The Japanese duo responsible for the gift-box-stacked New Museum in New York (right) have won architecture’s highest honor. (Story on their 2007 Henry exhibition here.)
The “Hell, yes!” sign (an artwork by Ugo Rondinone) does nothing for me. I’d like to see it on the Darth Vader of Seattle’s skyline, the Columbia Center tower, attempting its cheer. Now that’d be dark versus light.
I like how they don’t even bother showing the street level, because streets and people and the urban fabric are meaningless concepts for modern architects.
Amen, Fnarf.
Oh, honey. Maybe most starchitects aren’t paying attention to the sidewalks, but most architects – the regular ones, the ones that live in your community and work on small, personal projects for your business neighbors – do.
Ayn Rand’s mythological ego-driven architect exists in a tiny, tiny percentage of the actual profession – but they’re the ones getting all the press. Don’t be bitter about it – when it’s your turn to hire an architect, I guarantee you’ll have no problem finding one who cares very much about design that emphasizes a vibrant and connected street life.
I thought the Darth Vader Building at 4th and Blanchard was the Darth Vader of Seattle’s skyline?
4 — That’s his mini-me. Designed by the same guy too!
The street-level view could be better, but it could also be a lot worse.
At least it’s open glass rather than a blank wall. Still, looking at it the entrance doesn’t jump out at you, so it’s hardly an invitation to come in. And the first “box” would look better if it had windows similar to the surrounding buildings. Instead there’s a 20-foot high barrier wall suspended above the open glass.
The “Hell, Yes!” thing is horrible and adds nothing.
@3, yes, you’re right. I am referring to “starchitects”, the kind who compete for Pritzkers. I’m sorry if I insulted your small local firm. But it is the stars who fill up our skylines; your vibrant and connected street life types don’t get commissions for downtown blocks. Which is one reason our downtown is so dull and lifeless. The architects who built the vibrant precincts in this city — in ANY city — are the little local firms, whose names are sometimes unknown to us. But there’s no prize for them.
@6 this coming from a person with the ugliest avatar of all time…..
The building is such a contrast to the Bowery – when it first opened, the Hell Yes! sign felt like it was talking to the people on the sidewalk and registering their surprise. I think I normally might have hated that sign (it seems so… Shields & Yarnell? Hipster mime? Ironic juggler?) but it tied the street, the building, and people together nicely and seemed necessary.
@4 is right 4th and Blanchard building earned that epithet before the Columbia Tower was built.
I suppose you could call it Darth Vader Jr.
That Hell Yes does something for me. It does something bad. Who thought that would look anything but horrible there?
The point about the Pritzker not caring about the street interaction wasn’t that it’s a BAD street connection — just that in the Pritzker’s eyes it doesn’t matter; they don’t even see the street view. They only care about, and only see, the view from space.
What makes the street level not-horrible isn’t architecture at all; it’s the fact that it’s quite small. It only takes up maybe two standard NYC street fronts, not much more than the same as the old, comfortable building next door. This is how cities should be constructed, to increase the variety at the street level: tall and narrow. In Seattle, this project probably would have taken an entire block, three sides if not four.
Of course a knee-jerk Fnarf screed on STREET INTERACTION blah blah blah, like he does on any post about architecture or urban planning. Considering the actual number of “starchitect” buildlings in any given city, I hardly think they are a problem. And who “doesn’t bother showing the street level”? This is a Slog post, not the actual prize. There are tons of images of the building showing the street level. All it takes is a simple Google image search.
OH FNARF. Calm down.
It is actually quite a lovely building from the street (imhupo*) and the playfulness of the architecture works well within the strict, small framework of NYC zoning + land parceling, you’re right about that.
And blah blah starchitects blah blah, I know. What’s actually nice about the New Museum is that it doesn’t seem to be intended as some kind of iconographic “landmark” building. It’s a little plain and a little oddbeat, not overbearing and not without respect for its surroundings. Not everyplace can or should be designed to house a street-level café or some other token gesture toward urbanism.
Anyway, nice building, but I’ve never been very fond of bolting art to a facade and “HELL YES” is a pretty egregious example of that.
*In My Humble Urban Planner Opinion
I immediately loved the HELL, YES. It’s like slapping a big “have a nice day” sticker on something pristine. Or making a smiley face in wet cement.