All images by Garrison Architects.

Among the many effects of Hurricane Sandy, the lack of suitable beach facilities was among the more symbolic. Destroyed bathrooms, changing rooms, and lifeguard stations would have a major dampening effect on the economic and cultural livelihood of New York City’s coastal recreation areas such as Rockaway Beach and Coney Island, as well as many Staten Island beaches.

Luckily, Garrison Architects and the New York City government are coming to the rescue with a series of modular beach facilities to be deployed around May 25. The pavilions, 35 in total, are being manufactured in Pennsylvania and will be delivered as single pieces to their respective sites. Conforming in size to interstate trucking limits, the pavilions will house comfort stations, lifeguard stations, and offices for Parks Enforcement Patrol and Maintainence and Operations Staff.

Built on pre-installed concrete piers, the pavilions will sit at or above FEMA’s revised Advisory Base Flood Elevations (ABFEs). This in addition to the selected material palette will ensure the pavilions’ resistence to future storms.

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The past few years has been quite a doozy for storms, with Hurricane Sandy ravaging much of the Northeast this past summer, the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2011, and many more natural disasters plaguing the planet. Scientists say that climate change will only lead to more frequent, longer-lasting extreme weather. The five finalists in the A+ Awards’ Architecture + Weather category explore how architecture can not only protect communities from flooding, but also from extreme heat, sun exposure, and other climate concerns. Click through to see them all!

And remember to vote for your favorite project!

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PS1 will install a smaller version of its VW Dome in Rockaway Beach to host competition events and provide a relief tent. Photo courtesy of MoMA PS1.

Beyond the very pressing need to restore electricity, gas, and subway service to the parts of New York still reeling from Sandy, the larger problem of how to build more resilient communities remains. “The biggest question is: How do you build a sustainable, protected, eco-friendly coastline that’s not going to be swept away?” says MoMA PS1 director Klaus Biesenbach.

To spark a larger conversation about smart rebuilding in Rockaway, Queens, MoMA’s architecture and design department and PS1 announced a call for ideas. The museum is inviting artists, architects, designers, and the general public to submit proposals for protecting the coastline, rebuilding the boardwalk, devising alternative housing models, creating new social spaces, and more. The deadline is March 15, so get on it! Continue.

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Now you can own a piece of photographic history and help Sandy victims—some of whom are still without power—in one swoop. The MoMA Design Store is offering a poster version of Iwan Baan’s famous aerial image of storm-stricken New York for just $20. Proceeds will support the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City in its Sandy relief efforts. Not only will you be supporting a good cause; you’ll also have the chance to gaze upon this once-in-a-lifetime shot and contemplate the significance of the lights and darkness (climate change vs. us, Wall Street vs. everyone). Read more.

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Call it radical chic. The Vanity Project, a T-shirt company that works exclusively with nonprofits, has teamed up with Architecture for Humanity for its latest charitable top. The Rebuild One Block shirt, designed by Filipino studio utwentysix, will help Architecture for Humanity raise money to rebuild homes ravaged by Hurricane Sandy in hard-hit Far Rockaway and Breezy Point in Queens.  Oh, and do we have to tell you the shirt is pretty killer? Soft gray cotton, with a blue-and-red image of a clenched fist holding a T-square—a play on the labor symbol for unity and resistance. “If the Occupy Movement were architects, this would be their shirt,” says Architecture for Humanity Co-founder Cameron Sinclair.

The Vanity Project will donate 51% of the proceeds from each shirt sold to Architecture for Humanity. The new design is available now for $35 on TVP’s website and will be sold through other e-commerce platforms in the coming weeks.

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New York Tech Meet Up, NYCITT tumblr

Abandoned, demolished, or remodeled as public libraries, the pay phone has become a symbol of obsolescence. That is until Hurricane Sandy rolled around and knocked out cellular service in lower Manhattan, leaving New Yorkers no choice but to resort to those old sidewalk fixtures to get in touch with friends or family. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for one, believes pay phones are the public phone of the future — or can be with a bit of revamping. The mayor has announced the Reinvent Payphones Challenge, asking urban designers, planners, techies, and policymakers to find ways to integrate the antediluvian device into the modern urban landscape.  Read more!

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Brad Ascalon designed a special edition of his Ligne Roset side table, “I Love NY,” for the Reclaim NYC auction.

Calling all designers: If you’re in New York and you spot a fine piece of abandoned wood, don’t let it go to waste. It may have the makings of a chair, table, or sleek tchotchke that design-minded New Yorkers will shell out hard cash for in an upcoming Reclaim NYC auction that will benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. Read more!

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Over a month later, and New York City (heck, the whole Northeastern coast) is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Remember the crane collapse at the construction site of the luxe One57 residence? Well the staff at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel sure do! The hotel, which is on the same block as the residential development, was closed for nearly a week after Sandy’s winds toppled the towering crane, including Le Parker Meridien. Now, in honor of the fourth-annual gingerbread benefit on display at the hotel until January 3, the staff of Le Parker Meridien have recreated the infamous disaster scene entirely out of delectable treats. Read more!

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Photos © James Ewing

No, Pink Floyd has not landed in New York City. This spectacular laser light installation, dubbed “Global Rainbow,” was conceived by artist Yvette Mattern and has a very serious purpose: to call attention to the suffering caused by Hurricane Sandy. Seven beams project from The Standard hotel in Chelsea and shoot out toward the areas hardest hit by the storm. Mattern wants the rainbow to serve as a reminder that “we are all in this together, regardless of divisions of class, race, religion, and culture.”

The Berlin-based artist has created similar installations in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the UK. Her first “virtual rainbow” debuted in 2009 in NYC for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The nonprofit Art Production Fund teamed up with The Standard to present the current project. The lights go out tonight at 2 a.m. For more info and photos, head on over to The Huffington Post!

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A house in Staten Island that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. All photos © Jenna M. McKnight

Can architects put their services to use in the days and weeks following a natural disaster? We look at the Sandy-ravaged New York region as a case study.

By C. J. Hughes

More than two weeks ago, on October 29, Hurricane Sandy barreled ashore in the New York region, destroying what could end up being thousands of homes. But architects eager to help rebuild have little to do, at least when it comes to anything requiring their professional skills.

At some point, designers who can determine a home’s structural damage will be needed, according to organizers of the relief operations in hard-hit coastal areas. But for now, these areas need volunteers who can clear debris, deliver food, and help people up and down darkened stairs.

“There are still boats in people’s living rooms. There are still photo albums that belong to grandmothers that need to be salvaged. And this phase isn’t going away anytime soon,” says Thomas Thomas, a founder of Staten Island Strong, a relief group that has brought about 500 volunteers each weekend since the storm hit Staten Island’s South Shore. Continue.

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