Reply With QuoteYes, I actually was assuming this building would have gargoyles.... that's why I'm kinda bummed out to hear that "95% of the north wall is solid concrete".
Fabrizio, the Pierre is an classical building, so obviously the blank wall will be adorned. 785 Eighth is a modernist building, so obviously the blank wall will be unadorned.
Are you advocating for gargoyles and the like on the blank walls of modernist buildings???
Yes, I actually was assuming this building would have gargoyles.... that's why I'm kinda bummed out to hear that "95% of the north wall is solid concrete".
Gargoyles on a modernist building would be interesting. Even more so, if they were mechanized and could eat pigeons and rats. If Po-Mo could borrow freely from the past and make a caricature of itself, then why can't a brilliant designer concoct a simple solution to "enhance" the wondrous brute quality of concrete that respects the present? Because we expect nothing better, why should a developer spend a penny he could save? This country does not value design. It saddens me when I visit other places and see the pride taken in simple things . . . even a phone booth, a street corner mailbox, or alleyway wastecan can approach art when compared to what we accept as normative.
I'm not a hater of things American, I only wish we had a higher threshold of aesthetic minimal standards. Good design does not necessarily mean higher cost. Even Wall-mart is following Target's lead in offering household items for the poor (me) that elevate the standards of cheap and affordable fare.
Of course, the place is start is not with residential highrises but lowrise affordable housing. Environment does shape and influence the community it serves -- isn't that an architect's holy grail? -- and good design can happen when construction costs are held to a minimum.
Someone (I don't remember) asked Stravinsky how he came up with such strange combinations for his small ensemble pieces (e.g., trumpet, drum, and violin); he replied that he couldn't start composing until he set the limitations. That was the challenge that sparked his creativity and invention. Didn't Gehry himself want to stress something similar with his use of wired fencing and simple materials?
I refuse to roll over, play dead, and accept that ugly blank walls are the 21st century legacy of New York architecture.
Well, looking at the original post when this proposal first came out,
The blank wall may only go up so far.The northern portions of upper floors offer wonderful views of the northern and eastern parts of Manhattan as well as the Hudson River.
Leyva's website FINALLY has some new images -- but not a one of the north facade of the tower...
The 48th Street entry way:
Lobby (I think the commercial space is on the other side of the waterfall):
The garden is supposed to be at the end of this all (behind the curtain?):
Elevators (?!):
Gym (!?!?!?!):
Kitchen with a view:
Bath:
Whoa thanks, finally no more red x's on his site.
Wow, they certainly know how to squeeze a lot of stuff into a very tight space.Originally Posted by lofter1
This is going to be a silly looking block!
I agree. The garbage on this street is a disgrace. Only in NY can multi-million dollar condos be sandwiched in between derelict buildings.
at 10 floors up its strange shape already gives it the illusion of being unstable. It is going to look a bit crazy at 30 and then 40 floors completed.
This is so wonderfully urbane:
If only the rest could look so right.
Never been to Buenos Aires, I gather.
I have, and I think it's the best city in all of the Americas after NY. However, it's also dirt cheap. There are not million dollar one bedroom apartments in dingy locations like this one.
This is the biggest waste ive seen ever. this block could hold a 1.5 million sf hotel or office tower, not we will get nothing of importance. The DOB should be ashamed of themself on this one
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