Demo underway for NYC Penthouse Apartment

Demolition is underway for a NYC penthouse apartment that re-envisions a 3,700-square-foot glass enclosed museum-like pavilion into a warmly welcoming home. New full height, retractable wood doors will connect the public rooms to the spacious planted terraces that surround the residence, blurring the indoors and outdoors.

SEE PROJECT HERE

Shared Office is a NYCxDesign Awards finalist

AFA is thrilled to announce that Shared Office is a finalist for the 2023 NYCxDesign awards in the Coworking Office category.

Interior Design reveals the 2023 NYCxDESIGN Awards finalists here. "Now in its eighth year, the NYCxDESIGN Awards honor the talent and diversity of New York City designers, makers, and manufacturers by celebrating their most outstanding projects and products. The city’s much anticipated awards program spotlights a breadth of design excellence, from architecture and interiors to products and accessories.”

AFA participates on jury for ARCHITECT awards

Principal Andrew Franz of AFA recently participated on the jury for ARCHITECT magazine's 19th annual Light & Architecture Design Awards. 

The 10 winning projects include “a history-rich theater in London to a digitally advanced mall in Wuhan, China, exemplifying lighting design that works in symbiosis with both its surrounding architecture and community. Whether sensitive to period details, workspace needs, or the latest in sustainable LED technology, this class of winners serves as both a beacon to the profession and a testament to the artistry of lighting design.”

The awards are featured in the Jan/Feb print issue of ARCHITECT and online here.

Design trends 2023

We've been asked a lot lately to reflect on design trends for 2023 so we wanted to share some of our thoughts. Whether a result of the pandemic or an extension of the organic movement, clients are seeking more natural and handcrafted surfaces and our designs are responding with curved stucco walls, warm light wood tones, soft color palettes and lots of texture.. 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

AFA announces completion of new Shared Office

We are thrilled to announce the completion of the Shared Office project in Manhattan. This 17,000-square-foot penthouse workplace and adjoining roof deck houses multiple companies with copious natural light from every direction.

AFA featured in Rizzoli's The Ultimate Bath

Our East End House project is featured in the Rizzoli book "The Ultimate Bath" by Barbara Sallick. Filled with richly layered and entirely original spaces, it will inspire anyone who has an appreciation for how unique elements combine to create one beautiful whole.

AFA Heading South: Miami Residence

We are thrilled to be heading south for the winter. Our newest project on the boards is a full floor residence in one of North Miami Beaches' most desirable buildings.

SEE MORE HERE

Union Settlement WHCC featured in Interior Design

We are thrilled to see our renovation of Union Settlement's Washington Houses Community Center featured in Interior Design magazine! The project modernized the worn, outdated 60's NYCHA-owned facility with new classrooms, offices, and public spaces and updated infrastructure, windows, roof into a bright, colorful, and welcoming space for the community.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

SEE PROJECT HERE

Living large in compact spaces

While generously sized homes are undoubtedly a luxury in NYC, they are by no means the only way to live comfortably. Even as the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to reconsider the quality of our living spaces due to the amount of time many of us now spend at home, one could argue that a compact, thoughtfully-designed apartment can be just as comfortable as one with more square footage. Two of our recent projects are the epitome of compact, cozy, yet functional homes that challenge the belief that bigger is better.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Hillside House, rapid progress a second time around

Rapid progress this second time around… Sadly, our Hillside House burned down-to-the-ground, three months from completion. We are now breathing new life into it with twice the labor force in order to build each volume concurrently and complete construction for next summer. Do overs aren’t fun, but the progress is healing the wounds and we are happy to see the house taking shape once again. 

SEE MORE HERE

SEE PROJECT HERE

New shared office under construction

While COVID has forced a vacancy rate for many offices, we are thrilled to be working on a 17,000-SF shared penthouse office with a roof deck. Construction for this project started in December 2020 with occupancy slated for September 2021.

SEE PROJECT HERE

Construction underway for Washington Community Center

We are very pleased with how construction is progressing for Union Settlement’s Washington Houses Community Center. The project broke ground in the fall of 2020 with completion scheduled for mid March 2021.

The project is now fully framed with interior finishes, millwork, and glazing being installed. It’s a celebration of youthful color!

