How has a policy of emphasizing design quality influenced the planning for, commissioning of, and shape of public architecture during the past six years?

Panelists:
Charles McKinney, Principal Urban Designer, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
David Resnick, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Design and Construction

Thomas Balsley, founder and principal designer, Thomas Balsley Associates
Scott Marble, founding partner, Marble Fairbanks
Jennifer Sage, founding partner, Sage & Coombe Architects

Moderator:
Julie Iovine, Executive Editor, The Architect’s Newspaper

New York City Commissioners Adrian Benepe, Amanda Burden, and David Burney, in conversation with Paul Goldberger
Conversations on New York 3
Recorded: July 20, 2010
Running Time: 01:02:38

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More than any city administration since John Lindsay’s, the Bloomberg administration has made improving the physical city—and an emphasis on high quality in architecture and landscape design—an important focus of its agenda. The most visible impacts of this focus have come through the work of the city departments of Parks, Planning, Design and Construction, and Transportation. Paul Goldberger, architecture critic of The New Yorker, engaged commissioners Adrian Benepe (Parks), Amanda Burden (Planning), and David Burney (Design and Construction) in a discussion about how they made design integral to the work of their departments; what today’s stringent fiscal constraints portend for the continuation of their efforts and the preservation of what they have already created; and what their agendas promise for the mayor’s final term.

Both Adrian Benepe at Parks and Recreation and Amanda Burden at City Planning have served as the commissioners of their departments since the beginning of Mayor Bloomberg’s first term in 2002. Benepe’s history with his department goes back to 1973, when as a teenager he was hired as a seasonal helper in parks on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He served in various other positions in the department after graduating from college, including as a member of the first corps of Urban Park Rangers in 1979, and subsequently as Director of Natural Resources & Hortibulture, Director of Art & Antiquities, and Manhattan Borough Commissioner. Amanda Burden served as a member of the Planning Commission, as the appointee of the Public Advocate, from 1990 to 2001. Prior to her appointment as Chair of the Commission, she was Director of Planning for the Center for Court Innovation, Vice President of Panning and Design at the Battery Park City Authority, and Vice President of Architecture and Design at the NYS Urban Development Corporation. David Burney was appointed Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction in 2004, after serving for a decade as director of design and capital improvement at the New York City Housing Authority. An architect, Burney worked for Davis, Brody & Associates after immigrating from England to the United States in 1982.

Paul Goldberger has been architecture critic at The New Yorker since 1997. His two most recent books are Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture, and Why Architecture Matters. He holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at the New School in New York, where he was previously Dean of Parsons, the New School for Design.

Read a recap of Conversations on New York 3 with New York City Commissioners Benepe, Burden, and Burney on Urban Omnibus.

Click here to listen to the podcast of this event

More than any city administration since John Lindsay’s, the Bloomberg administration has made improving the physical city—and an emphasis on high quality in architecture and landscape design—an important focus of its agenda. The most visible impacts of this focus have come through the work of the city departments of Parks, Planning, Design and Construction, and Transportation. Paul Goldberger, architecture critic of The New Yorker, will engage the commissioners of these departments—Adrian Benepe (Parks), Amanda Burden (Planning), and David Burney (Design and Construction)–in a discussion about how they have made design integral to the work of their departments; what today’s stringent fiscal constraints portend for the continuation of their efforts and the preservation of what they have already created; and what their agendas promise for the mayor’s final term. This program is presented in conjunction with the Architectural League exhibition The City We Imagined/The City We Made: New New York 2001-2010.

Both Adrian Benepe at Parks and Recreation and Amanda Burden at City Planning have served as the commissioners of their departments since the beginning of Mayor Bloomberg’s first term in 2002. Benepe’s history with his department goes back to 1973, when as a teenager he was hired as a seasonal helper in parks on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He served in various other positions in the department after graduating from college, including as a member of the first corps of Urban Park Rangers in 1979, and subsequently as Director of Natural Resources & Hortibulture, Director of Art & Antiquities, and Manhattan Borough Commissioner. Amanda Burden served as a member of the Planning Commission, as the appointee of the Public Advocate, from 1990 to 2001. Prior to her appointment as Chair of the Commission, she was Director of Planning for the Center for Court Innovation, Vice President of Panning and Design at the Battery Park City Authority, and Vice President of Architecture and Design at the NYS Urban Development Corporation. David Burney was appointed Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction in 2004, after serving for a decade as director of design and capital improvement at the New York City Housing Authority. An architect, Burney worked for Davis, Brody & Associates after immigrating from England to the United States in 1982.

