Remember that trend in the 80’s when people started wearing underwear on the outside of their clothes? I think Madonna started it. Well, now they’re putting a building’s underwear on the outside.
The structural skeleton of 170 Amsterdam Avenue at 68th street is proudly displayed for all to see on the outside of the building. In recent days, construction workers have been putting in the windows, indicating that the building has topped out at 20 stories and the interior work is about to start. The building, owned by Equity Residential, is expected to have 235 apartments.
This building has caused a debate among readers before, some of whom consider it ghastly, while others see it as innovative. Denton, who sent us the photos above and below, says “it’s hard to love.”
Webot likes it.
thumbs up.
I like it. It’s a more Green design since it uses less building materials. It’s similar to the building on 57 and 8th.
Well, SIMILAR does NOT necessarily imply EQUAL TO.
That “building on 57 and 8th” is The Hearst Tower, designed by British “starchitect” Norman Foster. It is unique for several reasons:
1. It is cleverly set into the existing stone base of the original 1928 Hearst Tower, designed by the architect Joseph Urban (i.e. a true “Urban architect”);
2. and, as Wikipedia explains: ”
Hearst Tower is the first “green” high-rise office building completed in New York City, with a number of environmental considerations built into the plan.
The floor of the atrium is paved with heat conductive limestone. Polyethylene tubing is embedded under the floor and filled with circulating water for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter.
Rain collected on the roof is stored in a tank in the basement for use in the cooling system, to irrigate plants and for the water sculpture in the main lobby.
Overall, the building has been designed to use 26% less energy than the minimum requirements for the city of New York, and earned a gold designation from the United States Green Building Council’s LEED certification program, becoming New York City’s first LEED Gold skyscraper.
The atrium features escalators which run through a 3-story water sculpture titled Icefall, a wide waterfall built with thousands of glass panels, which cools and humidifies the lobby air.
The water element is complemented by a 70-foot-tall (21 m) fresco painting titled Riverlines by artist Richard Long”
In other words, that “Long” painting is really tall 🙂
Hopefully,the Amsterdam Ave. building will have some “green’ features…hopefully!
This is why they tell you not to use Wikipedia as a research tool. Of course the Hearst building is not the first highrise ‘green’ office building. What does that even mean? There are various LEED certifications and various buildings have different standards. The only LEED Platinum (the highest designation) office building that was built to that standard in NYC is One Bryant Park. The Hearst Tower was built to LEED Gold and has now earned LEED Platinum for certain features. Every building built in the last twenty years has many ‘green’ features and many existing buildings have ‘green’ retrofits that drastically reduce energy use. Of course one can argue about the LEED process, as some do. I do a lot of this for a living.
Re: “Denton, who sent us the photos above and below, says “it’s hard to love.”
If you think this building is hard-to-love, take a look at that disaster alongside, the new Lincoln Square Synagogue. THAT ugly monstrosity is EASY TO HATE! The almost-windowless grey concrete is reminiscent of a WWII bunker, and the wavy pale-yellow rows of oppositely-undulating semi-translucent glass inspire NAUSEA! That architect-from-hell certainly had taste…maybe in his mouth!
As for the “XX” Building…well, it certainly is different, especially now when most of its glass is still not in place and it has that orange netting all around.
Let’s give it a chance…once the glass is in and it doesn’t have that raw look, it might be an interesting subject for those of us who enjoy photographing architecture.
And, consider this. The building is wearing its EXOSKELETON (Not its underwear) on the outside. And which creatures also carry their skeletons on the outside? Well, LOBSTERS, for one (unfortunately, also COCKROACHES!)
So maybe it will be called The Lobster Building…or The Inside-Out Building…but hopefully not The Skeleton Building??
I like the synagogue too.
I think its an improvement over their former 1960s building up the block.
The problem for me is the scale. It is SO big compared to the buildings on either side (which look like tiny little huts in comparison), and it sits RIGHT on the sidewalk – not even slightly further back like the largest part of the Aire. It is actually menacing from the vantage point of the nail salon across the way. Just HUGE. I feel as though they could have made this much less obtrusive, even with the same design, if they had just scaled it a bit better. However, let’s see how it looks once all the junk/trucks/etc are removed from out front.
