InterActiveCorp HQ - 555 West 18th Street @ West Street - by Frank Gehry

[tmg]

October 14, 2003

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK

Ship of Glass for Chelsea Waterfront

By HERBERT MUSCHAMP

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2003/10/14/arts/muschamp.1.650_487.jpg
Frank Gehry's design for InterActiveCorp's New York headquarters, to be built on the West Side Highway near the Chelsea Piers complex.

The proud city sails on. Frank Gehry has designed a New York headquarters for Barry Diller, the media and e-commerce mogul. The new building will be opposite the Chelsea Piers sports complex, on the West Side Highway between 18th and 19th Streets. It will also be on the East Side of Bicoastal City, the dual metropolis that has emerged from the symbiotic cultural competition between Los Angeles and New York. Buda, meet Pest.

Looking something like a tall ship in full sail, the nine-story glass building will house offices for Mr. Diller's InterActiveCorp, a group of Internet businesses with a focus on travel. They include Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Citysearch and Ticketmaster.

With typical Gehryesque frankness, the design appears to reflect New York's present preoccupation with ornamental building tops. If the top is what counts, why bother with the base and shaft? Just go for the crown! Seen in this way, the low-rise Diller building evokes the grand tradition of skyscraper design epitomized by the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and 70 Pine Street. It has all the romance of those towers, but at a more human scale, as befits the horizontal sweep of the riverfront location.

The articulation of the glass facades also breaks down the bulk. From the West Side Highway, the building appears to be composed of individual modules, stacked in two tiers. Each of the modules is formed by giving a five-story rectangular solid a one-quarter twist. The edges of the rectangles become curves.

Mr. Gehry has used a single example of this module once before, for an office building in Hanover, Germany. Here, he groups them together to fill the zoning envelope of allowable bulk. On the side facing the river, the elevation will resemble a row of five glass town houses, crowned with three stretch penthouses. The upper tier is set back from the lower, to allow open, rooftop terraces.

The facades are nearly plumb with conventional building lines, especially along the side streets, where the walls are again broken down into smaller envelopes. Undertaken by InterActiveCorp in partnership with the Georgetown Company development firm, the building, scheduled for completion by early 2006 and with 165,000 square feet, will eventually provide quarters for about 500 employees. There will be underground parking for 70 cars. Though Mr. Diller will retain offices in Los Angeles (in a building to be remodeled by Mr. Gehry), the new building, signifies a shift in his business interests from entertainment to tourism, which has itself emerged as a leading form of entertainment in the era of globalization.

Glass is the key feature in this design. Indeed, even more than Christian de Portzamparc's LVMH Tower on East 57th Street, the Gehry design could radically transform the use of glass in New York buildings. The design employs super-clear "white" glass, etched with a white pattern that helps reduce energy costs. Visually, the effect is somewhat ectoplasmic, as if to denote that more and more of us have two addresses now: one on the street, the other in cyberspace.

I have my own version of the "broken windows" theory of urban decline. It's called the "cheap glass" hypothesis. Both concepts deal with the power of small causes to produce big effects. The broken-windows theory, which got great play in the Giuliani administration, states that when smashed panes aren't quickly repaired, it signals neglect and decline. Neighborhoods become targets for burglars, who beget drug dealers, prostitutes, muggers, murderers.

The cheap-glass theory states that when so-called "value engineers" are hired to reduce building costs, mirror glass quickly follows. Mirror glass induces low self-esteem, depression, poor citizen morale, reduced productivity, strained personal relationships and ultimately broken windows of the soul. This is not the way to go.

New York has missed out on glass. People came to associate it exclusively with International Style office towers of the postwar decades. In response to a glut of that architecture on the market, architects and clients began to look nostalgically toward pre-war masonry buildings. The glut now is of brick and cast-stone buildings that appear entirely constructed of processed cheese.

Perhaps it was good to get away from glass for a while. A design like Mr. Gehry's gives the material some of the novelty it possessed early in the last century. Because of technological advances, glass should be seen as a luxury material, not as a cheap way to enclose space. Its use should be encouraged by government agencies with the power to grant financial incentives to developers.

After Richard Meier's two new residential towers on Perry Street, the Diller building will be the third great piece of glass architecture to arise on the West Side Highway. The project arouses visions of a strip of first-rate contemporary design stretching alongside the new promenades of Hudson River Park. Perhaps nothing can fully compensate for the loss of the great trans-Atlantic liners that sailed off in the early 1970's. But it helps immensely to see the architectural imagination at work in a design that captures the lure of faraway places.

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[tmg]

"Gehryesque frankness"

Get over yourself, Herb!

