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  #421  
Old Posted Sep 28, 2010, 8:34 PM
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I seem to be the only one who has a problem with this building.
     
     
  #422  
Old Posted Sep 28, 2010, 9:05 PM
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^Not the only one, just in the minority.

There some things to like and some things to criticize, but overall I think it works for me just because it is "different" (i.e. not another blue glass building).
     
     
  #423  
Old Posted Sep 29, 2010, 1:47 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Obey View Post
I seem to be the only one who has a problem with this building.
Trust me you aren't.
     
     
  #424  
Old Posted Sep 29, 2010, 1:48 AM
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I mean, it's a decent building. What's your problem with it, and maybe we can help out. I don't like that it has a plaza behind it instead of a street wall in a neighborhood that is an odd combination of blank lots and strip clubs.
     
     
  #425  
Old Posted Sep 29, 2010, 2:45 AM
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What I like about it is that its a 600 foot building. But when I look at it, "cheap" is the first word that comes to mind. First are the random, inconsistent window placements. At the base, the segregated windows are more reminiscent of the Holiday Inn Express at Madison Square Garden than the solid modernist titans of downtown. However, uncontent with general blandness, the rest of the building has to vary, patches of windows here, clusters there, a single row here, and nothing over there. If the building was trying to be deconstructionist it would at least have an viable philosophy behind it, but it clearly doesn't. Two sides have arbitrary glass boxes of blue, not even addressing the presence or absence of concrete behind it. Add in random windows for elevator banks and stairwells, and corners complete the total lack of thoughtfulness.

I guess you could admire the cold practicality of only putting windows where needed, but clearly this building suffers from a lack of holistic vision. It would be better simply clad in blue glass (then it would be a direct relation to Trump World Tower). To its detriment, these problems are only worsened by the garishly contrasting white spandrel which dominates too much of the building and the childish black tic-tac-toe grid to cover the joints. If you are going to block the gorgeous views, at least do it for a reason, and with something more tasteful. Top it off with careless venting, an inelegant joke of a crown, and a dull, oppressive base that bears no relation to the rest of the building, and you have a building that I feel is utterly cheap, bland, forgetful, and at worst a frighting detraction from the general quality of downtown skyscrapers.
     
     
  #426  
Old Posted Sep 29, 2010, 10:05 PM
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^^^ My thoughts exactly. Sorry if I did not make myself clear. "Cheap" is what you would describe this building.
     
     
  #427  
Old Posted Oct 4, 2010, 9:06 PM
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^ You may call it cheap. I call it a soaring addition to a city of soaring skyscrapers. It's no fancy Beekman Tower, but it does its job.


OCTOBER 3, 2010










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  #428  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2010, 1:51 PM
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  #429  
Old Posted Oct 13, 2010, 1:34 AM
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I don't know why this was installed here, these are usually installed around new construction sites....

Alliance for Downtown New York

Quote:
‘Hours of the Day’ Installed at the W Hotel New York - Downtown

The Alliance for Downtown New York today announced the installation of “Hours of the Day,” the third of three pieces created by artist Richard Pasquarelli for the organization’s Re:Construction public-art program. The project is being installed at the piazza of the W Hotel New York – Downtown, located at 123 Washington Street at Albany Street.













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  #430  
Old Posted Oct 19, 2010, 1:21 AM
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...751717102.html

Downtown, The New Kid Stands Out .



By ANTHONY KLAN
October 18, 2010

Quote:
The gleaming, ultra-modern W New York Downtown Hotel & Residences is anything but deferential to the historical grey-stone architecture of Manhattan's financial district over which it towers.

But as one of the last projects of late modernist architect Charles Gwathmey—whose devotion to high modernism was rivaled only by the controversy his works sometimes had the power of evoking—the juxtaposition seems almost fitting.

The historic vista looking northwest up narrow Wall Street is now imposed with the flashy tower flanking the left shoulder of the gothic Trinity Church—the new 623-foot-tall structure looking every bit the new kid on the block, with deep pockets but a pinch of insecurity.

But Robert Siegel of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects—who co-designed the tower—says the plan was to make it "striking" and a "counterpoint" to other buildings.

"We were trying to make a building that was going to be iconic and special from the perspective of the New York skyline and the context of the city," says Mr. Siegel. "To see it over the church, I think that is very positive because it is helping this building stand out—it's something that people see and recognize and that is a good thing."

Partly known for designing homes for celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld and Steven Spielberg, Mr. Gwathmey, who died last year at the age of 71, was one of the so-called New York Five architects who caused a dust-up in the late 1960s and early 1970s for their support of pure modernism.

His 1992 design of the renovation and expansion of the Guggenheim Museum was controversial, although many critics felt that the final product was a huge improvement over the plan that was first proposed. Mr. Gwathmey also got mixed reviews for his curvy, green-glass condominium at Astor Place in the East Village finished in 2005.

Other more recent projects by Gwathmey Siegel, which employs 25 architects, include the 22-story United States Mission to the United Nations; the Setai Fifth Avenue, which is opening next month; and a multistory residential project, Soho Mews.
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  #431  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2010, 6:57 AM
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I think it's time for a wrap up...

VinSchiano2009

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  #432  
Old Posted Dec 11, 2010, 6:03 AM
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If this tower were any more done, it'd be under construction again. The restaurant downstairs is open and has been reviewed, and you can stay at the hotel. Can we move this thread? Thanks!
     
     
  #433  
Old Posted Dec 11, 2010, 8:09 AM
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Lets move this now, and I've never liked this tower. I have a hunch it won't age very gracefully
     
     
  #434  
Old Posted Dec 24, 2010, 6:35 PM
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From Wednesday 12/22 I actually really liked this one in person







     
     
  #435  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2010, 6:01 PM
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This tower is surely more attention worthy, but its proximity to the WTC makes it rather under-rated.
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