Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
NY will never have many buildings like that China rendering because NY is really the only city on earth that primarily builds skyscrapers on an urban grid.
Even if you go somewhere ultra-urban like a Hong Kong, you will notice their tallest towers are built in a non-urban context (i.e. built in isolation to the larger streetscape). The zoning in NYC doesn't even allow for this type of development.
Or, take Shanghai Tower. The tower is fantastic, but the urban design is horrible. The zoning in NYC prioritizes, above all, the relationship of the building to the existing urban environment. This means, by definition, you will get mostly boxes superimposed on the grid.
And the primary driver of NYC supertall development is ultra-high residential demand for supertalls with views. This almost necessitates boxes, because you are trying to maximize living space as high as possible, and you want to maximize retail space at the base. And, in this residential context, a crown is functionally useless and usually cannot be illuminated.
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I'm sorry but that's probably the worst argument I've ever heard. All you have to do is browse through these threads and you'll see lots of cool "out of the box" designs (pun intended, too easy) ie 30 Hudson Yards, 111 West 57th, One57, and 56 Loenard. You can try to defend NYC's box designs, and I won't assume it's due to bias, but lets at least be realistic here. You can use NYC's street grid and have fantastic, original, and inspiring designs. There are plenty of examples to corroborate my statement.
I tend to dislike box designs, I'll be completely honest about that. I thoroughly dislike 432 Park Ave, even after watching it grow from its infancy, it has yet to grow on me. It has a very impressive width to height ratio, but that's all it has going for it. Same goes with the Twin Towers, rip.
In my opinion, boxy designs are a travesty to NYC's skyline. A city that became famous due to its set backs and spires deserves better. Call me a hater, but this redesign is disgusting. I loved the previous one, it wasn't original but it was definitely sexy.