Agreed. This calls for something bold and modern. I would be surprised if it weren't very tall and glassy.Originally Posted by sfenn1117
Normally I'd agree, but now that I've seen recent photos of his Comcast Tower in Philadelphia, I'd love to see him design a glassy skyscraper on this site. His Comcast Tower is fantastic and employs a beautiful curtainwall.
I feel like this site begs for something REALLY unique. All of the buildings west of Port Authority are beginning to look so boxy and predictable. I'd like the architect on this project to take a risk. No need for conformity in new york. That's what makes architecture here so special.
Pretty sure that McFarlane and Twining are part of the joint venture.
A huge, classic, even gothic-type stone building would be a great change from everything in the area. Something like The Pierre or Dakota (but taller). Even the Woolworth building would be a good jumping-point.
Also - they need to demo those food emporium towers across the street (Manhattan Plaza? is that the name? I walk by every day but block it from being saved in my memory).
manhattan plaza isn't going anywhere.
I can't understand why anyone would think Manhattan Plaza should be demolished. These are okay buildings fillled with lots of regular people who otherwise might not be able to live in the neighborhood. Manhattan is not lacking for places for the wealthy. Does ID want another luxury condo built in its place?
^ I think ld876 was talking more about their appearance than anything else.
Exactly -- whoever wants and can live there, I just think that this actual building is hideous.
Maybe it's ugly, but it has been the anchor for the neighborhood.
Built in the late 70's, no one but actors would move in because the surroundings were considered so dangerous.
Little by little... and look at the area now!
dangerously ugly.
Nice enough on the inside, though.
The complex does not offend me nearly as much as some other projects from that era. I'm not a big fan of the 42nd. St. base.
The 42nd Street base of Manhattan Plaza was created in response to what existed on the south side of 42nd back then (the mid-70s, a whole different time). The street was then essentially a wasteland of apparently decrepit buildings housing lots of porn shops and some spaces which had been (or were to be) transformed into off-off broadway theater-type venues ...
From The Metropolist (June 1, 2005):
... let's remember that Manhattan Plaza did NOT revitalize 42nd Street. 42nd was so bad at the time that Manhattan Plaza put all of its entrances on 43rd Street, hoping to convince prospective tenants that they were safe from the dangers of 42nd. In fact, Manhattan Plaza's contribution to 42nd Street was not a leap of faith ... rather it was a character-less brick facade, the back end of a fortress meant to keep the block at bay, and killing the hope for dynamic street life on the north side of the street.
Even this effort to become a 43rd Street enterprise left Manhattan Plaza an undesirable location. Nobody would move there. In fact, the only way they could fill it by was appealing to the most desperate of New Yorkers: artists.
Nimbies continue to amaze me. If someone wants to build, they sue. If that same someone doesn't want to build, they still sue.Hell’s Kitchen Site Developer Is Sued; Lot Is Called an Eyesore
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