Those of you in New York City probably already noticed the large swaths of Broadway which are being converted into sand colored gravel pedestrian zones w/ seating.
It's finally making it's way up to Times Square.
I find this account by a woman that works at Toys R Us there pretty funny and so New York.
lawn chairs in Times Square...who would've thought.
I just found it funny that on an architecture discussion board this topic had 0 responses while the one right next to it, titled 'Michael Jackson', had 100.
everything about times square seems cheap and ephemeral to me anyways, so the addition of this particular chair seems like a great fit.
As i understand it, the lawn chairs are temporary fixes until the permanent fixtures arrive.
My feeling is that the NYC Transportation Commissioner is taking a lesson from Jaime Lerner and rolling at repurposed spaces quickly, overnight/weekends in order to get them fixed in public mind. even when the planning, funding etc aren't necessarily lined up yet...
Personally i support plans completely. Although i imagine if i owned a retail/transportation business in Manhattan i might have a different feeling.
I just found it funny that on an architecture discussion board this topic had 0 responses while the one right next to it, titled 'Michael Jackson', had 100.
MJ is someone who tends to evoke strong and often polarized opinions so it's no surprise to see that thread getting so many responses.
The Times Square lawn chairs really haven't gotten that much press, particularly not before the past few days, so it's likely not a lot of people even know about them.
I think it's also hard to form a strong opinion on the lawn chairs without experiencing the space first hand, which I imagine most people on this board haven't yet, myself included.
On the one hand it seems like it's the final move in making the place a disney-fied, sanitized, caricaturized version of its former self. On the other hand, making it a place where people can go to hang out and not just to pass through might help expand its appeal beyond just tourists and exhibitionists and eventually turn it into a more robust civic space.
One thing I do like is how the new setup was done with traffic barrels and lawn chairs. It's nice to test things before swooping in with heavy handed solutions. I wish we had more opportunities to experiment like this in the architectural world.
Jul 1, 09 1:23 pm ·
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Times Square Lawn chairs
Those of you in New York City probably already noticed the large swaths of Broadway which are being converted into sand colored gravel pedestrian zones w/ seating.
It's finally making it's way up to Times Square.
I find this account by a woman that works at Toys R Us there pretty funny and so New York.
lawn chairs in Times Square...who would've thought.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/nyregion/01bigcity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
I just found it funny that on an architecture discussion board this topic had 0 responses while the one right next to it, titled 'Michael Jackson', had 100.
everything about times square seems cheap and ephemeral to me anyways, so the addition of this particular chair seems like a great fit.
As i understand it, the lawn chairs are temporary fixes until the permanent fixtures arrive.
My feeling is that the NYC Transportation Commissioner is taking a lesson from Jaime Lerner and rolling at repurposed spaces quickly, overnight/weekends in order to get them fixed in public mind. even when the planning, funding etc aren't necessarily lined up yet...
Personally i support plans completely. Although i imagine if i owned a retail/transportation business in Manhattan i might have a different feeling.
MJ is someone who tends to evoke strong and often polarized opinions so it's no surprise to see that thread getting so many responses.
The Times Square lawn chairs really haven't gotten that much press, particularly not before the past few days, so it's likely not a lot of people even know about them.
I think it's also hard to form a strong opinion on the lawn chairs without experiencing the space first hand, which I imagine most people on this board haven't yet, myself included.
On the one hand it seems like it's the final move in making the place a disney-fied, sanitized, caricaturized version of its former self. On the other hand, making it a place where people can go to hang out and not just to pass through might help expand its appeal beyond just tourists and exhibitionists and eventually turn it into a more robust civic space.
One thing I do like is how the new setup was done with traffic barrels and lawn chairs. It's nice to test things before swooping in with heavy handed solutions. I wish we had more opportunities to experiment like this in the architectural world.
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