Allow me to add to the jeers for the Rogers mess. Very disappointing indeed. The blue and orange (?!?!?!?!??) rectangles make my head spin. and the placement of the greenery is about as haphazard as I've seen for *any* skyscraper design element. This is true *especially* at the base, which by itself is IMO *completely* uninviting, *especially especially* with that massive cantilevering/overhanging. It just gives me a certain uneasiness....that's all I can and will say.
Koolhaas's design is an *extremely* pleasant surprise for me; and I'd *really* like to see it used for another project somewhere in this City. The remarkable subtlety in the twisting form is a nice touch; and the top-down view *thankfully* doesn't reveal yet another aesthetically tweaked box.
Hadid's *beauty* IMO fits like a glove for the West Side or even downtown BKN...maybe more so the former because of the ostensibly sheer scope of the base. For the area originally proposed, though, it unfortunately didn't fit the streetwall. The lobby renders are straight out of a beautiful dream. From what I could see, my only wish is that it could have been something more than a typical boxish frame...hopefully if this design *is* revisited for another location, a bit more examination into that will occur. Something cylindrical, oval or even a morphing combination of square to cylinder would have been interesting. But the swooping cascade to street level *really* gets me...and in a good way, indeed.
In the end, I too am glad that Lord Foster's entry won. Unlike the Rogers entry, the sky greenery is more appropriately subdued and creates an elegant touch. From the latest renderings I had no clue that the solar fins were going to make it as tall as it most likely will turn out. My only concern is my uncertainty of the materials to be used, not only for the bracings at the setbacks, but *particularly* for the facade along the south side, i.e. where the fins extend out from the main structure.
I'm guessing a final height of 687' + at least 100' for the fins = definitely over 800 (!).
Last edited by JayPro; Oct 19, 2012 at 4:09 AM.
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