Architect Neil Denari's HL23 was long overdue for a New York Times architecture review. Heck, even the L.A. Times and Kanye West have weighed in on the metal and glass contraption now in bloom over the High Line on 23rd Street. And now, HL23 has one. Nicolai Ouroussoff's review of the long-in-the-making boutique condominium?Denari's first freestanding building?has just gone live. No shocker here, Nic the Slick is a big fan. But what he sees goes beyond floor-to-ceiling windows and impressive views. To Ouroussoff, the building is the architectural equivalent of that chest-thumping Chrysler commercial that hearkens back to proud days of old. It's a revved-up American-made sex machine! Here are just the car references we felt like cutting and pasting:
1) "Encased in a contoured glass-and-steel exterior, the building is as sleek and muscular as an Italian sports car."
2) "Seen from the High Line, the folded steel surface of its eastern side — whose panels were manufactured in Argentina on presses used to make body parts for Mercedes trucks — conjures a hood scoop on a car."
3) "The lower apartments overlook the High Line’s gardens through floor-to-ceiling windows that resemble enormous windshields."
4) "A seam in the building’s east facade creates a long vertical window with views north up the elevated park, which from this height looks like a highway."
5) "The allusions to a mobile culture suggest a version of the American dream straight out of the Eisenhower era."
6) "And even the building’s voyeuristic aspects can be read as a form of nostalgia: a Manhattan version of teenage lovers steaming up car windows parked on a cliff side overlooking the bright lights of the city below."
Want to join the make out club? There are currently three listings available, starting at $4.2 million, or roughly the cost of 144 Chevy Camaros.
· Nostalgia Wrapped In Steel [NYT]
· HL23 coverage [Curbed]
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