It's been about six months since we checked in with the aesthetic evolution of architect Renzo Piano's New York Times tower above Hell's Kitchen. Now that it's mostly in place, how does the glory of the glowing renderings compare to reality? Let's turn it over to message board WiredNewYork, where poster MidtownGuy offers this appraisal:
Looks NOTHING like the renderings. The diaphanous quality is totally absent. It really leaves me cold. The gray is dull and lifeless. Who cares about what it looks like at night if during the day it looks like a high-rise garage or jail. The rod placement is wrong. I don't like the proportion of the bands of "openings" either. From a distance, everything gets worse. What's to love?? The top, which may have been a redeeming feature, doesn't look promising either at this point. Doubtful that the trees will even be visible as in that rendering. This building is....un-gorgeous.
But such a non-diaphanous sort of un-gorgeous, no?
· New York Times Tower Discussion [Wired New York]