[JD]

Though he would loathe the comparsion, Muschamp's prose resembles the interior of an overblown Baroque church, filled top to bottom with ornament and curlicues. There's a message in there, but you have to look past a lot of frippery to find it.

The fellow should take a step back from from all the hyper-modern architecture he's constantly overpraising and seek in his writing to emulate Mies van der Rohe. Simple, clean lines go a long way.

[NoyokA]

Ha Ha Ha.

And it can't be all that great because Herb isnt euphoric. And Herb is always ecstatic over architectural stardom, just like a giddy school girl...

[NoyokA]

Oh; actually I just saw a picture of it. I love it...lol.
Munch...could'nt you have just wrote it looks like the top of TWC...lol.

[JMGarcia]

I can't wait to hear what the NIMBYs complaints about this one will be.

[JD]

Easy. NIMBY complaints can be summarized as follows:

1) The structure is far, far too large. The building's bulk will blot out out the sun and lead to chronic health problems for both humans and Hudson waterfowl;

2) The entire neighborhood of Chelsea should be declared a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO;

3) The several hundred new workers the building will house will dangerously overburden the city's transportation and sewer infrastructure;

4) Those same workers' craving for overpriced beverages will lead to rampant gentrification, destabilizing the neighborhood and leading to chaos that will ripple through all five boroughs;

5) The battered warehouses that would have to be razed were once visited by Edgar Allan Poe in 1845.

But one of these concerns would be enough to delay the project for months, if not years. All five...foggedaboutit.

[TLOZ Link5]

:lol:

Really funny, JD. You completely summed it up!

[Jasonik]

Mmmm....SASHIMI :P
http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/10/05/gehry/fish2.jpg

[dbhstockton]

Perfect location for a signature building. I like to see the waterfront developing as a showcase. Hurry before Trump-like development oozes south.

[Kris]

Mmmm....SASHIMI :P
http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/10/05/gehry/fish2.jpg
Indeed, it resembles a vertical display of thick slices of fish. Bravo.

Appetizing.

[JonY]

Mmmm, Gehry desiiiiiigned sashimi :shock:


Easy. NIMBY complaints can be summarized as follows:

4) Those same workers' craving for overpriced beverages will lead to rampant gentrification, destabilizing the neighborhood and leading to chaos that will ripple through all five boroughs
Comment on point 4. I thought NIMBYS were already the rampant gentrified lol.

Franky's architecture is not liked by everyone, but I like his work. However, the render of InterActiveCorp's New York HQ looks more conceptual than an actual planned structure. Needs a couple of obvious windows at least.

His monumental works are often likened to ships/liners (as the article states about IAC N.Y. HQ) eg. Bilbao Guggenheim (BTW It does have windows and skylights):

http://janhaag.com/osbg.jpg

[billyblancoNYC]

Could be nice. Love seeing the continued "glassification" of the West Side Highway. This will be one hell of a postcard someday.

[JonY]

___http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3036/379frankgehry1.jpg___http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3036/379frankghery2.jpg

The former showing vague window outlines (I just thought they were horizontal features) and the latter showing more obviously, the windows.

[billyblancoNYC]

