If you've been charged with remaking a building, it helps to slam it first to make your ultimate product seem that much more sensational. Architect Richard Rogers understood that yesterday, as he dubbed the Jacob Javits Convention Center a "mausoleum" at the unveiling of a master plan for the center's $1.7 billion expansion, which will double the size of the place, add more light, and create a six-block-long glass wall on 11th Ave. Though good funerary architecture does have its acolytes, we don't imagine he meant it as a compliment here.
And while we're on the topic, someone oughta tell the Daily News headline writers?"Javits may go from 'mausoleum' to $1.78 pride of West Side"?that $1.78 doesn't buy you a spin through the subway turnstile anymore, let alone the resurrection of a particularly unloved convention center.
· Seeking Lighter, Airier Look for Javits Convention Center [NYTimes]
· Revamped Javits Center Adds a Touch of Glass [NYPost]
· Javits may go from 'mausoleum' to $1.78 pride of West Side [NYDN]