Paul Goldberger has been architecture critic at The New Yorker since 1997. His two most recent books are Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture, and Why Architecture Matters. He holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at the New School in New York, where he was previously Dean of Parsons, the New School for Design.

(Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, previously announced as part of this program, is now unable to participate because of a schedule conflict.)

Tickets are required for admission to League programs. Tickets are free for League members; $15 for non-members. Members may reserve a ticket by e-mailing: rsvp@archleague.org. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk; unclaimed tickets will be released fifteen minutes after the start of the program. Non-members may purchase tickets here until 3:00 p.m. the day of the program.

AIA and New York State continuing education credits are available.

This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Photo credits from left to right: Kyle R. Brooks, Steven Yavanian, Frank Guittard, Jason A. Tax.

Alex Garvin With Rosalie Genevro and Michael Sorkin
Conversations on New York 1
Recorded: June 17, 2010
Running Time: 1:13:04

Click here to subscribe to League podcasts on iTunes.

Conversations on New York 1 features urban designer Alexander Garvin.  Garvin played a major role in two of the most ambitious and discussed public planning initiatives of the decade, serving as managing director of the NYC 2012 effort and as director of planning, design, and development for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. The program looks at both of these projects as well as the role of urban design in the transformation of New York over the past decade.

Garvin is currently President of Alex Garvin and Associates, a planning and design firm based in New York City. From 1996 to 2005, he was Managing Director of Planning for NYC2012. During 2002-2003, he was the Vice President for Planning, Design and Development at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. He served as a member of the New York City Planning Commission from 1995-2004.

The discussion was moderated by Rosalie Genevro, executive director of the Architectural League, and Michael Sorkin, director of the graduate program in urban design at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College and vice-president for urban design of the Architectural League board of directors.

Read a recap of Conversations on New York 1 with Alex Garvin on Urban Omnibus.

Dan Doctoroff and Paul Goldberger
Conversations on New York 2
Recorded: July 8, 2010
Running Time: 50:45

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As New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development from 2002 to 2007, Daniel Doctoroff set in motion a number of sweeping initiatives, including the effort to bring the Olympics to New York (which he began as a private citizen in the late 1990s), the development of the far west side of Manhattan into a new office and residential center, congestion pricing, and PLANYC 2030, a long-term plan to accommodate the city’s growing population and address environmental challenges. In conversation with Paul Goldberger, architecture critic of The New Yorker, Doctoroff discusses the accomplishments and disappointments of his tenure, and the challenges facing the city looking forward from 2010. This program was presented in conjunction with the Architectural League exhibition The City We Imagined/The City We Made: New New York 2001-2010.

Dan Doctoroff is currently President of Bloomberg LP, an international information and news company that he joined after leaving city government in late 2007. Doctoroff was the founder of NYC2012, the effort to win the 2012 OIympic Games for New York City. Prior to becoming deputy mayor, Doctoroff was managing partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners.

Paul Goldberger has been architecture critic at The New Yorker since 1997. His two most recent books are Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture, and Why Architecture Matters. He holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at the New School in New York, where he was previously Dean of the Parsons School of Design.

Read a recap of Conversations on New York 2 with Dan Doctoroff on Urban Omnibus.

Conversations on New York 2: Dan Doctoroff and Paul Goldberger
Thursday, July 8, 2010
7:00 p.m.
The Rose Auditorium
41 Cooper Square
1.5 CEUs
add to calendar

Click here to listen to the podcast of this event

As New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development from 2002 to 2007, Daniel Doctoroff set in motion a number of sweeping initiatives, including the effort to bring the Olympics to New York (which he began as a private citizen in the late 1990s), the development of the far west side of Manhattan into a new office and residential center, congestion pricing, and PLANYC 2030, a long-term plan to accommodate the city’s growing population and address environmental challenges. In conversation with Paul Goldberger, architecture critic of The New Yorker, Doctoroff will discuss the accomplishments and disappointments of his tenure, and the challenges facing the city looking forward from 2010. This program is presented in conjunction with the Architectural League exhibition The City We Imagined/The City We Made: New New York 2001-2010.