http://www.iac.com/media/pdfs/IAC_HQ_release.pdf

IAC/INTERACTIVECORP HEADQUARTERS,
DESIGNED BY FRANK GEHRY, TO TAKE SHAPE
IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – October 14, 2003 – IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:
IACI) today announced that the Company’s new headquarters, designed by Frank Gehry,
will rise in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. The IAC Building will begin construction
by early 2004 and is expected to be fully completed by end of year, 2006. IAC is
developing the building in partnership with The Georgetown Company (TGC), a
privately-held diversified real estate company based in Manhattan.
Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp, said, “As our need for space
grew, we began to think it might be advantageous to create our own working
environment. While much about the future is always unknown, we’re confident that
InterActiveCorp is at its early growth in a business sector that is at its beginning…and
we’re at a stage where it’s sensible to put down roots in a buoyant and exuberantly
imaginative way. With more than 25,000 employees and 116 locations in 31 states and
20 countries, and operations spread out across Manhattan, we wanted one place where all
our activities could find common ground, tailored to the particular needs of a company
engaged in the cutting edges of Internet ecommerce life. Three things came together that
made the decision for us. The first was being able to work with Frank Gehry, the second
was finding a unique location, and the third was finding a trusted building partner in The
Georgetown Company.
After months of planning, we have a design for a new building we believe will not only
be great to work in, but will delight all who come within sight of it, in an area of the city
that is just beginning its reformation. As part of the building’s core concept there will be
a ground floor public space and a restaurant that will reflect and utilize all of the IAC
brands and be as interactive as we and Frank Gehry can conjure.
We are very committed to growing our corporate headquarters concurrently with the
growth of our many businesses, and we are pleased that New York City both affords us
the opportunity to build a unique and landscape-defining edifice, and benefits from the
investment IAC is making in developing a corporate presence in Chelsea.”
Eminent architect Frank Gehry said, “We're really excited to be working in New York
City with Barry Diller and The Georgetown Company to create the new global
headquarters of InterActiveCorp. The chance to create a culturally relevant corporate
presence in Chelsea is a great opportunity for all of us and we intend to do something
really special.”
About The Georgetown Company
The Georgetown Company (TCG), founded in 1978, is a privately-held, diversified real
estate company. As an owner/developer and development manager, Georgetown and its
principals have developed, own, and oversee in excess of 15,000,000 square feet of
office, residential, retail, and recreational properties. For more information, please visit
www.georgetownco.com.
About GehryPartners and Frank Gehry
Gehry Partners, LLP is a full service firm with broad international experience in museum,
theater, performance, academic, and commercial projects. Founded in 1962 and located
in Los Angeles, California, Gehry Partners currently has a staff consisting of over 125
people. Every project undertaken by Gehry Partners is designed personally and directly
by Frank Gehry. The staff of Gehry Partners includes a large number of senior
architects who have extensive experience in the technical development of building
systems and construction documents and who are highly qualified in the management of
complex construction projects. In addition, the firm relies on the use of CATIA, a highly
sophisticated 3-dimensional computer modeling program originally created for use by the
aerospace industry, to thoroughly document designs and to rationalize the bidding,
fabrication, and construction process.
Raised in Toronto, Canada, Frank Gehry moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1947.
Mr. Gehry received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern
California in 1954, and he studied City Planning at the Harvard University Graduate
School of Design. In subsequent years, Mr. Gehry has built an architectural career that
has spanned four decades and produced public and private buildings in America, Europe
and Asia. In an article published in The New York Times in November, 1989, noted
architecture critic Paul Goldberger wrote that Mr. Gehry’s “buildings are powerful essays
in primal geometric form and.. . materials, and from an aesthetic standpoint they are
among the most profound and brilliant works of architecture of our time.” Mr. Gehry
has received more than 100 awards from the American Institute of Architects to honor
outstanding architectural design.
About IAC/InterActiveCorp
IAC/InterActiveCorp (Nasdaq: IACI), formerly USA Interactive, consists of IAC Travel,
a division of the company that encompasses Expedia, Inc., which oversees Interval
International, TV Travel Shop, Hotels.com and Hotwire.com. IAC has entered into an
agreement to acquire Hotwire, which is expected to close during the fourth quarter of
2003, subject to customary regulatory approvals. The other operating businesses of IAC
are: HSN; Ticketmaster, which oversees Evite and ReserveAmerica; Match.com, which
oversees uDate.com; Entertainment Publications; Citysearch; Precision Response
Corporation; and LendingTree. The goal of IAC is to be the world's largest and most
profitable interactive commerce company by pursuing a multi-brand strategy.
Contacts:
IAC Corporate Communications
Deborah Roth, IAC Corporate Communications, 212/314.7254
Gehry Partners
Keith Mendenhall, 310/482.3000

[billyblancoNYC]

http://www.iac.com/media/pdfs/IAC_B..._FACT_SHEET.pdf

IAC BUILDING FACT SHEET
Location: East side of the West Side Highway, (11th Avenue) between West 18th and
West 19th Streets (across from Chelsea Piers).
Site area: 29,380 SF.
Number of Floors: 9 stories, with underground parking level and rooftop mechanical
penthouse level.
Building Height: 155 feet from sidewalk level.
Building Area: 146, 930 zoning square feet
Elevators: 4 passenger elevators.
Materials: The building will have a concrete structure with a sculpted glass façade. The
glass will be insulated and will have special coatings and patterned ceramic frits to
improve energy efficiency.
IAC/InterActiveCorp Headquarters Building
Located on 11th Avenue between West 18th Street and West 19th Street, the IAC Building
will encompass 165,000 square feet and consist of 9 floors. A façade of uniquely treated
sculptured glass will envelop the entire structure. As part of the building’s core concept
there will be a ground floor public space and a restaurant that will reflect and utilize all of
the IAC brands and be as interactive as the Company and Frank Gehry can conjure. The
building is expected to be completed by the end of 2006; IAC is developing the building
in partnership with The Georgetown Company (TGC), a privately-held diversified real
estate company based in Manhattan.

