Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 23rd, 2013
An article in today’s New York Times laments the tone of much of the new buildings being constructed around the City that in many ways are reminiscent of Dubai. While change is inevitable, and evolution certain, retaining the 100% character of certain neighborhoods may be arrogant……everything has to evolve, but how to do so with care and thought?
The writer bemoans the loss of certain ‘neighborhood fixtures’ due to rising rents. I am not sure how you prevent rents from rising in our global economy, so the reality is what it is: change is going to happen and neighborhoods will evolve. I feel certain the Indians would be mortified if they could see Greenwich Village today, a charming neighborhood for sure, but one that was once bucolic farmland. So how could one prevent the architectural vulgarities that are built on a daily basis around the city? The Historical Landmarks Commission does a superb job maintaining buildings of architectural merit (although there are some cases where they are preserving buildings that are esthetically hideous which I believe to be counter-productive). But we cannot live entirely in the past. Societies evolve and grow and their needs from their city change.
I propose an ARCHITECTURAL STYLE COUNCIL: This may sound like an impossibility, and then who are a group of individuals to judge what is good or bad taste? Maybe their mission could be to prevent the building of hideous buildings, and possibly to guide or suggest modifications to inadequate design to enhance the general appearance of new buildings. Often hideous buildings are a result of profit-crazed developers who simply believe cheap and tacky is more profitable. They are wrong: we are seeing many examples today of how good design reaps great additional profits. The challenge with the need for affordable housing is that building beautifully is not necessarily affordable, but we have seen enough examples of inexpensive architecture to know that this arena too can produce esthetically pleasing results.
I meet with many developers and the one word I use often is to build BEAUTIFUL….human beings are remarkably attracted to something beautiful. We need to re-install more soul into a soul-less planet. Its also important to identify what is a true New York experience so what happens on the street-scape is equally important. This can evolve and be re-defined over time. It is however a reality that a balance between pretty and profit is maintained otherwise nothing will happen. Or worse, what happens won’t survive.
New York’s moment for an ARCHITECTURAL STYLE COUNCIL has arrived: the DOB should not be the sole decider as to what should or should not get built in this city. A very attractive New York is good for everyone, especially the economy.