Fulton Street Transit Center

[ZippyTheChimp]

I agree.

The dome only looks bad in comparison to the original, but the glass completely alters the character of the building. Imagine if that was done at TWC.

[JMGarcia]

What looks different in the glass is that the smaller panes are clearly visibly in the newer rendering. In the older rendering they are only hinted at which was probably completely unrealistic. The false impression of huge single panes gave it an architectural quality it couldn't achieve in reality.

However, with or withour panes the main problem with the newer design is not the dome but the fact the there now appear to be floors directly abutting the outside walls. The egg floating in the cube gave a completely different setting but was probably quite expensive to engineer.

[ZippyTheChimp]

JMGarcia,

I don't think so. The glass was supposed to be the same suspended cable-net system that Carpenter designed at TWC.

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstra...AD0894DC404482

[MidtownGuy]

JM-You did not look very closely at the panes in the original design. They are not rendered as single, giant panes. In fact, if you look closely the panes are composed of smaller, square panes.

[JMGarcia]

JM-You did not look very closely at the panes in the original design. They are not rendered as single, giant panes. In fact, if you look closely the panes are composed of smaller, square panes.

That's not what I said. I said it was rendered to look that way unless you look closely.

[JMGarcia]

JMGarcia,

I don't think so. The glass was supposed to be the same suspended cable-net system that Carpenter designed at TWC.

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstra...AD0894DC404482

You don't hink so what? I said the rendering attempted to hide the paneing unless you look closely giving a false impression.

Regardless, my point was that its not the panes with thick mullions, no mullions, or total lack there of that is the problem. The problem is the egg no longer floats because it now seems to be surrounded by floor that come out to the glass.

[Jake]

Eh, I think it'll get changed a few times before the final product...I smell high material costs leading to the use of a different material leading to the elimination of transparancy from the hub glass

BTW, anyone know when Cortland reopens? I know it's "February" but does anyone have a date?

[NYguy]

Ugh!! You've got to be kidding me? We went from having a jewel-like masterpiece like this:




...to this with a little stump thing pointing up:



Now the stump thing is totally pointless and ugly, they should just get rid of it altogether.

Yeah, its a little too flat. But we were warned of this a few months ago. Now they just sneak it past. Can't wait to see that new cultural (I mean info) center design.

[ZippyTheChimp]

You don't hink so what? I said the rendering attempted to hide the paneing unless you look closely giving a false impression.

Again, I disagree. The original rendering appears to accurately depict the curtain wall. If you look closely where two lines intersect, you can see the same joint as in the TWC glass.



The new rendering looks like they've abandoned the more expensive suspended wall for the more ordinary glass panels.

[NoyokA]

While suspended glass is more expensive I'll wager that security concerns also had to do something with the redesign.

[BPC]

They should drop the whole above-ground design and let those 120 small businesses stay in Lower Manhattan. It's not too late.

[JMGarcia]

The new rendering looks like they've abandoned the more expensive suspended wall for the more ordinary glass panels.

I agree the wall has changed. My opinion is that the first rendering sought to make even its TWC style suspended wall look like it was a single pane.

I'm not explaining it very well, but my point is the big downgrade in the design is not the change in the glass wall, but the fact that now there are floors between the glass wall and the egg, where as before it was open making the egg seem to float. Without the floors, even the new glass wall would clearly show the egg inside and the design would be better than it is currently.

They should drop the whole above-ground design and let those 120 small businesses stay in Lower Manhattan. It's not too late.

Heavan forbid any shop should not have the lease renewed and be displaced. The city should just be frozen in its current state of perfection no doubt. I seriously can't for the life of me understand your reasoning in wanting to save that group of stores.

[antinimby]

How about a happy compromise? Surely they can cram some (not all 120) of those displaced small biz (if retail) in here:

[ZippyTheChimp]

Well, I'll miss the Sleepy's. Never know when you're gonna need a mattress.

[lofter1]

The shrinking of the dome seems also to have led to the bulking-up of the interior structure.

It now looks kind of like some mall I once visited in Lansing ... or was it Salt Lake?