Modern Design: Brooklyn Plagued by Mediocrity
We had just read Nicolai Ouroussoff’s article yesterday raving about Jean Nouvel’s two new residential buildings in Manhattan (which we share his enthusiasm for) on the subway and were walking down Washington Street towards our office in Dumbo when we were confronted with this vision of the Beacon and J Condo. All we could think…
We had just read Nicolai Ouroussoff’s article yesterday raving about Jean Nouvel’s two new residential buildings in Manhattan (which we share his enthusiasm for) on the subway and were walking down Washington Street towards our office in Dumbo when we were confronted with this vision of the Beacon and J Condo. All we could think was, “How mediocre.” The following statement from the Ouroussoff piece certainly couldn’t have been written about either of the new Dumbo towers or much else that’s been built in Brooklyn during the current building boom: “Mr. Nouvel doesn’t reject this history; he tips his hat to it, showing us what can be accomplished through ingenious planning and calculated consideration of the setting.” Besides Richard Meier’s design for On Prospect Park, there’s very little recent architecture that would merit the attention of critics. (The fiberglass house on Vanderbilt Avenue is one exception. What are some others?) We understand that the economics probably aren’t as compelling for starchitect-designed developments, but that’s no excuse for the lackluster buildings that will define the skyline for decades to come. There are certainly plenty of un-famous architects out there who could do better than the status quo. The hurdle: A little imagination and appetite for risk on the part of developers.
Seductive Machines for City Living [NY Times]
NY is full of ugly buildings, Face it this town is not pretty most of the time.
Anon 10:48 – I was just in Mpls, and there is indeed lots of neat stuff there, particularly on the riverfront. But there is also plenty of cookiecutter stuff (also on the riverfront). There is also lots of relatively cheap land, which gives developers/architects the chance to play around, and there is very little old housing stock worth saving/emulating, which eliminates alot of the wistful “I was it was an 1880s brownstone” critique we see on this site. Also, it is in Minneapolis, which is a lovely city but is no Brooklyn. I’ll put up with some Fedders, thank you very much.
there’s that interesting building on the corner of hanson place and south portland… definitely not traditional
It’s smaller, and a complete reno ext and interior, but I’ve grown to love it: David Salle’s (the famous contemporary painter) property on the corner of S. Portland and Hanson Pl. It’s cool. And merits some attention of the arch critics in my mind. Also I like the cool, modern house’s ext. that was featured in the NY Times on Vanderbilt between Dekalb and Willoughby.
Mr. B is right, as usual. Above building is decidedly mediocre–would be right at home alongside the interstate in any Edge City, USA. And the fiberglass house on Vanderbilt is magnificent–fresh, original, different–that’s the kind of contemporary I would love to see more of. Anybody who thinks new buildings should attempt to look like the ornament-festooned wedding cakes of the 1800s is crazy–and unimaginative. Thanks to the professional architects who were kind enough to share their well-informed views here, too. By the way, for the record, it is a longstanding tradition among columnists to use the third person–in part, I think, a quaint throwback to Murrow, Parsons, Kupcinet, you name them, in part perhaps to represent to the viewpoint of themselves *and* their publishers, or staffs (e.g. “we, the people of Brownstoner, feel this way.”) Even though Brownstoner has a staff of one. Besides, who cares? You really want to spend your time copy editing somebody else’s blog?
very interesting thread although i think some people are missing out on a key point here. brooklyn, up until 20 years ago was not the minneapolis of today. brooklyn, in many areas probably looked a lot closer to the bronx in many of the areas we are talking about a lot of this in my opinion subpar building is being done.
for this reason, people have been anxious to see ANYTHING go in it’s place over an abandoned car lot or a burned out building.
take 15 central park west for instance and many of the places you have mentioned on bond street that are spectacular. these are going in as 2nd or 3rd generation buildings and are improving upon a neighborhood that was already there.
here in the south slope, bed sty, clinton hill…areas that are seeing some of this crap go up are in areas that having 4 walls and a roof are better in many circumstances than that which was before it.
give brooklyn a chance. in many ways it is young…it will grow into itself, and places like j condo will last for 20 years, then someone will tear it down and build something more in line with what people desire.
just my own personal take.
as a big fan of Meier, I don’t think his Brooklyn building is all that great. He has done much better work. Its true it might be better than a lot of crap going up but its not such a great looking building, no matter what people want it to be and want Brooklyn to be…
Can you imgaine the views from the higher floors? Magnificent!
The advantages of living in a lux hi-rise like these is that they take care of you, not vice-versa. 24/7 doorman, superintendent, laundry service.
A brownstone, which I have owned, is sheer bondage to ancient wood, plaster, stone, and pipes. To each their own.
Mr. Brownstoner and An Architect in Brooklyn are 100% right.
Does anybody travel anywhere in the country? Or do you just stay in NYC all the time? All anybody has to do, is visit any number of other cities (both big and small cities) around the country right now, and they’ll see the evidence that supports what these guys are saying. Other cities are doing a far better job building both the significant, big-name architects’ buildings AND talented local architects’ buildings. As well as a better job renovating old historic downtown buildings, with an innovative vision. For just one example, Minneapolis totally blows Brooklyn out of the water right now. And beats Manhattan too, if we’re looking at recent buildings.