Newsweek Building Reclad - 1775 Broadway

[lofter1]

A new backdrop in the works :eek: for 2 CC ...

NEWSWEEK BUILDING GETS A MAJOR FACELIFT, NEW TENANTS

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12272007/photos/1775Broadway_1.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:SLIDES.hotlink())>>>>>http://www.nypost.com/seven/12272007/photos/1775Broadway_2.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:SLIDES.hotlink())

NY Post / Steve Cuozzo (http://www.nypost.com/seven/12272007/business/broadway_bonanza_120670.htm)

December 27, 2007 -- THE Newsweek building at 1775 Broadway is in for a new look, new tenants, and even a new address.

A $60 million upgrading in 2008 will transform Joseph Moinian's beat-up-looking, pre-war brick office building that takes up the whole block bounded by Broadway and Eighth Avenue and West 57th and 58th streets.

Moinian bought the property for about $130 million eight years ago. His planned recladding will give it a gleaming glass skin designed by Gensler Architects. The 26-story, 625,000 square-foot address will also get a new lobby and elevators. A new address - 3 Columbus Circle - has been approved by city officials ...

More HERE (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=206528&postcount=22)

Copyright 2007 NYP Holdings, Inc

[MidtownGuy]

With a cleaning it would be 10 times more handsome the old way. The new version is completely devoid of distinction....I guess it matches the new New York perfectly.
Look how they'll remove all interest from the base...what a shame, at street level this city is going RIGHT DOWN THE CRAPPER>

another thing...can they find a new word besides 'gleaming".

[MidtownGuy]

This Moinian character should just drop dead.

[lofter1]

Looks like it will get 4 - 6 more floors up top.

Does this mean curtains for the big illumated sign up there?

[MidtownGuy]

And Chase paid around $325 a square foot for a 10,000 square-foot retail branch. Both will remain after the redesign.

Yippee/

[MidtownGuy]

The sign must be headed for the junk heap.

[lofter1]

hmmm ...

***

[alonzo-ny]

God damn it, that is just moronic.

[ablarc]

Oh, no! I always admired that building.

Must be stopped.

Just clean it.

[MidtownGuy]

The base is really,really nice. I'm upset over this, and all I can do is bitch and moan.:(

[ZippyTheChimp]

This sure is a bad-news thread.

[krulltime]

Bad, bad, bad. :(

[Stern]

The white-washing of Columbus Circle will be complete...

[londonlawyer]

This Moinian character should just drop dead.

I agree. Monian is scum, and this is a tragedy. This beautiful building will be ruined.

I also have said repeatedly that Cuozzo and Weiss are deranged.

[antinimby]

What a total bummer. This is so depressing and heartwrenching all at the same time.

You'd think that after witnessing how a classic curtain wall across the Circle at 15 CPW can be such a success, Moinian would have gotten it through his thick skull that all-glass buildings are so passé by now. Genuine idiot.

Does his company have an address so I can send a letter to them?

[lofter1]

Especially ^ a classic mass of a NY pre-war building reclad in blue glass.

OMG :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I'm screaming even louder than that ^

[212]

What a vandalism.
Shame on Moinan and "Gensler Architects."

[BrooklynRider]

The rendering shows trees at the base. Why the hell can't he just clean up the building and plant the damn trees. For that matter, nearly all renderings show trees and we never seem to get the trees.

Sorry, all. I find it annoying.

[MidtownGuy]

Just the other day I was pointing out to a visiting friend how the Hyatt next to Grand Central had been covered over in that horrible glass when it was once beautiful masonry. They were shocked.
This is the same type of vandalism happening again, and in a prominent location.

This is not development, this is lunacy.

[Fabrizio]

Poverty. Stripping this classic NY building and covering it in glass, represents poverty.

[antinimby]

Okay folks, time to put up or shut up.

If you feel strongly about this and others in the future that will also be meeting the same fate, then send a letter to Moinan to 1) convince him of his mistake, 2) enlighten him so that future properties might be spared of the same fate.

Maybe if we do it in large enough numbers, we'll get the message through. Remember, we are doing it for future properties, not just this one.

Joseph Moinian
The Moinian Group
399 Park Avenue, 22nd Fl.
New York, NY 10022

I don't suggest anything obscene as that will just result in your letter going into the trash can.

[antinimby]

By the way, even if you have no time for a lengthy letter, just a simple, poignant note will do. Something. Thanks.

[kz1000ps]

..the Hyatt...

My first thoughts when seeing this -- "oh no, not another Hyatt episode!"

So much for learning from past mistakes.

[londonlawyer]

The problem is that NY is dominated by filthy, greedy developers like Zuckerman, Macklowe, Moinian, etc. who don't care about aesthetics; they just care about their bottom line.

