edged out three other development teams to win the fierce competition to develop the Hudson Rail Yards, the 26-acre site on Manhattan’s far West side that is envisioned as an extension of midtown’s business district. Crain's via Curbed | Design Team: Murphy/Jahn + PWP + C-R | previously 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
11 Comments
sigh....
disappointing for sure.
i'm with Ada Louise on this one.
Oh well....At least they have Peter Walker doing the landscape.
I think its proper 21st century urban planning - whats wrong? No blobs or or retro high modernism motel shapes?
some excerpts from ALH's article, linked above:
The decision by the public agency, the cash-strapped MTA, to sell the land to private developers was followed by a request for proposals that included guidelines for commercial and residential construction, landscaped open space, and a cultural building and school. (Historically, the amenities have a way of fading away or being relegated to reduced, fringe status later on; see, for example, the case of the disappearing cultural buildings at Ground Zero.)
Once the bids and presentations are in and the show is over, the real negotiating will get under way. So why the charade--the expensively executed and seductively lit models, the earnest presentations by the architects, the request for public reactions? Why do we discuss the proposals at all?
Hope springs eternal, of course, because the chance to create something of lasting value on this incredible site begs to be honored; other world cities are making it clear in projects of similar magnitude that more than money matters as they embrace standards of architecture and planning that leave New York in the dust. We continue to find the spectacle of developers' promotional and political savvy riveting, knowing that success will depend on the deal and not the design.
...
Finally, there is the elephantine dead-on-arrival proposal by Helmut Jahn and Peter Walker for Tishman Speyer. What in the world were they thinking? This oppressive arrangement of immense matched towers (I will not mention the diagonal stripes) relates to nothing; it is a throwback to the most insensitive urban renewal projects of the past century. The landscaped platform and its concentric steps evokes all those abandoned outdoor amphitheaters that looked so great in bird's-eye views but never worked. You have the feeling that if you gave the whole thing a good push it would slide right down to the bottom of the Hudson River.
...
The city thinks like a developer; that vision thing, the long-term overview, the balance of private investment and public utility and amenity, is just not there. The disposition of public land is expedited on the developers' terms even though the land is the most powerful negotiating tool of all--something so valuable in New York that builders would kill for it--and the Hudson Yards are an estimated $7 billion prize. It is accepted that whatever the plans are for these vast tracts of squandered opportunity, they will ultimately be controlled, compromised, or scuttled by the winner of the financial contest that is at the heart of the matter. New York will continue to sell itself short all the way to the bank.
well thats one persons opinion. personally i like the view corrido set up towrds midtown, and the bridge still going over the middle of the site is a great vantage point to view the site. Theres also a great axial view to the river and helipads as well as a view north towrds hells kitchen. i think its so simple its hard for us used to bloby mush and torqued forms to appreciate simple geometries anymore - I think this would be nice for NYC.
What they should do is remove that ugly a-frame hotle at the east side of the site - then the views would be awesome
Oh dear - I just noticed the diagonal stripes - well I still like the planning if not the diagonal fruit chew stripes
its just a master plan! there will be no diagonal striped buildings....the open space plan is great - no skywalks (vornado) or barren rolling hills (extell/holl), just a nice balance of green public space, some programmed and some not. the M/J massings are definitely over the top, but as I understand it, they really are just that - massings, and not architectural designs.
maximize views and you're left with pathetic nothingness in between sculptural masses. Towers in the park, indeed, a la villa radieuse.
Haven't we moved beyond this shit yet? I chalk it up to the people in charge right now having been educated in the 60s and 70s when utopian megastructures held so much sway over theoretical work. All the bad students of that generation, unable to think for themselves, went work on the cheap for developers but are still trying to be the cool kids...
40th reunion, class of '69....
bad student - hey remember my final project from senior year, with the towers?
other - ya, you got killed in the review, no?
bad student - ya, but I'll show them. I'm building it right now at Hudson Yards!
oooh, stripey!
@evilP - the view corridor and the High Line were givens, all the schemes had 'em.
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