Ultra tall skyscraper with sweeping views of Central Park and the New York City skyline, designed by Mark Foster Gage Architects is coming to West 57th Street in New Your City!!!
O.K. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s turn down the level of excitement couple of notches. So far it’s only theoretical architectural study created as a response to all those new supertall skyscrapers in New York City, that are as Mark Foster Gage, founder of the firm responsible for the project said, “virtually free of architectural design”.
When Architect Goes Bananas
Life becomes much more enjoyable.
“I think that many of the super tall buildings being built in New York City are virtually free of architectural design – they are just tall boxes covered in selected glass curtain wall products. That is not design. Design is thinking of a great many things like how a building appears from different distances, or in this case, how to make each floor unique to the owner. How to make it more than just floor-space in the sky but also something beautiful and hopefully more meaningful to them and the city.”
Mark Foster Gage
If ever built, this would be a spectacular addition to the New York City skyline. Extremely decorative (1) and with proper lighting looking like a Steampunk sculpture (2) this building would be featured on postcards sold all over the world.
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You can love it, or you can hate it. Some people would pay a ton of money to live in there, some call it “A Nightmare on West 57th Street”. Some see it as an architectural masterpiece, some look at this as an architectural monstrosity. But no one who’s seen the project could just ignore it. Personally, I like it. The idea of sky lobby on the 64th floor with various retail spaces, two-story ballroom, and restaurant (hopefully with a cigar room) and huge balconies (3) really speaks to me. People say that the exterior of the building has been overdesigned. All those large ornaments, some functional and some just for the look (4) don’t have to be there. I don’t agree, as I understand, this design has been created to keep a proper balance in New York City skyscraper scenery, and I think that if built, would do an outstanding job keeping that balance.
The last thought
Simply speaking, if you take this building, drop it into a huge blender, then add a bunch of those other plain and boxy skyscrapers, then run the blender on high for few minutes, you’ll get smooth and balanced shake you can drink all day long, without getting sick.