[MidtownGuy]

Well guys and gals, I just walked past this tonight and the scaffolding is going up all around the base already. I became so sad, looking up at the handsome colonnade for what may be the last time.
:(

Why isn't it enough for guys like Moinian to be extremely rich and garner respect, instead they prefer to become filthy rich and lose respect.

I have to go back in the daylight to get some photos of the building before it is pillaged and turned into a Houston-looking pile of blue crud.

[LeCom]

I don't know why you all are so upset. I personally support taking one of New York's most dynamic and iconic locations and doing everything to strip its character in favor of bland corporate greed. I mean, let's be happy for the developer - the guy will make a buck and buy a spankin' new Bentley in the process! Who gives a damn about the city and millions of its inhabitants who are about to lose a big chink of their cultural legacy?

[Bob]

It sure would be cheaper to just clean and repoint the brick, correct? Add in a few dramatic lighting effects and you'd have a winner at a fraction of the reskin.

[Skylimitone]

The problem is that NY is dominated by filthy, greedy developers like Zuckerman, Macklowe, Moinian, etc. who don't care about aesthetics; they just care about their bottom line.

I think this is New York's main problem when it comes to its modern architecture. The saving grace is the nobility of the green movement, the few that exists.

[TREPYE]

A new backdrop in the works :eek: for 2 CC ...

NEWSWEEK BUILDING GETS A MAJOR FACELIFT, NEW TENANTS

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12272007/photos/1775Broadway_1.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:SLIDES.hotlink())>>>>>http://www.nypost.com/seven/12272007/photos/1775Broadway_2.jpg (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:SLIDES.hotlink())

A new address - 3 Columbus Circle - has been approved by city officials ...
Copyright 2007 NYP Holdings, Inc

The source of all of this city's deterrioating historical/cultural architecture fabric. Oblivious city officials that do not take notice of such vagaries of aggressive/abusive development.

[Stroika]

Can we get a letter sent to the LPC?

The unfortunate thing is that there's no real "neighborhood" right around Columbus Circle -- the tenants of the Time-Warner Center and residents of the Trump building, unfortunately, aren't very civic-minded. (This is one of those very rare moments when I'm left wishing for NIMBYism.)

In the absence of the kind of community that will block any project, good or evil, progress or devolution, can we try to enlist some big names or political heavyweights? The kind of people who do their darnedest to destroy progress in dilapidated areas (Al Sharpton, Calvin Butts, etc.) are probably content to see beautiful, historic buildings that set the city's tone be swept away.

But what about people like most of this forum's members -- capitalists who have an eye for aesthetics? Bloomberg or even Spitzer certainly have an interest in seeing that New York, while developing, retains its history, charisma and beauty... Is there any way to engage them, or others? I'm always wary of government-backed aesthetics initiatives, but Moinian is a real turdburglar and in this case MUST be stopped.

[antinimby]

Finally, somebody around here who is willing to lift a finger besides just offering the usual talk and ranting.

Okay, the building is not protected nor in a historic district, so the LPC route is probably too late.

Besides, there's not much they can do now and also because we know, they take a century and a half to just determine whether something deserves landmark designation or not.

I like your idea of enlisting "heavy weights." Write a passionate and heartfelt letter to the following people and organizations:

1) Community Board 5
2) The Historic Districts Council
3) The Municipal Arts Society of New York
4) Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer
5) Mayor Bloomberg

...and last but not least, appeal to Mr. Moinian himself. He has the power at this point. If he can't or won't completely abandon the recladding idea, at least get him to leave that stone base alone.

This sounds daunting but it really isn't. Just write ONE letter and send it out to everyone from 1-5. You can use the same letter also to Moinian except for maybe a few wording changes.

By the way, if you need the contact info for any of the above, just let me know and I'll post them here.

[Jim856796]

I went to Emporis and found out that 1775 Broadway's actual name was "Columbus Tower". Will it retain that name after its transformation into a glass structure or shall it be given a new name (the Columbus Building)?

[ablarc]

The unfortunate thing is that there's no real "neighborhood" right around Columbus Circle -- the tenants of the Time-Warner Center and residents of the Trump building, unfortunately, aren't very civic-minded. (This is one of those very rare moments when I'm left wishing for NIMBYism.)
NIMBYs wouldn't do anything anyway; nobody's proposing to make the building taller.

[lofter1]

... 1775 Broadway's actual name was "Columbus Tower".

... shall it be given a new name ... ?

Earlier in this thread ... City officials have OK'd a name change:

3 Columbus Circle

[Derek2k3]

Since the permits have been filed already (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?requestid=15&allisn=0001401306&allboroughname=&allnumbhous=&allstrt=), I think it's hopeless to try and block it. It seems like the new curtain wall is being applied over the existing masonry walls. So the re-clad isn't really improving anything for the tenants other than making it look cosmetically new. No floor to ceiling views here...they could've just put in more efficient windows.