[billyblancoNYC]

http://www.iac.com/media/press.kit.html

[maxinmilan]

Gerhy is a great architect. He has changed the way to see at architecture in these recent years (see Bilbao and Praha). I think this is a very innovative scheme; Herbert is right when he stresses the fact that now the use of glass a part LVMH and I add Westin is very conservative. As Lever House changed it now it's the turn to try something different. I guess Renzo Piano NYTimesTower will have too some interesting things to say.

[NoyokA]

http://www.iac.com/media/nyny3986.jpg

http://www.iac.com/media/nyny0393.jpg

http://www.iac.com/media/nyny1122.jpg

http://www.iac.com/media/nyny0411.jpg

http://www.iac.com/media/nyny0358.jpg

[JonY]

Wow, via the web site for InterActiveCorp that billyblancoNYC posted,
the above renderings particularly nos. 1, 2 & 4 really now show the lightness of the building,
stressing particularly no.1!!

No.3 is a total 'write-off' and no.5 just looks like either
an upside-down cup-cake or muffin plonked down on the coffee table :)

If you haven't already done so, compare them to the renders on page 1 of this thread.

[TLOZ Link5]

A sailboat from north or south...a ziggurat from east or west. Wow.

[Liz L]

Hmm...I dunno...This certainly isn't as hideous as some of his other ideas, like his proposal for the NY Times tower.
It still looks odd, but it might dance with the light very nicely. The shape would also seem to allow for a lot of light and shadow. I still don't think I'd say it has a highly ornamented roof, though - sorry, Herb! :lol:

[JonY]

A sailboat from north or south...a ziggurat from east or west. Wow.
V. observant with the ziggurat analogy!

[Kris]

http://www.iac.com/media/nyny_montage.jpg

[Kris]

NEW YORK TIMES HEADQUARTERS (UNBUILT)
New York 2000–

http://guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/gehry/images/projects/projects_images/ny_times13_lg.jpg
Photo by Whit Preston, courtesy of Frank O. Gehry & Associates.

It is perhaps not unexpected that the skyscraper—a quintessential emblem of Modernist architecture—has not been a part of Gehry's realized works. In the summer of 2000, however, Gehry in association with David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill accepted an invitation to participate in a competition for the New York Times Headquarters; the other participants were Norman Foster, Cesar Pelli, and Renzo Piano. The requirements for a new forty-five-story building—with its site bound by Fortieth and Forty-first Streets on Eighth Avenue, across from the Port Authority Bus Terminal—included office space for the New York Times Company in its lower half and speculative space for commercial and retail tenants above and at its base.

In the highly congested real estate of midtown Manhattan, the Gehry/Childs design manages to contest the normative vocabulary of the high-rise and break out of the rigid straitjacket that constrains the neighboring buildings. Their glass tower is graced at the top by sculptural forms—based on an abstraction of the Times logo—that create a visual identity for the organization along the skyline. Halfway down the otherwise rectilinear form, the slender high-rise gently begins to twist and erupt in a cascade of molten forms. In this fashion, the design is simultaneously tailored to both the specific needs of the New York Times organization on the lower levels, and the neutral environment required for the speculative offices above.

http://guggenheim.org/exhibitions/past_exhibitions/gehry/index.html

[JonY]

Oh, as forumer Liz L has termed it, the crumpled 'Kleenex Tissue' scraper.

[Kris]

A compendium should be made of all the trivial nicknames given by the public to fine buildings in order to easily dismiss them.

[JonY]

Good idea Christian. But don't just sit there. Start one up :wink:

[Liz L]

Good idea, Christian, but, with all due respect, I have to say I DON"T think Gehry's hulk is "fine" or anything near it....

[Jasonik]

If I didn't know better, I'd say it (NY Times) looks like a gestural intimation of a collapsing tower. I don't think we as a culture have returned to the early Victorian notion of contrived romantic 'ruins.'

I am heartened to see Gehry return to a more 'regulated' architecture (IAC HQ). If he is to be a prolific builder we needn't have our cityscapes 'littered' with gestural sculpture masquerading as buildings. The novel position of opposition (to 'normal' building forms) has lost its luster.

Just as surrealism creates a new datum of reality, this distorted vocabulary is ultimately derivative and secondary. For me the goal of true high Architecture is one of primacy.

As Gehry's work relies less on contextual opposition and becomes more independently vital, his sucess in redefining the contemporary formal paradigm can be treated as sucessful. I welcome new forms, but a mature architecture does not rely on 'punk rock' antagonism, or 'pie in the sky' earnestness to suceed.

[billyblancoNYC]

So, are the bottom 5 sections the 9 story office area and the top 3 are the ornamental top?