READ MORE HERE

SEE PROJECT HERE

Fire Island House receives A'N Best of Design Award

We are very excited that our Fire Island House received a 2020 Architect's Newspaper Best of Design Award. This project restores a 1965 modern masterpiece house by architect Horace Gifford and is respectfully renovated to include a new guest house, pool, exterior stair, and entry pavilion, as well as a new path and landscaping in collaboration with Peter Dunham, Jamie Bush, and Tania Compton.

SEE PROJECT HERE.

Hillside House framed and sheathed

The Hillside House with its impressive stone walls and cantilevered glazed living room, now surrounded by beautiful fall foliage, is fully framed and sheathed and siding and interior finishes have commenced. 

READ MORE HERE.

Wallpaper magazine features East End House

We are thrilled to be included in the Wallpaper's October 2020 issue. Guest edited by Design Emergency — a collaboration between Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator at MoMA, and design critic and author Alice Rawsthorn — this issue covers design as a vehicle to impact social change and justice as well as so many leaders of the current Covid-19 crisis. We are truly honored to be amongst such great company and work.

SEE ARTICLE HERE

SEE PROJECT HERE

AFA featured as cover story of new book Urban Oasis

We are so pleased to see both our Tribeca Loft project and the Upper West Side Duplex in the beautiful new book "Urban Oasis" by Rebecca Gross and published by Images Publishing. And, we are very excited to see Tribeca Loft on the cover!

SEE MORE HERE

Return to Work - Face to Face

As coronavirus-related restrictions ease up around the world, the architectural profession, among many others, is attempting to prepare itself for a comparatively unknown future. Architecture has always been slow to keep up with technology, society, and today’s revolutions; yet somehow the profession adapted successfully during the unstable times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, even though remote and digital working methods became implemented practically overnight, the question remains whether and how architecture firms will adjust after the pandemic. Keeping in mind that coronavirus is nowhere near vanishing from our lives, the architectural profession, our peers, and clients cannot simply revert back to how it was prior to the pandemic.

READ FULL POST HERE

Architizer features Andrew Franz Architect

We are very excited to be featured on Architizer.com. Check out the article to learn more about AFA’s take on how the current pandemic is accelerating the evolution of the home as a workplace, and how the future of offices as we knew them may be forever changed.

SEE ARTICLE HERE

Silver Linings: Rediscovering Home

As the home becomes the epicenter of life for so many Americans, domestic design and architecture is in the spotlight now more than ever. This crisis is not only revalidating the importance of having a home to go to in times like this, but it is asking us to question the nature of our dwellings — whether they are comfortable, functional, efficient, and even inspiring to us. With eyes open for "silver linings" in this time of social distancing, we're reacquainting ourselves with the things we value most about HOME. 

AFA redesigns East Harlem Community Center

Reflecting our continued expansion into cultural and institutional markets, Andrew Franz Architect has been engaged for a second time by Union Settlement, this time to design a major renovation of the Washington Houses Community Center, an 11,000-square-foot, one-story facility with multiple uses located in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood. 

SEE PRESS RELEASE HERE

Introducing the AFA blog!

We’re hopping on the train and starting a blog. We’ve spoken about it internally for many months: “Why? What? How? For whom? From what perspective?“ There are already so many out there.

However, it was in reading last summer that I felt inspired to commit to the purpose. There is no obvious thread or reason here, but I felt inspired. It wasn’t his projects or resume that spoke to me; it was his person, philosophy and process.  While I never worked with him and only met him once, his documented approach and the anecdotes of his process resonated deeply, describing the spirit in which we approach the process of design and the built environment.

Nashville Mixed-Use Building Construction Progress

We are in the middle of construction for this mixed-use building located in downtown Nashville adjacent to the trendy Gulch neighborhood. The project is the renovation of the second floor loft living space and a new rooftop addition with two exterior wood decks for outdoor living and entertaining.

Tenth Avenue Loading Dock and Lobby nears Completion

Construction is nearing completion for this freight entrance and loading dock renovation project. Responding to a shift in user patterns in this converted Beaux Arts manufacturing building following the extension of the #7 subway line to nearby Hudson Yards, we repurposed the back of house entry into a second pedestrian lobby, separating the still-active loading dock area from the newly adopted tenant access with a new glass and steel partitions.

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“The Future of the Office is Open”

In a recent Commercial Architecture article, Andrew Franz discusses the future of office design. Though he believes the open-plan office is here to stay, he thinks it’s a matter of finding the right balance and to incorporate a variety of more intimate spaces to accommodate different working modes.