Unfortunately some soulless law firm will snap up these spaces just because of this superficial newness. There are thousands of glass boxes today and millions more to come, but I doubt we will ever build pre-war buildings like this again. Perhaps one day a sensible developer will restore it to its original beauty when too few of these types remain.

[lofter1]

Here is a 1999 Columbia Architecture School Document (pdf) (http://www.arch.columbia.edu/hp/studio/1998-1999/pdf/Midtown%20South.pdf).

It's an depth study of Midtown South buildings (lots within the Garment District) worthy of Historic Preservation ...



Columbia University
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

Historic Preservation Studio 1999

The purpose of this Preservation Plan is to
recognize the various identities of Midtown
South, document the significance of the
area's historic resources to the life of
Midtown South and New York City, identify
potential threats to the survival of these
resources, and present recommendations for
protecting the neighborhood’s most valuable
architecture and special sense of place and
encouraging sensitivity in future
interventions

[ramvid01]

^^ Wait so the brick will still be there under the glass? They are just putting the glass over the walls now? :confused:

[kz1000ps]

^ Yes. Look closely at the rendering and you can see the outlines of the existing facade behind the glass.

It may seem an utterly stupid move, but look on the bright side: like Derek alluded to, the brick will still be there 40 years from now when it's due for another makeover (cross your fingers).

[stache]

Yes the brick will still be there and I'm guessing the glass skin will make everything more watertight.

[BrooklynLove]

seems bizarre - kind of like a glass condom.

[Stern]

I dont think the brick will be retained. I think they will follow the same route as with the hippodrome, install the glass over the brick and then once entirely enclosed remove the old brick fascade.

[lofter1]

But the recently removed facade at the Hippodrome was mostly a glass / metal curtain wall (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=28422&postcount=3).

Compared to the large expanses of brick which exist at 1775 the Hippodrome had very little brick (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=47993&postcount=10) that needed to be removed.

[kz1000ps]

Stern, take another look at the rendering:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12272007/photos/1775Broadway_2.jpg
(http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:SLIDES.hotlink())

You can definitely make out the old window openings, implying that the existing brick will still be there after the "glass condom" wraps things up.

[Stern]

You're right. It'll still be like the hippodrome though, the entire building will be encased with the new fascade, and then the original window units will be removed.

[BrooklynLove]

i'll leave it to the pros, but it's hard for this amateur to understand how installing this new skin is more financially viable than just power cleaning, patching and sealing the current facade.

[antinimby]

^ The customers want floor-to-ceiling windows and a "like new" building. The greedy developer will get higher rents because of that.

He is also kicking out more interesting tenants like the Comedy Club for a bank branch because of higher rents also.

[lofter1]

There is no way that 1775 will ever have "floor to ceiling windows" unless they rip out 30% + of the existing bricks and knock major holes all around.

Right now this building is solid masonry with standard size pre-war windows.

[BrooklynLove]

just doesn't seem sensible then to go with the condom setup. maybe that rendering is showing a morph type of effect for exhibition purposes - combining the before and after at once for wow factor, not for showing the actual final product.

[Citytect]

^You mean to say a misleading rendering? Ha! Dream on, that NEVER happens.

[antinimby]

This city's obsession with shiny glass walls continues... :mad:

Global Ad Agency Moving to Far West of Manhattan


By TERRY PRISTIN
Published: January 9, 2008 (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/realestate/commercial/09ogilvy.html)

Ogilvy & Mather, the international advertising and public relations agency, said Tuesday that it would move its headquarters to 636 11th Avenue, at 47th Street, becoming one of the first corporate tenants to embrace that stretch of the Far West Side of Manhattan.

Ogilvy, a division of the WPP Group, has leased the entire 11-story building. The building’s interior will be redesigned, with a new lobby and glass curtain wall, said Ben Hakimian, the managing partner of the Hakimian Organization, one of the owners. Since 11th Avenue is several blocks from the subway lines at Eighth Avenue, a shuttle bus will ferry employees from train stations and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Ogilvy’s move will empty out nearly 600,000 square feet of noncontiguous space at Worldwide Plaza, on Eighth Avenue and 50th Street, when the lease expires in July 2009. That building’s beleaguered landlord, Harry B. Macklowe, must now search for new tenants at a time when there is concern about possible layoffs in the financial services industry as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis. Mr. Macklowe and his son, William S. Macklowe, had no comment Tuesday.

Mr. Macklowe acquired Worldwide Plaza in February as part of a $7 billion portfolio and is facing a deadline next month to pay back about $6.4 billion in short-term loans. Brokers say the Macklowes are asking an annual rent of $100 a square foot for the Worldwide Plaza space being vacated by Ogilvy. Ogilvy’s rent at 636 11th Avenue will be “in the low $50’s,” Mr. Hakimian said.

Carla Hendra, the co-chief executive of Ogilvy New York, said the agency also had other reasons to move. At Worldwide Plaza, Ogilvy’s home for two decades, the space is divided into private offices, but today many companies prefer an open plan. “The building just doesn’t suit us anymore,” Ms. Hendra said. The company rejected the idea of renovating the space because of the “astronomical” cost, she said.

