Friday Blogwrap

Ya know, this building is freakin' cheap and ugly, but I kinda like the glowing box on the top.

Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 7:09 PM

But the glowing box looks like crud during the day. Looks ridiculous to have that cemented cube with different colored surfaces (i.e. cheap and looking wrecked without being wrecked) sitting up on top of a wedge shaped building. Ugh.

Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 7:13 PM

They must have run out of a water tank so they built a sarcophagus for h20 reservoir. Cheap looking bldg piece of cardboard, but the luminescent blue is cool like a James Turrell.

Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 7:22 PM

I was able to pick out this glowing box from Top of the Rock the other day. It's a nice addition to the skyline. It is horrid during the day. Though I think the rest of the building is reasonably attractive, by new-building standards. It's much better than Luxe+Pop, Metrotech, and Oro, in my opinion. Oro looks like it belongs in Houston's skyline in the late '80s.

Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 9:58 PM

Both Forte and Oro look like they belong in Houston's skyline during the 80s, which is to say, the way Houston's skyline looks now. There's a town that makes Detroit look attractive.

Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 1:27 AM

1:27 Hence the Spanish Oro. Gold St. What's the next name to use Verde? Guess it looks better than the Oro though it actually looks like a pile of spinach pies from Damascus bakery.

Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 1:46 AM

Why is it Brooklyn gets so many shitty high rise condo developments? It's not fair.

Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 8:05 AM

It's not a brooklyn problem. Ugly condos are everywhere. Look at the upper east side:
http://curbed.com/archives/2007/03/22/development_du_jour_the_lucida.php

http://www.nycondoblog.com/?cat=17

The first is an office building, the second is just glorified projects.

And I think the per sq ft price is around $1,400. So to anyone out there bitching about the condo prices in Brooklyn, this should put things in perspective.

I'm actually really really impressed with the Forte design, for reasonably priced apartments. Compared to other brooklyn condos (see all of williamsburg, esp around McCarren Park) this is downright glamorous.

Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 9:10 AM

Forte could be a lot worse.

I agree with you, 9:10.

I think a new highrise in general adds to the skyline of downtown Brooklyn. It's nice. We've certainly got more than our fair share of beautiful buildings here in Brooklyn to offset a few mediocre ones.

Be grateful to live in such terrific city.

Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 6:36 PM

Here's another glowing-box-on-top building, the Target headquarters in Minneapolis:

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=207260

"The upper floors contain a unique lighting display of 130 thirty-foot glass pipes that can be illuminated in any color in any pattern. Light from 575-watt bulbs is shot through each tube and mixed by three color wheels representing the primary colors, and then distributed throughout the pipe by a unique film lining. The technology was developed by the locally-based 3M Corporation."

Posted by: guest at December 23, 2007 12:09 AM

I used to live in Jersey City (another dumpy city with a lot of ugly new buildings) and a number of the office buildings have strange lights on top that change color and one has a light that runs diagonally from top to bottom. It is really tacky, but this is Jersey after all. It is sad to see this kind of thing in Brooklyn which has wonderful older architecture.

Posted by: guest at December 23, 2007 4:20 PM

Actually, Jersey City has plenty of historic architecture from the same era as Brooklyn. Obviously that last post was from some moron who must have lived near the Mall. Brooklyn has a storied history of being a bigger dump than jersey city in many ways. And I should know, I'm from here. But all you sucka's think you're moving to paradise don't even have a grasp on the pollution that makes our city so desperate for any new construction to make us forget about the past. Corcoran has you and your childs lead level's fooled by the thousands.

Posted by: guest at December 23, 2007 7:08 PM

Jersey City has $3 million brownstones--check this one out:

http://tinyurl.com/2dxl3m

Posted by: guest at December 23, 2007 9:38 PM

You guys are jealous becuase we have high lucrative buildings in Ft Greene. If peeps want to live there, why not. maybe they made lots of money in Wall St. My buddy makes lots of money as a lawyer. I like it, it's classy, modern, great vues. Big deal, brownstones are too old. He advised me to buy a Forte apartment, the broker said flip it to make more $$$.

Posted by: guest at December 23, 2007 9:58 PM

the forte looks just fine. Why all the hate? What buildings do you guys like anyway? Non-stop idiotic criticism of buildings that are far from ugly. You guys really need to find some joy in life, LOL

Posted by: guest at December 24, 2007 10:10 AM

I am a pompous ass!

Posted by: guest at December 24, 2007 12:38 PM

All new buildings suck. Landmark everything. I love vacant lots. Buck Fush. Free Mumia.

Posted by: guest at December 24, 2007 4:58 PM

tilsit havarti anyone?

Posted by: guest at December 24, 2007 7:23 PM

We own a house in Brooklyn and love Brooklyn, but strictly with an eye on investment, I believe Jersey City is a good place to strongly considering buying in. If JC weren't already higher priced than we could afford for a house, that's where I'd put my money next. The huge corporate office buildings being built there mean great amenities coming, because they will have to service and feed those who work in those buildings as they can't hop over to the next neighborhood to eat, like offices in parts of Manhattan can do. It also has an interesting vibe and aesthetic, JC does. Part industrial warehouses, part townhouses, and part skyscrapers now too. All this is IMO of course, and I'm just sharing that opinion.

Posted by: guest at December 25, 2007 11:41 AM

Forte is fine, The city needs more rentals, so I welcome it.

Posted by: guest at December 26, 2007 6:17 PM