Nicolai Ouroussoff explores ten buildings that have a traumatic effect on New York City. The candidates either exhibit a total disregard for their surrounding context or destroy a beloved vista. Removing them would make room for the spirit to breathe again and open up new imaginative possibilities.
NYT
My pick from his list;
I also, thought it interesting that he included 2 Columbus Circle on the list. Especially after his recent review of the building. Thoughts, additions, anyone?
6 Comments
i am sure they are pretty good selections. except gropius'... i know it is bit of a fetish of mine but i could never give that one to demo crews, even it cuts manhattan in half... but i considerably got the cold feet after they dismantled the one of the best logos ever, 'pan-am' and replaced it with boring 'metlife,' which i always read it like 'herbalife.'
also,
i bet you there is likely to be another 10 and then another 10 and so on, until new york becomes 'new angeles'... and nicolai is sitting pretty, sipping his coffee, enjoying better vistas while writing about his design work and curating/pitching replacements...
good one!
Boy, he hates 2 Columbus Circle. I hardly think it ranks as an eyesore on the scale of Madison Square Garden.
call osama and ask him..
I think the critic is doing our profession a huge disfavor by narrowly promoting certain starchitects and then clumsily belittling works outside his chosen ones.
arent they scrappin that verizon facade anyway?
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/13/375_pearl_street_from_verizon_blues_to_water_views.php
I would say Madison Square Garden. Failure in every respect: aesthetic, functional and contextual. Trump Tower UWS Horror Row comes in very close (2nd place) - a monument to developer smhucks who flaunt this city for decades. Mr. mhenderson choice is also a good pick (2nd or 3rd place). An of course what is not included are strewn debris around the city which are euphemistically called 'projects' - they do look unfinished if that's the point, and contribute to an image of total failure of government's effort in urban planning, code procurement and maintaining decency of life.
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