Ogilvy’s new home is near the 222-room Vu Hotel, between 46th and 47th Streets, being developed by the Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group. It is also a few blocks north of the site of the large-scale mixed-use development proposed for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority railyards. “The development of the Far West Side is well under way,” Ms. Hendra said. “By 2009, this is not going to seem to be pioneering.”

Built in 1913, 636 11th Avenue originally housed the Auerbach Chocolate Factory. Mr. Hakimian, who bought the property with Peykar Brothers Realty and Gorijan Properties in 2005, said he originally planned to convert it into a residential building. But his brokers convinced him that there was a demand among office tenants in creative industries for some of the features the building offered, like 13-foot ceilings, access to a roof overlooking the Hudson River and an interior courtyard.

Mitchell Konsker, a vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield, said Ogilvy’s move would encourage other tenants to move to the neighborhood. “This bellwether transaction legitimizes 11th Avenue as a corporate corridor,” said Mr. Konsker, who led the team representing the landlord. The ad agency was represented by CB Richard Ellis.

Mr. Konsker also predicted that the Macklowes would easily find a tenant for Worldwide Plaza because of the shortage of large blocks of space in Midtown Manhattan.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

[antinimby]

Aren't the windows here large enough and numerous enough for them? What's the need for an "all-glass curtain wall?"

I just hope they leave that fabulous entrance alone, at least.

Here's 636 Eleventh Ave., from the outside, a perfectly handsome building, no need for a complete makeover.

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/7830/636eleventhdk0.th.png (http://img69.imageshack.us/my.php?image=636eleventhdk0.png)

God, so much of the general public is still so behind, so unsophisticated and so tasteless when it comes to buildings.

[MidtownGuy]

That's beautiful, what a shame it will be hacked apart and glassed over.

[Fabrizio]

This is a cool industrial-chic building that you'd expect a young, creative, company, to move in to. With no need to cover the thing in glass for God's sake.

What is Ogilvy & Mather doing here? From World-WidePlaza to this? I'm surprised.

If they'd leave the exterior as is, it would give them a hipper image.

[stache]

Ogilvy & Mather were considered pioneers by moving into WW plaza in 1990. I think they're continuing their search of cheap rent by moving further west.

[lofter1]

Get out your sun glasses (and barf bags) ...

Meanwhile, in Architectural Abominations

CURBED (http://curbed.com/archives/2008/01/28/meanwhile_in_architectural_abominations.php)
January 28, 2008
by Joey

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_1_3columbus.jpg

For those who didn't hear the news (http://curbed.com/archives/2007/12/27/scary_renderings.php) (and if you didn't, you're in for quite the surprise), the Moinian Group
is changing the address of the Newsweek building at 1775 Broadway to 3 Columbus Circle.
Oh, and they're replacing the classic pre-war brick façade with glass. All glass. So much glass!
It's all part of a $60 million makeover meant to bring new blood to the office building, which is losing
both Newsweek and Comedy Central as tenants. The Moinian Group also launched a website (http://www.3columbuscircle.com/) touting
the new-look tower, featuring what has to be the most offensively horrid piece of music ever
recorded by Enya. Just ... wow. Some renderings after the jump, including the new
signature rooftop signage that can be all yours.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_1_3columbus2.jpg
The new entrance and lobby.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_1_3columbus3.jpg
Terraces and a branding opportunity.

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_1_3columbus4.jpg
OK, the view ain't bad. Looking at the building, however, is another story.

· 3 Columbus Circle (http://www.3columbuscircle.com/) [Official Site]

[stache]

The trees in the Broadway median are getting big.

[Wrightfan]

I just read this at Curbed.
This is ****ing Heinous. An LPC petition could be made- there are very few of these buildings with this type of massing in the city- fewer still by SL&H.
Geez developers are morons.

[Eugenious]

I just read this at Curbed.
This is ****ing Heinous. An LPC petition could be made- there are very few of these buildings with this type of massing in the city- fewer still by SL&H.
Geez developers are morons.

ugh....there goes the new york character

[DarrylStrawberry]

February 20, 2008, 10:21 am Switching Brands in the Skyline

By David W. Dunlap (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/author/ddunlap/)

The General Motors Building has already been renamed.

Harry Macklowe, the owner of the current General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue, made news last week by suggesting that buyers might reap tens of millions of dollars in extra income through the sale of naming rights to the building (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/nyregion/14name.html?8br).

Less noticed was that the old General Motors Building at 1775 Broadway, more recently known as the Newsweek Building, was recently renamed 3 Columbus Circle (http://www.3columbuscircle.com/) as part of an extreme makeover by its owner, the Moinian Group.