[professionalx]

I hope that this building happens - Gehry has a lot of unbuilts in his portfolio. He also has a big habit of going WAY over budget (look at the American Centre in Paris - a building that put the client out of business) so I hope that Dilller is prepared to spend twice whatever is the announced budget.

The Gehry building I have just begun working in has an official cost of $54 million, original est $26 million, those of us involved believe actual expenditure around $62.

Gehry also in meetings makes clear that he believes in what must be called "form OVER function" - the smaller theatre at Bard has a near useless too-short fly tower because of his vision for the outside of the building. On the other hand, he has some great people working for him, who want to make buildings that really serve for the client - which sometimes make for odd conflicts in the design meetings.

[GR2NYsoon]

god thats gross, and they actually think its cool. wow

[matt3303]

Strange glass buildings seem to be the way of the future, which is good and bad. The 'ship of glass' would fit the area well, and the design will intergrate with the nearby buildings while standing out as a local landmark. (God, I sound like I'm marketing the office space, don't I?) Sadly the same cannot be said for other new glass structures (mainly highrises) like *cough* Swiss Re in London *cough*

[Liz L]

I agree with you about that Swiss Re tower, Matt3303 ...What that monstrosity reminds me of, I *ahem* don't care to post on a public forum! :roll:

[emmeka]

and may I ask what that is supposed to mean?

[Jasonik]

Phalliphobia

[Liz L]

OK,OK - it reminds me of a giant dildo :roll: thus carrying phallic symbolism to a bizzare new level...

[emmeka]

Right okay, I can understand that, but dildo comments aside it is actually quite a feat of engineering dontya think

[Liz L]

Good point, emmeka. I imagine that figuring out the stress factors involved in curved steel must be especially complicated, not to mention making all the pieces so that they fit together - now that must have really made things interesting at the ol' steel mill! :lol:

[Edward]

After Richard Meier's two new residential towers on Perry Street, the Diller building will be the third great piece of glass architecture to arise on the West Side Highway. The project arouses visions of a strip of first-rate contemporary design stretching alongside the new promenades of Hudson River Park. Perhaps nothing can fully compensate for the loss of the great trans-Atlantic liners that sailed off in the early 1970's. But it helps immensely to see the architectural imagination at work in a design that captures the lure of faraway places.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/gehry_chelsea_13mar04.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/default.htm)

[billyblancoNYC]

http://thevillager.com/villager_56/gerhyglasstowestorise.html

Gehry glass tower to rise in Chelsea

By Albert Amateau

Groundbreaking will begin next week on a nine-story tower with a sculpted glass facade, designed by the architect Frank Gehry on West St. in Chelsea for the new headquarters of IAC/InterActiveCorp.

The project between 18th and 19th Sts., across from the Chelsea Piers sports and entertainment complex, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006.

IAC/InterActiveCorp is the parent company of several Internet-based commercial enterprises including Expedia, Inc., Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Ticketmaster, Citysearch and LendingTree.

The company, headed by Barry Diller, has 116 locations in 31 states and 20 countries and has more than 25,000 employees. The Georgetown Company, a real estate developer and management firm based in Manhattan, is a development partner in the project.

The new IAC headquarters on the 29,380-sq.-ft. site on the east side of 11th Ave. will have underground ancillary parking for 70 cars and rise 155 ft. from the sidewalk level. The glass facade of the concrete structure will be insulated and have special coatings and patterned ceramic particles imbedded in it to improve energy efficiency.

The ground-floor public space will include a restaurant “that will reflect and utilize all of the IAC brands and be as interactive as the company and Frank Gehry can conjure,” according to a company statement.

“We are pleased that New York City both affords us the opportunity to build a unique and landscape-defining edifice, and benefits from the investment IAC is making in developing a corporate presence in Chelsea,” Diller said in a statement about the project.

Gehry, a Los Angeles-based architect, has won more than 100 awards from the American Institute of Architects. Among his buildings is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Gehry’s sculpted glass facade tower on 11th Ave. for IAC continues the trend that includes Richard Meier’s two recently completed glass residential towers at Perry at West Sts. and another to rise next to them on Charles St. On Greenwich St. between Spring and Canal Sts., glass facades distinguish an 11-story residential tower designed by Winka Dubbeldam and a 14-story residential tower designed by Gary Handel & Associates. In the works is an 11-story Philip Johnson-designed residential tower with a glass facade at 328 Spring St. at the corner of Washington St. planned by developer Nino Vendome.

[Edward]

I recently passed the site and the building you see on the picture above is demolished.

