The re-opened PATH station at WTC demonstrates again that the
best architecture in NYC if not the globe is done by unknown engineers,
some working in public public agencies, out of the limelight of stardom
and real estate vam-empires.
For free you can descend four stories to gaze at the WTC pitworkers
lazily toiling among remnants of the complex, admire or be repulsed
by the cosmetized slurry wall and see more interesting structures than
has been promised by the highly publicized candymakers from Muchamp's
band of brothers to Silvestein's corporate templists to Calatrava's
bloated conceit. Why so much yearning to replace the world's best
accidental architecture with the most over-wrought? (Calatrava like
Nervi has done downhill after getting praised for designing "great
architecture." Maillart never suffered that loss of vision, blinded
by acclaim.)
For $1.50 you can ride the PATH out of the station and see the pit up-
close leaving Manhattan and returning after a short walk underground
New Jersey for the inbound light rail. This is an architectural wonder
not to be missed, and the panorama shows, until hidden by masterpiece
theater of wrongheadedness, what can be accomplished by accident
and temporary design well beyond overly burnished crowd pleasers
by world class designers.
Too bad that this exemplary public architectue -- a mix of PA internal
design, Parsons Brinckerhoff transportation designers, cobbled residue
of WTC structures and new infill -- surrounded by giant evidence
of the awesome attack (fast being rouged and blanketed with simulacra
photos to avoid offending the gawkers) -- is not being hailed for its vivid
portrayal of the rise and fall and modest recovery of downtown
Manhattan. There is unlikely to be anything better to come of WTC than
this archeology of debris and commodious construction.
All around Manhattan you can see architectural dim-witted conceits
of magazine-level quality, aching for photographic valorization, imitating
the banal motifs of the day. You can admire the cowardice or be
repulsed by it. The way over-designed elevators shafts in the PATH
station are examples of where puny architectural fails in the midst
of robust non-architecture.
Award a Prtizer prize to the PATH station in the pit if that trite
celebrity of the over-publicized unimaginative would not destroy
the experience.
Too bad the unvarnished pit cannot be fully experienced due to
huge scrims installed at the edges of the station. Peek around the
edges to see the honest shards of god's will and human frailty.
A security guard warned that pictures cannot be taken of the
pit-iful tragedy, but were. Pictures are encouraged of the sappy
photo display along the site -- a protest of the 9/11 cover-up
was underway at PATH station street level. Nobody was
encouraging the throngs to descend to see the amazing
monument, free of repulsive memorialization.
--
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best architecture in NYC if not the globe is done by unknown engineers,
some working in public public agencies, out of the limelight of stardom
and real estate vam-empires.
For free you can descend four stories to gaze at the WTC pitworkers
lazily toiling among remnants of the complex, admire or be repulsed
by the cosmetized slurry wall and see more interesting structures than
has been promised by the highly publicized candymakers from Muchamp's
band of brothers to Silvestein's corporate templists to Calatrava's
bloated conceit. Why so much yearning to replace the world's best
accidental architecture with the most over-wrought? (Calatrava like
Nervi has done downhill after getting praised for designing "great
architecture." Maillart never suffered that loss of vision, blinded
by acclaim.)
For $1.50 you can ride the PATH out of the station and see the pit up-
close leaving Manhattan and returning after a short walk underground
New Jersey for the inbound light rail. This is an architectural wonder
not to be missed, and the panorama shows, until hidden by masterpiece
theater of wrongheadedness, what can be accomplished by accident
and temporary design well beyond overly burnished crowd pleasers
by world class designers.
Too bad that this exemplary public architectue -- a mix of PA internal
design, Parsons Brinckerhoff transportation designers, cobbled residue
of WTC structures and new infill -- surrounded by giant evidence
of the awesome attack (fast being rouged and blanketed with simulacra
photos to avoid offending the gawkers) -- is not being hailed for its vivid
portrayal of the rise and fall and modest recovery of downtown
Manhattan. There is unlikely to be anything better to come of WTC than
this archeology of debris and commodious construction.
All around Manhattan you can see architectural dim-witted conceits
of magazine-level quality, aching for photographic valorization, imitating
the banal motifs of the day. You can admire the cowardice or be
repulsed by it. The way over-designed elevators shafts in the PATH
station are examples of where puny architectural fails in the midst
of robust non-architecture.
Award a Prtizer prize to the PATH station in the pit if that trite
celebrity of the over-publicized unimaginative would not destroy
the experience.
Too bad the unvarnished pit cannot be fully experienced due to
huge scrims installed at the edges of the station. Peek around the
edges to see the honest shards of god's will and human frailty.
A security guard warned that pictures cannot be taken of the
pit-iful tragedy, but were. Pictures are encouraged of the sappy
photo display along the site -- a protest of the 9/11 cover-up
was underway at PATH station street level. Nobody was
encouraging the throngs to descend to see the amazing
monument, free of repulsive memorialization.
--
The Design-L list for art and architecture, since 1992...
To subscribe, send mailto:design-l-subscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
To signoff, send mailto:design-l-unsubscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Visit archives: http://lists.psu.edu/archives/design-l.html