(It should be noted that 3 Columbus Circle has no frontage on Columbus Circle. Instead, it sits on a block bounded by Broadway, Eighth Avenue, 57th and 58th Streets.)

A new glass facade designed by the firm Gensler (http://www.gensler.com/) will obliterate evidence of the building’s history and heritage as a hub of Automobile Row (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E2DE1F39F934A35754C0A9669C8B 63&scp=1&sq=dunlap+automobile+row&st=nyt). For now, a palisade of three-story Ionic columns, supporting a neo-Classical entablature, surrounds the base of the structure. This is a visible vestige of the Colonnade Building, designed by William Welles Bosworth and developed by John A. Harriss, a deputy police commissioner who also invested in real estate.

Describing the plan in February 1921, The Times noted that the columns would not be flattened in order to increase the size of the storefronts between them: “They will be set back from the building line several inches, and a statistician could figure out without much difficulty how much prospective rent Dr. Harriss might lose by using this space for attractive architectural treatment instead of sacrificing certain artistic elements for the almighty dollar.”

Tenants were drawn to the building all the same, as Broadway was the heart of the automotive industry in New York City. In 1922, the Hudson Motor Car Company leased the Colonnade Building’s principal storefront, at Broadway and 57th Street, as a sales room for its Essex line of automobiles. (In recent decades, this space was the home of Coliseum Books. It is now a Bank of America branch.)

Until 1926, the three-story colonnade was all that stood on the site. Then, Shreve & Lamb designed a 22-story addition, principally for the General Motors Corporation. “The tenant will not only establish its Eastern executive and clerical headquarters in the new building,” The Times reported, “but arrangements will be made for private dining rooms, club rooms, barber shop and a board room seating 40 directors of the corporation.”

General Motors projected its name on the skyline from the top of the building. (That sign position, currently used by CNN, is offered by Moinian as an opportunity for “significant corporate branding.”) Eventually, G.M. occupied almost all of the building. It stayed there until 1968, when it moved across town to Fifth Avenue.

General Motors’ next move, my colleague Charles V. Bagli reports, will be to the Citigroup Center, where it is taking 135,000 square feet on a 10-year lease beginning next summer. Don’t hold your breath for a name change there.

Shreve & Lamb’s brown-brick facade was far simpler than the monumental colonnade. That incongruous combination of ornate base and spartan tower still speaks subtly — to anyone patient enough to listen — about the rise of Automobile Row in the early 20th century. But in a few months, it will be gone; another quirky corner of Manhattan that has been scrubbed, smoothed, polished, branded and lost.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/02/20/nyregion/20gm.span.jpg

The General Motors building, left, as it appeared soon after construction, seen from Columbus Circle. At right, the building, now known as the Newsweek Building or 3 Columbus Circle, as it appears today, with the CNN rooftop sign. (Drawing by J. W. Golinkin in “Towers of Manhattan,” 1928, and photo by David W. Dunlap/The New York Times)



http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/02/20/nyregion/20gm.1.jpg
The General Motors Building as it looks today from 57th Street and Broadway. (Photo: David W. Dunlap/The New York Times)

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/02/20/nyregion/20gm.2.jpg
Renamed 3 Columbus Circle, this is what the building will look like with a new glass curtain wall. (Photo: Gensler for the Moinian Group)

[Jim856796]

If the newsweek building is getting a new facade, shouldn't the old facade be removed first? The renovation reminds me of what they did to the old Hotel Commodore.

[ablarc]

Abomination.

[infoshare]

If the newsweek building is getting a new facade, shouldn't the old facade be removed first?

From what I can see from the website photos (http://www.3columbuscircle.com/) it seems that the entire brick exterior will be removed: and then, replaced with a glass curtain wall. If you click the 'Redevelopment' tab you can see a small photo image of the ENTRANCE AREA : then click on the image, it expands large enough to get a good look at the details of the new glass curtain wall.

[Stern]

But in a few months, it will be gone; another quirky corner of Manhattan that has been scrubbed, smoothed, polished, branded and lost.

Exactly! I'm sure the Post would write this is a "vast improvement", a "masterpiece" even.

[avngingandbright]

I wrote a letter... have you guys done anything? This must be stopped at all costs. I pray to god that the economy affects the outcome of this catastrophe.

[BrooklynLove]

^ pretty sure that this ship has already left

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/9452/newsweek01xx5.th.jpg (http://img159.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek01xx5.jpg) http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/449/newsweek02ov6.th.jpg (http://img159.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek02ov6.jpg) http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/6584/newsweek03om2.th.jpg (http://img159.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek03om2.jpg) http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/1419/newsweek04pc9.th.jpg (http://img159.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek04pc9.jpg) http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/1979/newsweek05cj5.th.jpg (http://img159.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek05cj5.jpg) http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/6674/newsweek06iq1.th.jpg (http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek06iq1.jpg)

It sure is a mess.

