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November 1, 2007

Closing Bell: Poly Prep's New(ish) Look

polyprepaddition.JPG
The modern addition to Poly Prep's campus is looking pretty complete these days. The Platt Byard Dovell and White design was very well received when it was made public a year and a half ago; think it still looks good now that it's a reality?
Poly Prep Addition Positively Received [Brownstoner] GMAP




Posted by Gabby at 4:00 PM | Comments (19)
Categories: Architecture, Closing Bell, Park Slope

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Comments

Personally, I love it.

Posted by: guest at November 1, 2007 4:35 PM

I haven't seen it in person yet, but from the picture it looks a bit out of context with the stone and brownstone buildings on either side.

Posted by: Park Sloper at November 1, 2007 4:40 PM

it ain't the Exeter library, but its nice from the street.

Posted by: guest at November 1, 2007 4:41 PM

I've walked by recently and think it looks quite nice. Though the materials and look are modern, it doesn't clash with the neighboring building.
They did a great job.

Posted by: bklyn1977 at November 1, 2007 4:43 PM

Looks great. Even better than the rendering.

Posted by: guest at November 1, 2007 4:45 PM

Peddie School has its own golf course....now that's somthing

Posted by: guest at November 1, 2007 4:50 PM

Had the potential to be a disaster on that revered block, but it was artfully done. Bravo.

Posted by: guest at November 1, 2007 5:46 PM

um... Cashmere Country Day has a meth lab.

Posted by: guest at November 1, 2007 5:50 PM

I'm dumbfounded. I'm sure all of the people who are gushing about this building also enjoyed "The Emperors New Spring Collection" at fashion week this year.

I can't believe the bullshit that the Landmarks Preservation Commission puts some homeowners through to maintain the integrity of a landmark district, and then they approve blase garbage like this.

This just goes to show how arbitrary and dysfunctional the Landmarks Preservation Commission can be. The school itself isn't contextual to the block, so the addition should have been built as a subordinate addition to the original structure. It could have emulated similar buildings of its era and diffused nicely from the school to the brownstones down the block.

This boring modernist building meets only one of the LPCs own criteria - that it is contextual in height to the rest of the block. It is no way either harmonious or appropriate. It literally looks like two double wide mobile homes stacked on top of each other that have been shat out of the ass of the school. What was the LPC thinking?

Posted by: Shahn Andersen at November 1, 2007 10:44 PM

So you have to have an architecture degree to have an opinion that's valid, about a building? We all live in this world, all of us, and we all get an opinion that's worth hearing.

Sounds like everybody else likes this building well enough. And many of them are the ones that actually have to live or work near it.

Posted by: guest at November 2, 2007 8:38 AM

Miss Havisham's Academy for Girls has its own 5,000 seat netball pavilion.

Posted by: guest at November 2, 2007 9:49 AM

i still remember when someone got held up at gunpoint at 4 in the afternoon a few houses down the block from there. i guess that doesn't happen to often anymore on that block ...

Posted by: BrooklynLove at November 2, 2007 12:40 PM

It fits in surprisingly well.

The real measure of its success is its acceptance by students and staff. I regularly see kids playing in the rear of the building, leading me to believe it is generally accepted.
Any PP families or staff out there care to comment?

Posted by: guest at November 2, 2007 1:26 PM

I really don't think the opinions of a wealthy families who can afford to spend $30K on their little snowflake's education are particularly indicative of the success of this building.

Shahn Andersen is right - the LPC pulled a fast one here. But this shouldn't be surprising. How many well connected families send their kids to this school? How many wanted to underwrite a massive construction effort?

Posted by: Polemicist at November 2, 2007 1:44 PM

I've walked past a few times, and it really looks much better in person than it does in this photo, which is distorted due to the wide-angle lens. The stone work makes for interesting shadow lines, the colors work -- I think it's quite successful. -- LT

Posted by: guest at November 2, 2007 4:32 PM

I am no architect but I walked by when the addition was under construction and felt pretty sorry for the adjacent neighbor who was out front working on his steps. He had a sick look upon his face as the pretty horrific cement wall was "gently" segued into his lot...it may look okay with the school but it looks awful next to this gentleman's house...glad his house is not mine...I would have been furious.

Posted by: guest at November 2, 2007 9:02 PM

Right. Never build anything new in Brooklyn again. That's realistic.

If you buy a property next door to a school or a vacant lot, at some point some construction is going to happen. Face it.

Posted by: guest at November 3, 2007 2:23 PM

i would never buy near a school. kids are out of control these days with their i pods and their oral sex and their loud talking.

Posted by: guest at November 3, 2007 4:59 PM

I love the neighborhood, but when I walked by the (almost) finished addition, it made me very sad. Ugly. They could have done much better, in my opinion, with either a traditional look, or even with a not-so-ugly modern addition, if need be....This seems neither traditional nor modern, but an attempt at a mish-mash that is just plain ugly.

Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 1:10 PM

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