[krulltime]

Glad to hear that! I cant wait to see this beauty flower going up around so many dead flowers in the area. :P

[Edward]

The site of future New York Headquarters of InterActiveCorp (http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/default.htm). 26 June 2004.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/interactivecorp_gehry_hudson_26june04.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/default.htm)


http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/interactivecorp_gehry_chelsea_26june04.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/default.htm)

[ZippyTheChimp]

Excavation at the site, and some funny Manhattan Mini Storage ads.
http://www.pbase.com/image/31176900.jpg

I like this one on the flip side.
http://www.pbase.com/image/31177093.jpg

[Kris]

Glad to see this project advancing swiftly.

[krulltime]

So is it still an office building? It is kind of a strange place for office. To me this area is better for residence buindings. But whatever as long as it gets off the ground. It is such a cool new building that it is going to look good from the river cruise line... I think.

[billyblancoNYC]

So is it still an office building? It is kind of a strange place for office. To me this area is better for residence buindings. But whatever as long as it gets off the ground. It is such a cool new building that it is going to look good from the river cruise line... I think.

Still office. This is being built by the corporation, not a developer, so, unless they back out entirely, there is basically no chance for residential.

This is a "hip" office area, so a high-tech type of company certainly fits in, especially if they build something like this!

[ZippyTheChimp]

It's a perfect spot for IAC, a media company. The film and TV production company, Silver Screen Studios, is across the street at Chelsea Piers. The area from 11th to 10 Ave is almost all commercial, with small industry, galleries, and the High Line. Subways are a bit of a walk, but there's great shopping at the Chelsea Market (http://www.chelseamarket.com/), birthplace of the Oreo.

I can't wait to see how this will transform into reality.

[BrooklynRider]

This one is moving at a snail's pace - a severely handicapped snail's pace. Makes you wonder how unstable the ground is they are trying to build on.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Bad news: Nothing above ground.

Good news: Much construction activity.

I found out that this area was wetland just north of a Lenape village at what is now Gansevoort peninsula. The site is all mud, and there is a large "groundwater management" tanker truck on the street. They appear to be augering in foundation caissons, so this may take a whille.

*I aslso noticed that there is a test boring rig in the large lot to the south W17 - W18th. Anyone know what is going on there?

[kliq6]

this one will move quick durning steel however, not tall

[kliq6]

Anything new on this project

[Edward]

The site of future New York Headquarters of InterActiveCorp (http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/default.htm). 9 April 2005.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/gehry_expedia_diller.jpg (http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrapers/gehry_chelsea/default.htm)

[macreator]

The area is great for offices and a lot of awesome companies have moved their offices and studios down to Chelsea including the fabulous Chelsea Market complex where NY1 is based as well as The Food Network and Oxygen.

[kliq6]

Can anyone provide any pictures of this project on an ungoing basis, its very intersting to see if like Hearst it will actually wind up looking like its initial renderings

[krulltime]

I dont know... this building seems to take forever to get built and is not a highrise!!! Whats up witht the delays?

[mkeit]

The ground is very wet since it is so close to the shore. They are using a combination of wellpoints and deep wells. Also, the water that is removed has to be treated by a complex system rarely seen in Manhattan. It suggests that the site was contaminated.

[NoyokA]

This one's moving at a snail's pace, there's still nothing above ground.

[mkeit]

In addition, thre is equipment from Rusmar-a company that supplies foam technology to land fills and Superfund sites-this is not reassuring.

[BrooklynRider]

In addition, thre is equipment from Rusmar-a company that supplies foam technology to land fills and Superfund sites-this is not reassuring.

In some ways, it is reassuring. At least, they are dealing with it. It might impact construction timeline, but a contaminated site is being cleaned and developed.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Finally out of the basement. View from Chelsea Piers

http://img500.imageshack.us/img500/7826/interactive01c0et.th.jpg (http://img500.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive01c0et.jpg)

[lofter1]

Oh, yeah !!! :D :D :D

[macreator]

About damn time! :D

[antinimby]

A reminder of what it'll look like:

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2003/10/14/arts/muschamp.1.650_487.jpg

A landmark in the making?

[BPC]

You've got to be kidding me.

[antinimby]

You've got to be kidding me.Keep an open mind. Besides, I'm just happy it's not another brick box.

[BPC]

I am not demanding brick boxes (although some of those can be quite nice). Richard Meier's three West Street buildings, for example, are glassy modern constructions, but utterly elegant all the same. This looks like a clay mold.

[czsz]

I'm not exactly that enthusiastic either. The West Side Highway is starting to look a little too much like Miami Beach.

[krulltime]

Finally!!

It is been since October 14, 2003 that the first story anouncement for this project was posted on page 1. This one better look totally amazing when finished.