[Jasonik]

I'm baffled looking at Zippy's photos why they don't just glass over the vertical window bays, spandrels and all. At least the vertical character of the original would be retained and expressed.

I looks to me like they're leaving the brick in place and encasing it in panning and glass. The ground floor is another case completely. Though, in my opinion Scamozzi was a hack, this is shameful treatment of a vintage Shreve, Lamb and Harmon design.

Click images for LARGE view.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/3CCSignageOpportunity.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/3CCSignageOpportunity-1.jpg)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/3CCTerrace.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/3CCTerrace-1.jpg)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/3CCOfficeInterior.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/3CCOfficeInterior-1.jpg)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/3CCEntrance.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Jasonik/3CCEntrance-1.jpg)

[MidtownGuy]

So that's the entrance that will replace the stately colonnade.
Someone needs a punch in the face.:mad:
Sorry but this is disgusting and very hard to take.

[Gaudi]

With its brown bricks, this building is impressive.
It seems powerful. And solid. It seems high.
With this useless glass box, it will be commonplace, ordinary,
not worthy of Manhattan.
Strangely, it will seem smaller too.

If I can help signing a petition or whatever, here I am.
Sure I'm french, living in Paris and it's probably not my business,
but I'm a real real fan of NYC ( l LOVE U ) a fan of pre-war style
and always very sad when this heritage is threatened.
It's the pride of american engineering.
Showing the genius of american architecture.

I love the buildings of this period because they are,
in the same time, frightening and elegant !
Offering great perspectives and very special atmosphere in your streets.
It's a treasure. Keep it ! Let's build the glass boxes elsewhere.
Why not at the top ?
For this one ... ( and let's do the same for the magnificent Pennsylvania Hotel ) :
keep the old building as a pedestal - as Foster did with Hearst Tower ! -
and build modern extentions on the roof ! Make it higher guys !
But please, keep old facades.
The interesting is superposition of styles,
not standardization, right ?

Sorry about my bad english

[stache]

The only reason Foster kept the old building was because he had to.

[alonzo-ny]

This is dumb short-sighted development.

[Fabrizio]

And this is only the beginning folks.

With a new shiney facade, this building will be a "success", with greater visibility, higher rents etc.

It will be the example that will be followed all over town.

Next stop: the Garment District.

[alonzo-ny]

I think some kind of blanket landmarking for buildings of a certain age would work. As i walk around the most horrible buildings are for the majority of the time from the 50s forward. There are plenty of these buildings that can be knocked down and replaced with no issue to the city fabric.

[scumonkey]

Next stop: the Garment District.
SHHHHHHHHHHH! :eek:

[hey19932]

I'm actually ok with the renovation of this one. It might complement the new modern look of 2 columbus circle.

[MidtownGuy]

Actually it complements it better by remaining an attractive building with distinction and contrasting materials.

[pianoman11686]

And this is only the beginning folks.

What?!

[Fabrizio]

Yep, just the beginning.

Old, brick, dusty and musty... ugly to ignorant eyes... but beautiful to those with a bit of creative vision.

We saw this recladding business strip away the Commodore, the Biltmore, Gimbles, the Abercrombie & Fitch building, the HBO building etc.

Now with this grand old piece of NYC trashed&glassed, prepare yourselves for the next wave.

I think this building will be a success, again "proving" that a slick, shiney glass reclad is the way to go.

[ZippyTheChimp]

At least it'll be preserved inside the glass jar.

Maybe in fifty or sixty years when it's forgotten and the reclad needs a reclad, someone will peel away the exterior and say, "Look what we have here."

Like when drop ceilings are removed and vaulted ceilings are discovered, they'll call us idiots.

[The Benniest]

Like MidtownGuy, I find this very hard and rather disgusting. This is the first architecture thread I've ever read fully and it was definitely an interesting one.

I love classical architecture like this building was before they started construction on it, and am sad to see so many threads going up in this forum about old, classical buildings getting a new, "shiny" cover.

:(

[alonzo-ny]

Is there anything left under that nightmare at the Commodore? I am hopeful that this building can be un-renovated in the future.

[brianac]

The photographs posted by Zippy on 3rd March really highlight what a tragedy this re cladding will be.
The building looks fine as it is.

[The Benniest]

I agree with brianac. I see nothing wrong with this building what so ever. :confused:

[MidtownGuy]

I can't see in the renderings how many underlying details will remain but it seems like all of the columns and other details of the base are doomed. I'm quite sad about this one.

[lofter1]

The west facade is now marked-up for masonry removal ...

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Columbus%20Circle/3CC_01d.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p242/Lofter1/Columbus%20Circle/3CC_01b.jpg

[alonzo-ny]

I deplore stupidity.

[Wrightfan]

I deplore stupidity.And this is the height of it.

