(artist rendering: picture credit www.75smith.com)
Real Time pictures taken September 2007Call me a minimalist if you want, but in my book, less is always more. Take the example of The Smith, Leviev/ Boymelgreen's box that is almost finished at the corner of Smith and Atlantic. As the building was getting its brick veneer, I was at first amused and then distressed about the many colors of brick used. The other day, I happened to walk by and counted the various shades.
*There is your "run of the mill brick" colored brick.
*There is the "Look!-I-Could-Be-Brownstone" dark brown brick.
*There is the lighter "Let's Totally Be Creative" slightly lighter brown brick
*And the pièce de résistance, the element that is supposed to tie everything together, but doesn't: the "limestone" color brick.
*There is your "run of the mill brick" colored brick.
*There is the "Look!-I-Could-Be-Brownstone" dark brown brick.
*There is the lighter "Let's Totally Be Creative" slightly lighter brown brick
*And the pièce de résistance, the element that is supposed to tie everything together, but doesn't: the "limestone" color brick.
Now, I am sure that all of this looked clever on paper, but in reality, all these different blocks of color give 75 Smith a real cheap look. Wouldn't the building have looked better in one color brick with some real interest over the windows? How about something like a cornice?
Am I being too critical? Well, probably! I am just so tired of those inelegant, thoughtless monstrosities going up.
Related Links:
Leviev Boymelgreen
75 Smith
0 comments:
Post a Comment