No one expected the force of the tempest that hit the New York Public Library in late 2011—not its new president, Anthony Marx, and maybe not even the literary lions up in arms over plans for an ambitious, $300 million renovation. Will the “palace of culture” on Fifth Avenue become a glorified Starbucks, as some fear? Interviewing all sides, Paul Goldberger walks the controversy back to its flash point: the nature of the library’s 21st-century mission and the values at the center of the Norman Foster–designed project. -
Paul Goldberger, Firestorm on Fifth Avenue
posted by beisny
on Nov 17, 2012 -
23 comments
Why Yankee Stadium sucks: "Its design is profoundly un-American. Baseball has traditionally played a unifying role. The ballpark is where people of different classes and races and religions actually mingled. The box seats, where the swells sat, weren't physically separated from the proles. The new stadium is like an architectural system of class apartheid."
posted by bardic
on Oct 30, 2009 -
89 comments
A growing crop of towers pushing 2,000 feet: though just shy itself, the
much-redesigned Freedom Tower is finally under construction for completion in 2011; but there is also the
stunning Fordham Spire,
approved in Chicago, that will rise to 2,000 feet by 2010. Moscow is planning
the tallest tower in Europe, while there are a number of
sightseeing and
radio towers under construction in Asia. In Dubai, two towers under construction (
despite worker protests) are
racing to be the world's tallest, both are keeping their final heights secret, but will likely be over half a mile in height -- the
Burj Dubai and the
Al Burj. As
previously discussed, there are great illustrations comparing buildings both
built and
under construction. Bring on Frank Lloyd Wright's
The Illinois!
posted by blahblahblah
on May 16, 2006 -
63 comments
The Vertically Inclined Photographer: Shooting Paris, Rome, the French Riviera and the Loire Valley from a low-flying plane is
Patrick Durand's photographic obsession. It's an interesting
flat alternative to
Horst Hamann's [
click on "Gallery" and go to "New Verticals"]
tall vertical New York. There's something very exciting about looking at familiar sights from an unfamiliar point of view. [
Both sites very, perhaps too Flash.]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Jul 4, 2003 -
14 comments
A Love of Monsters: Gargoyles & Architectural Details in NYC. 'They crouch in the corners and lurk under windows. They curl around drainpipes and blend into doorways. They're so clever at hiding most folks won't see them at all. '
'But I know where the monsters live. I see them all the time. If your heart is understanding and your eyes remember wonder, then take a quiet stroll with me and see what you can find.'
Self-guided walks, too.
posted by plep
on Mar 17, 2003 -
17 comments
WTC Redevelopment Today at 1pm EST, the 7 proposed
new plans for redevelopment of the former World Trade Center site will be revealed. Currently, they're carrying the announcements of the new proposals (with architect descriptions of their projects) live on wnyc.org on the
Brian Lehrer Show.
posted by callicles
on Dec 18, 2002 -
30 comments
The New Yorker wonders whether the new
Westin hotel at Times Square is the ugliest
building in NYC. What do New Yorkers think? Is ugly architecture anything more than just poor business? What is the state of architecture in this country? (more)
posted by pejamo
on Oct 8, 2002 -
45 comments
Thinking Big - A Plan for Ground Zero and Beyond - from this past Sundays NY Times Magazine. Some months ago, when the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation made public
their plans, Metafilterians were, for the most part,
underwhelmed. This new plan, from an
impressive set of architects, goes far beyond the LMDC plans and really redevelops much of the surrounding region as well. There's certainly no lack of bold or controversial designs. I for one, think this is the best set of suggestions that I've seen so far. Delightfully bold.
posted by warhol
on Sep 9, 2002 -
16 comments
A Tale of Two Cities: Chicago and New York This exhibition of more than 150 black-and-white photographs represents a cross-section of the thousands of significant buildings that are protected by local landmark designation in Chicago and New York City. The story of how this came to pass is both as similar and as different as the cities themselves.
posted by vacapinta
on Sep 7, 2002 -
3 comments
Things Fall Apart. Particularly in urban environments. Individually, the moments of entropy-in-action caught here may not mean much; collectively, they recite a visual poem about decay. A slightly melancholy site for you insomniacs out there. (By the way, you have to scroll
right to get to the thumbnails.)
posted by BT
on Apr 3, 2002 -
8 comments
The New York City I first saw in 1985 has partially disappeared, and vanishes more everyday. The New York of 50 years ago, the veneer of daily life in the city, is but a memory. The city of 100 years ago is a shadow, remembered by no one.
But the past remains, if not in direct human memory, in
"lampposts, advertisements, bridges, buildings, signs, and things you pass every day in the street that bear silent witness to the NYC that once was." What lies
forgotten below the streets?
The decaying splendor of an bygone age, as well as
the deep roots that have sprouted and nourished the present, living city...
posted by evanizer
on Mar 22, 2002 -
37 comments