New Associate

Andrew Franz Architect is pleased to announce the promotion of Anne Mason Kemper to the level of Associate. This new appointment responds to AFA’s growth into cultural, institutional, and commercial markets, as well as new large-scale commissions for residential clients. Congratulations Anne!

Hill Office recognized as an Interior Design BoY Awards Finalist

We are thrilled to announce that our Hill Office is recognized as a 2018 Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Finalist in the Office Renovation category! This project restores and modernizes a former publisher’s executive suite in a 1913 Beaux-Arts building near Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood into a connected and transparent workplace. Read more about this project's transformation here.

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A new shared house in Upstate NY

Andrew Franz Architect is designing a new, shared house in the hills of Upstate New York.  This high-performance house is built as two volumes around a central, lodgelike shared space, which serves the two families along with extended guests.

East End House substantial completion

The East End House, a serene, year-round retreat nestled into the landscape, reached substantial completion this past summer. We can't wait to see the house next summer when the landscaping is in full bloom!

Flatiron Loft under construction

This full-floor loft with a new rooftop addition and terrace is one of several projects now under construction. AFA’s design for this gut renovation features a porous terracotta-screened cube that organizes the otherwise open interior. A new steel-and-wood stair provides access to the outdoor space.

Hill Office shortlisted for World Interior News Awards

We are thrilled that our recently completed Hill Office project is shortlisted for the World Interior News Awards in the Workspace Interiors category! The winners will be announced at the annual WIN Awards taking place on Monday 19 November at the London Hilton Bankside. 

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AFA in the New York Times

Andrew Franz comments on the benefits of green roofs in the New York Times article "The Living Roof Takes Root". Read the article here.

AFA hiring Intermediate Architectural Designer

Come work with us! Andrew Franz Architect is always looking for talented, enthusiastic, and dedicated people to join our team. We are currently hiring an Intermediate Architectural Designer (3 or more years of professional experience).

Construction moving along for East End House

Construction is moving along for this house on Long Island's east end. Perched on a bluff overlooking the water, this will be a serene year-round retreat. The design incorporates regional materials and minimal massing in response to the fragile location while passive house strategies such as natural ventilation will create a low impact building.

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Construction underway for East End House

With the foundation in place and the steel going in, construction is moving along for this year-round retreat on Long Island’s East End. This new two-story house is slated for completion in the summer of 2018. 

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Completed! House on Martha's Vineyard

This new seaside house on Martha’s Vineyard was conceived as a casual and comfortable modern cottage. The home is inspired by the spirit of Victorian beachside cottage vernacular with an overlay of Scandinavian modernism and responds to the sundrenched light and calming views of the beach and meadow. We are thrilled to share a few images!

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Design completed for new Long Island House

Perched on a bluff overlooking the water, this house on Long Island’s East End will be a serene year-round retreat. The living spaces are designed to open outwards toward cool breezes and lapping waves during summer, or orient inwards toward warm, soft cedar paneling and a cozy two-sided fireplace in winter. A green roof will provide visual reward and environmental benefit. 

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AFA is hiring!

Andrew Franz Architect is always looking for talented, enthusiastic, and dedicated people to join our team. We are currently hiring for an Architectural Designer with 2-3 years of professional experience.

Construction underway for Hill Office

Construction is underway! This historic double-height loft penthouse in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood is being transformed into a bright and distinctive open workplace. Stay tuned.

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AFA featured in two new books

June 2016 - AFA featured in two new publications:

"Kaleidoscope - Living in Color and Patterns" by Gestalten. See the feature here.

"Living Roofs" by teNeues. See the feature here.

Hill Office - construction start

After an intense but rewarding year of design, construction will commence in the first quarter of 2016 for this workplace project. This renovation will transform a 35,000 square-foot double-height space in a historic west side building into a large, collaborative workplace.

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Fish Bar at North River Landing

We're thrilled to be working with New York Cruise Lines, Inc. on Fish Bar at North River Landing, a new floating lounge and restaurant.

The three-story indoor-outdoor venue is housed within a 10,000-square-foot yacht located at Pier 81 on the Hudson River. Adjacent to the burgeoning Hudson Yards and midtown west neighborhoods, Pier 81 represents the culmination of developments along the Hudson River serving this new and growing neighborhood of young professionals, residents and visitors alike.

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