Now Gehry has plans close by this building for 2 new residential buildings.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Finally!!

It is been since October 14, 2003 that the first story anouncement for this project was posted on page 1.
Related

[michelle1]

A reminder of what it'll look like:

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2003/10/14/arts/muschamp.1.650_487.jpg

A landmark in the making?

cool

[ZippyTheChimp]

This looks like a clay mold.It's an unrefined model "photoshopped" onto a real scene. It only shows the form in context.

More distinct facade details on this model:
http://www.iac.com/media/nyny3986.jpg

[PHLguy]

I love it!


Where exactly is it located again?

[czsz]

That's a whole lot more interesting.

With all the development occurring along the W. Side Highway, it would be nice to have a light rail line running there, ala the Embarcadero in San Francisco. If it connected with the PATH at Christopher St. and the 7 at 42nd it would quickly become an integral part of the transit network.

[lofter1]

W. Side Highway ... light rail line running there, ala the Embarcadero in San Francisco. If it connected with the PATH at Christopher St. and the 7 at 42nd it would quickly become an integral part of the transit network.
Here here. It was a huge missed opportunity not to have included a light rail when the WSH was rebuilt.

Where exactly is it located again?
Opposite the Chelsea Piers on the WSH.

This building is going to be F***ing Awesome.

And something great to see from the Jersey side of the Hudson.

[NoyokA]

I keep thinking this building will be New York's Fred and Ginger Building, one of my all time fave's.

[BrooklynRider]

West Street @ W 18th / W 17th

[Alonzo-ny]

A reminder of what it'll look like:

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2003/10/14/arts/muschamp.1.650_487.jpg

A landmark in the making?

no

[kliq6]

Im just happy its rising, but since it was anounced Barry Diller has sold and spun off some of his Interactive corp. I wonder if they will need all the space. AS for whatthe outside facade will look like, ive been told if you go up to East 57th street between Madison and Fifth and look at the c Dior store and small office tower above it, thats what the facade of this building will look like

[aural iNK]

Is it this one? Looks nice.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/images/lvitton.jpg

[Fabrizio]

IMO this Ghery building works (at least from the rendering) because the sail-boat imagery is right for this sight, so close to the water. If anything, it´s spirit calls to mind the Sidney Opera house. The building looks delicate...subtle... not the usual Ghery train wreck.


(BTW: the Vuitton building up above shows workmanship that is up to the task. Just beautiful. And look how nicely it sits next to it´s old neighbor to the right.)

[Citytect]

The building looks delicate...subtle... not the usual Ghery train wreck.

Subtle. My thoughts exactly. This looks like it will be one of Gehry's best buildings. The form is dynamic and fluid but not as seemingly arbitrary as much of Gehry's other work.

[kliq6]

Im hearing gehry will be designing two resindential buildings that will be built right near this site. Good news is that since its only 9-stories and is not going to be built of steel, facade work could start by the spring

[NoyokA]

I wish they would space these Gehry and Meier buildings throughout the city.

[LeCom]

I think the building is already under construction. It's right across from Chelsea Piers, right?

[antinimby]

I wish they would space these Gehry and Meier buildings throughout the city.They are, so you've got your wish. Gehry at Beekman and Atlantic Yards while Meier will be doing the east side Con Ed site.



I think the building is already under construction. It's right across from Chelsea Piers, right?Yup. Go back to post # 63 to see the latest pic.

[Dagrecco82]

Don't know if this article has been posted before but 155ft is pretty tall...

Chelsea By Albert Amateau


http://www.thevillager.com/villager_56/frank.jpg


A rendering of the IAC project by Frank Gehry between 18th and 19th Sts.

Groundbreaking will begin next week on a nine-story tower with a sculpted glass facade, designed by the architect Frank Gehry on West St. in Chelsea for the new headquarters of IAC/InterActiveCorp.

The project between 18th and 19th Sts., across from the Chelsea Piers sports and entertainment complex, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006.

IAC/InterActiveCorp is the parent company of several Internet-based commercial enterprises including Expedia, Inc., Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Ticketmaster, Citysearch and LendingTree.

The company, headed by Barry Diller, has 116 locations in 31 states and 20 countries and has more than 25,000 employees. The Georgetown Company, a real estate developer and management firm based in Manhattan, is a development partner in the project.

The new IAC headquarters on the 29,380-sq.-ft. site on the east side of 11th Ave. will have underground ancillary parking for 70 cars and rise 155 ft. from the sidewalk level. The glass facade of the concrete structure will be insulated and have special coatings and patterned ceramic particles imbedded in it to improve energy efficiency.

