after the considerable amount of bad press this week targeting allied works' museum of arts and design in nyc, i wonder if the clyfford still foundation is having second thoughts...but we'll get to that in a moment...
back in may, dr. no took us on a detailed journey of the turbulent history [and fateful future] of 2 columbus circle with this audio slideshow. and he gave us his verdict on the new museum yesterday in this article:
"...this is not the bold architectural statement that might have justified the destruction of an important piece of New York history. Poorly detailed and lacking in confidence, the project is a victory only for people who favor the safe and inoffensive...we’re left with an image of a New York that has been scrubbed of any real meaning..."
to add groin injury to intellectual insult, the fully realized scheme was altered in the final design phases to include a horizontal band of glass connecting the two wider vertical swaths at the top. when looked at from a certain perspective, the window pattern spells out [very clearly] the word "HI".
"HI" - the completed building
the intended design [not really supposed to be legos]
ahem--sorry for the introductory tangent...
now onto the REAL topic of this post [it's all related i promise].
DS + R have a snazzy new website with lots more projects to show since the last time we visited. and lo and behold, they included their competition scheme for denver's clyfford still museum. wait a minute...there never really ware any drawings required for the interview process as far as we know. hmm...this means they either already had a scheme ready because they work so blasted quick...
...or they decided to say: "FUCK IT! who cares that we didn't get the job. let's do a scheme anyway as if we had won."
now that is the romantic architectural fantasy had by all designers right? to be able to continue a project for your own amusement even if you didn't win the job.
here is the scheme they produced for clyfford and all his paintings:
we'll let that marinate for a while...
**update: architecture mnp has featured this post on the most recent entry for ninjas on the net
thanks for the shout!!
____________________________________
1 comment:
Re: 2 columbus circle
This project has been such a massacre of a building.
I am all for adaptive re-use, but this is a mess. They turned a very good example of 1960s (I think?) architecture built with marble - astounding as most was done with concrete - into a bland glass and steel box with terrible glazing.
Had the scheme been for something bold, I would have been all for its modification, but it turned something bold into something forgettable.
Post a Comment