This is one of the things I love about NY. As someone once said to me, “it’s nice that New York will never be finished.” I love those blocks where buildings are totally out of scale with each other. This building is so much nicer than the “modern prison” look in the recent buildings on Broadway in the 70’s. At least this building has drama. And the fact that there are TWO synagogues (one modern, and one in an old Library)on one side, and then the Citibank on the other side, which was probably designed to actually BE a bank sometime in the 1940’s. I LOVE the juxtaposition. If you want things to all fit gracefully together, you should live in a suburban housing development or a Florida gated condo community. This is NY…always greater than the sum of it’s parts.
Harriet – Just because I’m pointing out there is an issue with scale, means I should go live in a suburban housing development or in Florida? What a ridiculous thing to say. I was simply making an observation about the aesthetics as compared to the neighboring building. Other than that, you don’t know a single thing about me, like the fact that I grew up here in the city and have no interest in leaving. You are a very judgmental person for someone that believes in juxtapositions when it comes to architecture. How about the “juxtaposition” of opinions? Not so much?
Sorry….I did not mean to insult. I’m always the “polite” one on this website. I guess I was too enthusiastic and energetic. Again, my apologies. I was just admiring the wonderful chaos I see around me daily in NY. I always love those midtown skyscrapers who couldn’t buy the old building with the restaurant on the ground floor so they have to build around the corner, and leave the 4 story building butting up against the 30 story. I like that sort of thing, but I certainly did not intend to insult anyone. My bad.
Got it – no worries, Harriet!
It is simply stunning, like one of them European type buildings.
X building is unspeakably ugly as is the Aire and new synagogue – an evil corporate look in a residential neighborhood. The block feels like the neighborhood version of the Death Star…
BTW the reflection/glare from the glass Aire is quite destructive on many levels….
lisa, you are okay with the blandness (at best) of lincoln towers , tower 67 , the Dorchester, and others….but think the new ones are ugly?
come on, the new X building ( lets call it that…cool) and synagogue are trying to be real architecture. I like them. they could be better ,but sure beats bland boxes.
More! More! More! I like it!
If you listen closely you can hear people in North Dakota laughing.
Sorry but this building is hideous. Yes, the surrounding blocks have no shortage of ugly towers, but this is just a different kind of ugly.
A thing can be innovative and ghastly at the same time and this “building” may qualify. In my opinion it is another example of an arrogant architect using a BAD student project as a design.
Will we have access to the gym?
Uglier than the Mets.
I like the creative look ….better than another total glass monster like Aire and it’s not just another boring brick
& window square block soaring high. Give it a chance to take its spot next to the unattractive new lincoln square synagogue..And what an improvement over the broken down 2 story vacant building! I think it enhances the block. Better like it cause it’s there to stay!
As evidence by the current renovation and distruction to be found in every corner of our fair city, nothing is “here to stay.” With that said, this structure exhibits neither style nor character. It is, as our English friends are wont to say, “plug ugly.”
But, our love is here to stay.
Whether you like them or hate them, the fact is, they are there. We are past the planing stages and for better or worse these and soon to be constructed buildings are forever changing our neighborhood. Being a Lincoln Towers (talk about architecture)resident since 1987 I have seen many changes. I still lament the demise of Peking Duck on 69th and Amsterdam. In my humble opinion it’s all about property values and there is no question that this area and the UWS in general have skyrocketed in the last 27 years. While I am not necessarily a lover of the XXX building, it is there along with the new synagogue and the Aire. Maybe we’ll even finally get a Dunkin’ Donuts in the stores. Our neighborhood has a very strong voice and that voice was exhibited when plans to build a 40 story tower over PS 199. All we need to do is keep vigilant and we will have a say in the shape of things to come. Case in point is the space where the old Lincoln Square Synagogue sits. At last known info there is a 55 story tower planned for that site. As someone mentioned the 20 stories of the XXX building is out of proportion, what do you think 55 stories will do? It is my understanding that funding for that project has dried up but that is only temporary. The UWS is a great place to live and say what you wish, it’s not boring.