[philvia]

judging from the render on the last page, it will look a lot better. and judging from the past replies, I'm going to be flamed and called ignorant :confused:

nyc is way to monotonous with old brown buildings. i like fresh and modern, and i when i got to columbus circle, that is what i feel... so this reclad, IMO is better

[ZippyTheChimp]

I'm going to be flamed and called ignorant :confused:When you get to where you're going...there you are.

[Wrightfan]

I'm going to be flamed and called ignorantor you are blind.

[philvia]

or you are blind.


or i'm both! :rolleyes:

[rirby]

We have the modernist worldview to thank for this kind of
thing, and it looks like it is here to stay. Throw out time tested solutions
and compositional design principles and viola....The whole world is dumbed
down to the god of science and the mother of the arts becomes becomes
lowest common denominator international "style"; The world becomes a collection of homogeneous, faceless, scaleless, brutal, minimalist crap. Don't forget this whole movement was started by a bunch of arrogant "progressives" who threw things like style, proportion, and human scale in the dustbin.

[MikeW]

Let's be a little honest here. This building was pretty ugly to begin with. Is it going to get any better? I'll reserve judgment when I see it complete.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Let's be a little honest here. This building was pretty ugly to begin with.Why is your opinion the honest one?

[stache]

Although I will miss the old exterior, when you look at this building from upper Broadway, it doesn't look so hot. So maybe the new Dallas style cover will have its benefits - :confused:

[scumonkey]

Well the demo on the outside has begun....
(from curbed)
http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_4_3columbus.jpg

[Fabrizio]

----

IMHO, The view of this building is one of those classic gothamesque images of NYC. And it is a part of a small grouping of brick buildings... it is a very special environment.

Honestly, I can't get over the fact that it's going.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim-in-times-square/2366752520/

Another dull, brown, humble, work-a-day building (with similiair beveled corners) that just happens to house one of the worlds most luxurious department stores:

http://www.johnnyjet.com/images/103NYCSaks5thAveFlags.jpg

Hell let's reclad 'em all!

---

[londonlawyer]

I agree with you, Fabrizio.

Sadly, Monion, like Macklowe and Chang, is a filthy, rapacious pig who does not care about NYC. Hopefully, he will meet the same fate that Macklowe is in now.

[Fabrizio]

Not every building has to be bombastic.

I really believe that a building like this, cleaned and modernized (inside) would have far greater value and a greater possibilty to attract high-end tenants.

Robert DeNiro builds a new hotel clad in turd-brown brick, 15CPW is a yearning for 1930's glam, Schnable builds a Venetian palace in the Village, buildings all over downtown are being renovated because of their ambience, an ambience that recalls another age.... why?

Because that's whats cool right now.

Meanwhile, these clueless a-wholes are doing a CommodoreHotel/Gimbels-style shiney-glass reclad as if this were 1985.

---

http://curbed.com/2006_10_deniro1.jpg

--

[Optimus Prime]

My stomach turned a bit when I saw this one today. They really are chipping away at the ground level masonry as you see in scumonkey's photo. It's quite sad to look at, actually.

Anyone hoping they would at least keep the ground floor as is, those hopes are dashed. They started right there with the ground floor to make certain of that.

[MidtownGuy]

At night time, the illuminated tops of the giant columns were very beautiful and elegant. This despicable vandalism is disgusting to see!:mad:

[Clarknt67]

add me to the chorus of voices calling out, "For shame!"

[Stroika]

Watching this building get stripped of its details is like staring at someone's grandmother getting mugged and beaten.

It's then even more ghastly when you then look around and, apart from the Hearst Building -- whose use of its triumphant Art Deco original building should have provided inspiration to any owner of this building with a brain in his head -- the area is now wretchedly glass-ugly. I favor Columbus Center, but the disgusting green-bluish building across from Hearst, the new "2 Columbus Circle" and a host of other buildings in the area make it an International Style housing project.

[TREPYE]

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_4_3columbus.jpg

If having this glass replacement was intended to modernize and have good views why couldn't these scoundrels at least have left the ornamental base intact. Oh yea,thats right cuz they are unprincipled and dishonorable people; villains. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scoundrel

This city is full of POS's developers

[Derek2k3]

Guy on Curbed posted these as an alternative.

http://picasaweb.google.com/comedydesigner/1775Broadway/photo#5161772816794323842

http://picasaweb.google.com/comedydesigner/1775Broadway/photo#5161772829679225746

[MidtownGuy]

God bless him for doing those renderings. Show 'em how retarded they are.
That looks SO MUCH BETTER than the product of vandalism and shortsightedness we are actually ending up with.
Maybe other developers would see the light if this were widely circulated among the field as some sort of example of a better way to do these reclads, by incorporating the details we are instead seeing destroyed forever...in the end the result looks so much classier anyway. On second thought, nah, they probably wouldn't take the advice out of arrogance.

[scumonkey]

^^
It's amazing how a little sympathetic thought put into designing the re-clad (such as those in the link- thank YOU!), can make sooooo much difference.
What a tragic loss - Not only better but, I bet it would have been cheaper to do !

