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December 5, 2007
BAM Cultural District: Full-Speed Ahead
The psychology surrounding the future of the BAM Cultural District seems to have turned positive again on the heels of last month's appointment of Carlton Brown to develop the area's centerpiece, a $385 million mixed-income residential tower sitting atop 40,000-quare-foot dance center. (The Times describes the tower as being composed of "five cantilevered blocks of apartments ranging in height from 6 to 14 floors.") The vibe was distinctly more downbeat last Spring when plans were pulled for an Enrique Norten-designed library. The renewed momentum may have something to do with the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership's new leadership role in the area. (“The turning point has been the administration’s putting much more emphasis on development of downtown Brooklyn,” says BAM's Harvey Lichtenstein.) Other reasons for optimism: The Hugh Hardy-designed Theatre for a New Audience at Lafayette and Ashland that's expected to break ground in Q1 and the 30,000-square-foot public plaza that's currently being planned for the immediate area.
Stalled Brooklyn Arts District Regains Momentum [NY Times]
BAM Cultural District: Alive If Not Exactly Kicking [Brownstoner]
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Comments
Imaginative design for a change. Build it.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 9:19 AM
They had better be careful! Cantilevered block massed buildings can quickly look like NYC of the 70's...it may loook okay in an artist rendering or computer generated image set into a photo of the surroundings, but built, it won't have that wide angle, big open blue sky/sunny day aspect. It may end up a huge, hulking mass towering over the streets.
And a "plaza" sounds like a formula for a trafficked area of paving with some set in trees basically there for crowd-handling for the facility...which allows the developer to shove more floors onto the building...
The design is frankly boring. Why not, for example do something with that gray wall behind the glass cube? What about a wall of water? Might help the plaza in summer...I.M. Pei did a great job with the water feature on the National Gallery in D.C. 'Course, that was expensive. NYC development rarely includes any thought of including water...
Sad...
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 9:21 AM
that's a lovely rendering of Flatbush Ave!
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 9:33 AM
Wow, I like the tower. Too bad that level of design couldn't penetrate to the black box on the (pedestrian friendly?) plaza.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 9:35 AM
To reader 9:33...that's not Flatbush Ave, its Fulton Street.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 9:52 AM
OOPS....I mean, it's Lafayette!
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 9:53 AM
Right the first time -- Fulton.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 10:12 AM
Fugly
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 10:21 AM
A dog's breakfast, at best. This looks bad in rendering and will be horrendous in person. "Modern" doesn't have to be ugly. Architecture should always value beauty over everything else. Over time the classic building in the background will continue to look far better than this new crap.
Posted by: LM at December 5, 2007 11:00 AM
What a horrible looking building! This building is cheap looking and low class. Brooklyn and BAM deserves better.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 11:17 AM
The site on the left along Fulton up from this project appears, in this drawing, to be another plaza (all concrete with some street trees). This is currently a parking lot (with chain link fencing).
What's going to happen to that lot? Is it going to be another tall building? Is it going to be a paved plaza? Will the parking space still be needed?
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 11:27 AM
I love this building. I hope it goes up at lightning speed. Beautiful addition to the neighborhood. What were people expecting? Some brownstones maybe?
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 11:49 AM
11:27: The foreground lot on the left is owned by Ratner. A large residential development is in the works. Perhaps it will contain a small plaza, but you can bet that it won't be all plaza.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 11:50 AM
Oh crap, here comes more "ART".
Just what we need, a little more pretentiousness, fake British accents, and condescending obnoxiousness.
I'm moving to an art-free zone, like Besonhurst.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 12:12 PM
Does BAM stand for Building Architectural Messes?
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 12:16 PM
All new buildings suck. Landmark everything. I love vacant lots. Buck Fush. Free Mumia.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 12:35 PM
Yeah! WIND TUNNEL! I love it! It'll be just like the Yupper Westside's wind tunnels in that forest of apartment houses along with the Slime Warner Towers.
The wind chill in winter is astounding there sometimes!
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 12:44 PM
Huzzah! Now Brooklyn can look like Sao Paolo Circa 1970!
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 12:50 PM
Brooklyn wishes it could look like Sao Paolo on a bad day.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 1:01 PM
Those models in the rendering are about 10-15 years premature.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 3:27 PM
Looks like a Decepticon took a dump on Flatbush.
What a disgrace of a design, and GUARANTEED to look far worse built. Want to build up? Fine. Forte is not a bad looking building. This is pure shite.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 3:57 PM
12:12 - there are tons of artists moving to bensonhurst. You're better off just not leaving your own art-free home...ever.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 3:59 PM
Art is the last refuge of scoundrels.
It is a cover of respectability for moochers.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 4:13 PM
Just go where the money is. Money, money, money!!!
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 5:06 PM
Bensonhurst? Not in a million years. White trailer trash capital of Brooklyn.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 7:51 PM
What does this building have to do with art or culture. It looks like any non-descript, non-neighborhood enhnacing building you might see on 2nd avenue in Manhattan.
Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 11:29 PM
best.building.ever.
Posted by: guest at December 6, 2007 12:13 AM
The lack of symetry makes this a POS that looks like some kid with Leggo's put it together. It needs a new skin.
Posted by: guest at December 6, 2007 8:54 AM
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