TOPIC

Demolition

New City Critics

The Real Counterfeit

A 15-story stack of Louis Vuitton branded suitcases claiming to be scaffolding landed on Fifth Avenue in November. But reading the structure through the lens of the building code raises questions about our grasp on reality and the rule of law.

More Than Skin Deep

Renovated facades provide a window into existential questions for the future of New York City’s public housing.

A Wall Made of Bricks

Geologic processes, local histories, and centuries of labor converge on a project suggesting new possibilities of reuse.

Turning the Tide

Where can queer and trans community flourish, if not at Riis Beach? Yet current plans for its future don't account for the people it has sustained for decades.

Whereabouts

5-100346

This building is fast.

Pass the Leftovers!

The largest controlled building demolition in history, currently underway in Midtown Manhattan, puts front and center the ethical and environmental consequences of architecture’s disposable values. Could today's detritus be the building blocks of the future?

Intersections: Going Out

Queer, New Urban Agendas

In London, as in New York, forces of development and displacement threaten nightlife spaces of significance for the LGBTQ+ community. How can municipal governments help?

Autopsy of a Hospital: A Photographic Record of Coler-Goldwater on Roosevelt Island

Photographer and architect Charles Giraudet documents the architecture of a sprawling hospital complex on Roosevelt Island on the eve of its demolition, and captures remnants of the life of the building and the innovative medical facility it once was.

Daylighting Rivers in Search of Hidden Treasure

Restoring paved-over waterways is rightly celebrated for its environmental benefits. Zach Youngerman explores the practice in terms of post-industrial urban revitalization strategies.

Vacant Lots: Then and Now

In 1987, the League launched a design study to examine the potential of small-scale infill housing to contribute to the city’s affordable housing portfolio. We look back at what was proposed, and what was built instead.