Dan Doctoroff is currently President of Bloomberg LP, an international information and news company that he joined after leaving city government in late 2007. Doctoroff was the founder of NYC2012, the effort to win the 2012 OIympic Games for New York City. Prior to becoming deputy mayor, Doctoroff was managing partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners.

Paul Goldberger has been architecture critic at The New Yorker since 1997. His two most recent books are Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture, and Why Architecture Matters. He holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at the New School in New York, where he was previously Dean of the Parsons School of Design.

Tickets are required for admission to League programs. Tickets are free for League members; $15 for non-members. Members may reserve a ticket by e-mailing: rsvp@archleague.org. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk; unclaimed tickets will be released fifteen minutes after the start of the program. Non-members may purchase tickets here until 3:00 p.m. the day of the program.

AIA and New York State continuing education credits are available.

This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. The City We Imagined/The City We Made: New New York 2001-2010 is supported by Sciame and by Kohn Pedersen Fox.

Photo credits from left to right: Kyle R. Brooks, Steven Yavanian, Frank Guittard, Jason A. Tax. On front page, details from photographs.

Conversations on New York 1: Alex Garvin
With moderators Rosalie Genevro and Michael Sorkin
Thursday, June 17, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Rose Auditorium, The Cooper Union
41 Cooper Square
1.5 CEUs
add to calendar

Click here to listen to the podcast of this event

“Conversations on New York” are presented in conjunction with the League exhibition The City We Imagined/The City We Made: New New York 2001-2010.

Conversations on New York 1 will feature urban designer Alexander Garvin.  Garvin played a major role in two of the most ambitious and discussed public planning initiatives of the decade, serving as managing director of the NYC 2012 effort and as director of planning, design, and development for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. The program will look at both of these projects as well as the role of urban design in the transformation of New York over the past decade.

Garvin is currently President of Alex Garvin and Associates, a planning and design firm based in New York City. From 1996 to 2005, he was Managing Director of Planning for NYC2012. During 2002-2003, he was the Vice President for Planning, Design and Development at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. He served as a member of the New York City Planning Commission from 1995-2004.

The program will be moderated by Rosalie Genevro, executive director of the Architectural League, and Michael Sorkin, director of the graduate program in urban design at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College and vice-president for urban design of the Architectural League board of directors.

Tickets are required for admission to League programs. Tickets are free for League members; $10 for non-members. Members may reserve a ticket by e-mailing: rsvp@archleague.org. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk; unclaimed tickets will be released fifteen minutes after the start of the program. Non-members may purchase tickets here from June 10 until 3:00 p.m. the day of the program.

AIA and New York State continuing education credits are available.

Co-sponsored by The Cooper Union Department of Continuing Education and Public Programs.

This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. The City We Imagined/The City We Made: New New York 2001-2010 is supported by Sciame and by Kohn Pedersen Fox.

NYC2012 Olympic Village, courtesy of Alex Garvin.

This original Urban Omnibus-produced video explores a day in the life of five New York neighborhoods: Hunts Point, Jamaica, Mariner’s Harbor, Downtown Brooklyn, and Chelsea. Read more…

New New York
Thomas Balsley, Scott Marble, Charles McKinney, David Resnick, and Jennifer Sage
Moderated by Julie Iovine
Monday, May 17, 2010
7:00 p.m.
The Great Hall, The Cooper Union
7 East 7th Street
1.5 HSW CEUs
add to calendar

How has a policy of emphasizing design quality influenced the planning for, commissioning of, and shape of public architecture during the past six years?

The Design + Construction Excellence program was initiated in 2004 with the goal of pursuing an “innovative and ambitious public works program in partnership with the most creative and experienced design professionals in the world.” As outlined by the city’s Department of Design and Construction, strategies for achieving this goal focused on “new procurement methods, new business policies aimed at enhancing project management, developing more accurate project scheduling guidelines, tightening the budget process and creating contemporary continuing education and evaluation standards.”