[antinimby]

Can everyone send those pics over to the Moinian Group here (http://www.moiniangroup.com/contact/) to tell them what they could have done instead and what douchebags they are for taking the route they have taken?

http://lh4.ggpht.com/comedydesigner/R6JNClRLC5I/AAAAAAAAABg/Dc01J5BwmNQ/3columbus_B.jpg?imgmax=512

[infoshare]

Beautiful: all they needed to do was look across the street and take the obvious cue (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=173913&postcount=726) from the Hearst Building. :confused:

[MidtownGuy]

What a wasted opportunity to do something that would have complemented Hearst.

[macreator]

I'm still stunned that this can happen in this day and age...

All this building needed was some new windows, a new HVAC system, and a good powerwashing...

[Stroika]

All the good sense in the world wouldn't have caused Moinian to change course. The man is a vile animal, not a rational human being.

[RandySavage]

Saw the partially ripped down cornice and pillars of the base today. Made me sad and angry.

[djlexington]

It's been a while since there's been an update on this building, but on my way up 8th ave today I noticed that the first sections of glass have been installed on the lower portions of the 8th Ave setback side.

I will try to post some pictures later if I have the chance to get back over later.

Not really able to tell how it will look yet since only 3-4 panels were up... And yes, quite a shame something along the lines of the Curbed.com alternative was not planned...

[Stroika]

Given the state of the markets and the kind of sh&%#y investments they've made, I would bet the Moinian family will lose spectacular amounts of money in the next five years. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving group of people.

[squarecube]

Given the state of the markets and the kind of sh&%#y investments they've made, I would bet the Moinian family will lose spectacular amounts of money in the next five years. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving group of people.


I've been looking at this building for years wondering when it will get it's turn. The columns are real and line the exterior. When I first saw the scaffolding I was happy as I figured the columns will soon be fully exposed and the building will be whole again. For some reason today I read the sign and almost puked on the street. I suppose I'm the last one to find out.

I am new to the list. Who is Moinian- has he done this to other building?

[ZippyTheChimp]

:mad:

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2473/newsweek01cko8.th.jpg (http://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek01cko8.jpg) http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/4056/newsweek02cpz0.th.jpg (http://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek02cpz0.jpg) http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/5286/newsweek03cfm2.th.jpg (http://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek03cfm2.jpg) http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/6545/newsweek04cdu3.th.jpg (http://img385.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newsweek04cdu3.jpg)

[lofter1]

a travesty :mad:

[Stroika]

Good sense will prevail in the end. 50 years from now, when the city looks like Houston, the grid is gone and tower-in-the-park superblocks of mega-projects are the norm, New York will be so misshapen and ugly that companies and residents will move out in droves. Only then, some sensible developer (let's assume such a being exists) will realize that having a decent-looking, solidly built building that somewhat resembles the way humanity built things for hundreds of years before deciding glass, plastic and pre-cast limestone/brick will actually attract people and tenants and make you money. Then they'll take down the absurd-looking glass claptrap and restore the building. And the dozens of surrounding all-glass buildings will finally have something other than another glass building to reflect on their walls.

[JSsocal]

that... is depressing, though I doubt it will happen. Even if they conceived of something like that, the NIMBY's would come out of their caves and destroy these superblock projects you speak of. :D
What I don't get is why they aree covering it in glass, but keeping the brick underneath? Isn't the point of glass boxes to have floor to ceiling windows? This just sounds stupid:rolleyes:

[stache]

It's a very '50's mentality about making something look 'modern'. :(

[lofter1]

You see this all over downtown -- NoHo, Financial District, SoHo -- where idiots have chopped away solid stone -- marble, granite , limestone -- to smooth out beautiul old details -- cornices, carvings, moldings -- to allow for a new "modern" face to be put onto the building. When the "modern" junk is removed it's apparent that the damage is nearly irreparable unless someone has really DEEP pockets.

Case in point: The entry to 5 Beekman Street between Park Row / Nassau, where renovation is currently underway. The entrie newly-exposed original granite entryway is covered with 2" diameter / 12' long drill marks where the deep relief of the the old carved stone was chiseled down to a semi-level surface. What remains is a scarred & chopped mess. It's nearly unfixable.

So don't hold out any fantasies about 1775 ever being restored to it's original glory. All the stone there -- pillars, cornices, moldings -- is being chopped to bits.

[NYC4Life]

I can't hardly tell if this building is being recladded or being demolished.

[Stroika]

I remember David Dunlap of the Times wrote a while ago that this was the first home of GM... Is that true? If so, you'd think that would've qualified this for landmark designation.

[lofter1]

In this day and age nothing gets landmarked unless the back room deal has been cut.

In a less crass world this one would definitely have been a likely candidate for protection.

But crass is what we have become and crass is what we get.