The taxi of the future has been spotted today! These two cabs were seen driving on Houston and Avenue A, and are part of a pilot program. The cab design is sleek, modern and surprisingly, does not look too minivan-esque like the original model. Expect to see a fleet of cabs (13,000 strong!) hitting the streets next year when the program launches.
President Obama is starting to get serious about climate change. In recent talks, he has mentioned the need for massive increases in green living. Anyone who lives in an urban core can tell you how hot and unbearable the summers can get. A great way to combat both air quality and spikes in urban core temperature readings comes in the form of green roofs.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been a leader in bringing green roofs to one of the largest cities in the world. The city even announced the rise of rooftop agriculture with the largest urban farm in the US currently under construction on a Brooklyn rooftop. Bloomberg, Obama, and politicians across the world are leading the way in reclaiming urban space for non-industrial use.
These green roofs serve a variety of purposes that are both helpful to those in the building, and everyone around. First and foremost, green roofs lower the temperature of the buildings roof by considerable amounts. Rather than having black tar or reflective tin roofs that can sizzle in with surface temperatures upwards of 130 degrees, green roofs rarely get hotter than the actual air temperature. Roof or rain gardens also help with rain water run off, something that is a major issue in coastal cities. Rain gardens filter excess water, and some can even store water to be used by the building tenants later on. A third attribute green roofs provide is fresh, clean air. Trees, plants, and other shrubs help clean the air and lessen ozone levels that so often spiral out of control in urban cities.
The super cool pictures below show how urban architecture can be infused with green design. Most of the pictures are taken from abroad, let’s incorporate them into US design!
Top of Chicago’s City Hall
Green Parking Garage in Namba Park, Japan
Vancover Convention Center
Vancover Convention Center (cont’d)
The Rain Room will be open until the end of the month (July 28th). It would be an understatement to say that lines have been long. Average wait times have ranged from an hour upwards of two or three! Members get special previewing hours before the museum opens.
Memberships are tax-deductible, rather affordable, and offer some amazing perks that make the purchase well worth it. Nearly every week, events, member previews, and newsletters were sent out to members that I have yet to see at any other museum I am a member of. Possibly the biggest plus is that you get to skip the ticket lines and go right into the amazing museum “free of charge.”
The pictures below speak the exhibit itself, however here is a quick rundown: A large room has been transformed with a choreographed water display that falls as if you are stuck in a late summer thunderstorm. Fat rain drops dazzle the eyes as a light source contrasts the darkness of the room with the blinding light. Silhouettes are created thanks in part of the light and the shadows. The exhibit is both visually stimulating and is a delight for the ears as water cascades down throughout the space.
(More photos can be found here)
30 Orchard Street is a new addition to the Lower East Side. The luxury high-rise condominium tower was opened in 2010 and commands $1,500+ per square foot. My apartment looks directly at the thin tower that rises up well past the lower 6-story skyline of the Lower East Side. The building looks like a modern, luxury, walk-up, that is anything but. Full time doorman, floor to ceiling windows, and tasteful units are perfect for the artistically inclined, trendy, upwardly mobile resident moving down to the LES.
Life + Real Estate + New York 