This program will focus on how the New York City Department of Design and Construction and the Department of Parks and Recreation have implemented the “tools” created by the Design + Construction Excellence program—in projects that are completed, in construction, or in design in all five boroughs.

Panelists:
Charles McKinney, Principal Urban Designer, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
David Resnick, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Design and Construction

Thomas Balsley, founder and principal designer, Thomas Balsley Associates
Scott Marble, founding partner, Marble Fairbanks
Jennifer Sage, founding partner, Sage & Coombe Architects

Moderator:
Julie Iovine, Executive Editor, The Architect’s Newspaper

Tickets are required for admission to League programs. Tickets are free for League members; $10 for non-members. Members may reserve a ticket by e-mailing: rsvp@archleague.org. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk; unclaimed tickets will be released fifteen minutes after the start of the program. Non-members may purchase tickets here from May 10 until 3:00 p.m. the day of the program.

AIA and New York State continuing education credits are available.

This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Image courtesy of Department of Design and Construction.

New New York
Scott Lauer, Harold Levy, Henry Myerberg, David Saltzman, Lonni Tanner
Introduced by Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi
Moderated by Rosalie Genevro
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Scholastic Auditorium
557 Broadway
1.5 CEUs
add to calendar

To see a slideshow of Library Initiative libraries, click here.

In the past decade, more than 50 new libraries have been created in New York City elementary schools through the combined efforts of the Robin Hood Foundation and New York City Board of Education. The Library Initiative brought together architects, educators, and school administrators to envision how libraries could function as educational and community centers in schools—inviting myriad learning opportunities, from quiet reading to collaborative performances. Architects for the libraries worked in partnership with individual school communities; many of the projects benefited as well from collaborations with graphic and industrial designers and artists.

Architects for the libraries included 1100 Architect, Dean/Wolf Architects, Deborah Berke & Partners Architects, Della Valle Bernheimer, Gluckman Mayner Architects, Alexander Gorlin Architects, Helfand Myerberg Guggenheimer Architects, Hester Street Collaborative, HMA2 Architects, Leroy Street Studio, Marpillero Pollak Architects, Paul Bennett Architect, Richard. H. Lewis Architect, Rockwell Group, Rogers Marvel Architects, Ronette Riley Architect, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, Tsao & McKown Architects, and Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism.

Graphic designers and muralists included 2×4, Alfalfa Studio, Automatic Art and Design, Christoph Niemann, Dave Johnson, Dorothy Kresz, Lynn Pauley, Maira Kalman, Pentagram Design, Peter Arkle, Raghava KK, Robin Hood Foundation, Sagmiester Inc., Tucker Viemeister, and Yuko Shimizu.

The program will examine the creation, development, and architectural expression of the libraries, as well as overarching issues such as the benefits and difficulties of this kind of public/private partnership; the role of libraries in education in the digital age; and the role of design in educational environments.

Introduction:
Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi, author of The L!brary Book: Design Collaborations in the Public Schools and a former director, The Library Initiative, Robin Hood Foundation

Panelists:
Scott Lauer, architect and a former Director, Library Initiative, Robin Hood Foundation
Harold Levy, Managing Director, Palm Ventures and former Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
Henry Myerberg, principal, HMA2 architects
David Saltzman, Executive Director, Robin Hood Foundation
Lonni Tanner, founder, In Kindness and former Director of Special Projects, Robin Hood Foundation

Moderator:
Rosalie Genevro, executive director, The Architectural League of New York

The L!brary Book: Design Collaborations in the Public Schools will be available for purchase.

Tickets are required for admission to League programs. Tickets are free for League members; $10 for non-members. Members may reserve a ticket by e-mailing: rsvp@archleague.org. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk; unclaimed tickets will be released fifteen minutes after the start of the program. Non-members may purchase tickets here from May 5 until 3:00 p.m. the day of the program.

Co-sponsored by Scholastic. AIA and New York State continuing education credits are available.

This program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Map courtesy of Robin Hood Foundation