Skillman Ave: A Study in Contrasts
Cruising down Skillman Avenue this past weekend, we were struck by the extremes of these two houses. The house on the left at 173 Skillman is pretty cool, we think. (See, haters, we don’t diss everything new.) It’s a modernist play on the vernacular of vinyl siding so common in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. We’re dying…
Cruising down Skillman Avenue this past weekend, we were struck by the extremes of these two houses. The house on the left at 173 Skillman is pretty cool, we think. (See, haters, we don’t diss everything new.) It’s a modernist play on the vernacular of vinyl siding so common in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. We’re dying to know more about it. The house on the right at 179 Skillman is, well, we’re at a loss for words. Who can give their best architecture grad-student critique of this place? GMAP
I think the house on the right, the one aptly described as the “architectural equivalent of an Indonesian jitney,” must be old construction with new accretions. There are houses like that all over Brooklyn. I have a relative with a simple, but tasteful, ’20s row house in Marine Park.A few houses down from him there is a once similar house transformed into a castle with a crenulated turret.
For the one on the right, how about . . .
Post-Soviet Neo-Capitalist Expressionism
“The architectural equivalent of an Indonesian jitney.”
“Let’s take the worst examples of the most heinous architectural ornamentation of the past 200 years and put it all together, out of proportion, on one small facade!”
is the house on the right an old building with a new facade or is it new construction. bleech, these are worse than the poorly done bricology and fedders nightmare popping up all over.
gaudy is the word that comes to mind. Don’t like to bash other people’s home but this one takes the cake. The actual architecture of the house on the right is fine. I think it’s just the finishes that transforms it into a beast. The paint colors, doors, windows, fence/railing, all of the custom additions, none of them complement the original structure. Aesthetics from a different class and era, I guess. Can’t blame it all on culture either because I would imagine that great designs can be found within Eastern Europe and throughout the Meditteranean.
There are lots of frou-frou gates and doors and details being added to houses in Bay Ridge too. I think it’s just the aesthetic from other countries coming in, like 12:17 points out. It reflects their vision of prosperity.
That house is duplicated 5-6 times throughout Greenpoint. The original (and largest) is down the street from me on Leonard between Nassau and Driggs. The polish ladies who build them really think they’re beautifying the neighborhood. Yuck.
yay! i wish both of these houses were on my block.