The ground-floor public space will include a restaurant “that will reflect and utilize all of the IAC brands and be as interactive as the company and Frank Gehry can conjure,” according to a company statement.

“We are pleased that New York City both affords us the opportunity to build a unique and landscape-defining edifice, and benefits from the investment IAC is making in developing a corporate presence in Chelsea,” Diller said in a statement about the project.

Gehry, a Los Angeles-based architect, has won more than 100 awards from the American Institute of Architects. Among his buildings is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Gehry’s sculpted glass facade tower on 11th Ave. for IAC continues the trend that includes Richard Meier’s two recently completed glass residential towers at Perry at West Sts. and another to rise next to them on Charles St. On Greenwich St. between Spring and Canal Sts., glass facades distinguish an 11-story residential tower designed by Winka Dubbeldam and a 14-story residential tower designed by Gary Handel & Associates. In the works is an 11-story Philip Johnson-designed residential tower with a glass facade at 328 Spring St. at the corner of Washington St. planned by developer Nino Vendome.

[ZippyTheChimp]

From W18th St
http://img500.imageshack.us/img500/5506/interactive02c4ch.th.jpg (http://img500.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive02c4ch.jpg)

[lofter1]

I walked by this site yesterday; almost the entire base portion of the building is up. It looks amazing. The rhythm of the round concrete columns as they move up and through the building is entrancing. Shades of "Fred and Ginger" in Prague (although, happily for NYC, it seems that Gehry's plan for the facade is more refined than that crazy building; see: http://wikitravel.org/en/Image:Fred_and_Ginger_Building_in_Prague.jpg ).

IMO the one thing that would benefit this building is if it were located one block further south, so that the view of it from the Hudson River and Jersey were less obscurred by the Chelsea Piers. But this is not possible ...

[antinimby]

I wonder if those leaning/slanted columns are even structurally sound.

[lofter1]

Filled with re-bar ...

Seeing as how they're holding up the floorplates / facade I'm sure they're A-OK.

[ablarc]

I wonder if those leaning/slanted columns are even structurally sound.
Cf. Antoni Gaudi.

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img500.imageshack.us/img500/7246/interactive03c6ap.th.jpg (http://img500.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive03c6ap.jpg) http://img500.imageshack.us/img500/4913/interactive04c7zi.th.jpg (http://img500.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive04c7zi.jpg).

[Dagrecco82]

I hope it will be visible from Jersey. :D

[krulltime]

Only 5 floors so far? I think the NYT tower has a better chance to be finished on time than this one. What gives? Is it that this desing is hard to do? Well I notice the way some of the columns lean. That may be hard to put in place.

[infoshare]

Incredably vivid photo ZippyTC......almost as good as being there! Thanks.

(update 1) gbase image.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Only 5 floors so far? I think the NYT tower has a better chance to be finished on time than this one. What gives? Is it that this desing is hard to do? Well I notice the way some of the columns lean. That may be hard to put in place.Most of the time since this project started was devoted to contamination cleanup, made more difficult since the area is a wetland that was land-filled.

With the foundation complete, the construction has been progressing normally. The unusual design is more time consuming, since the concrete forms that were used on one floor can't all be reused on the next floor.

[kliq6]

The design and concrete construction is hard on this one, but steel could never build this so this is the speed it will go

[BrooklynRider]

Considering its complexity, it seems to be moving rather quickly now that it is out of the ground.

[lofter1]

And now the tower portion is set to rise -- so this one will really start to look fantastic.

[ZippyTheChimp]

8th floor going up.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/469/interactive05c8fc.th.jpg (http://img207.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive05c8fc.jpg)

[lofter1]

Ahoy!

[Ed007Toronto]

For Barry Diller's IAC Offices,
Glass Arcs Evoke Boat Sails --
Company's Uncharted Course

By SARA SILVER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 11, 2006; Page B1

In the past decade, Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp has amassed a
sprawling Internet and retail empire that includes Ticketmaster,
television shopping network HSN, online dating service Match.com and
search engine Ask Jeeves Inc.

Now Mr. Diller is working on another project that will bring together
the half-dozen Manhattan offices of his companies in a $100 million,
10-story glass tower in an unconventional part of Manhattan made up
of warehouses and light industrial buildings.


An architectural model for the $100 million glass building that will
house the Manhattan offices of Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp
conglomerate.


Designed by noted architect Frank Gehry, the geometric façade has
eight skyward arcs of glass that will mimic wind-whipped sails of
boats making their way along the Hudson River, just across the West
Side Highway. Besides reflecting both men's love of sailing, the
design of the building in the West Chelsea neighborhood incorporates
Mr. Diller's admission that IAC is forming itself without a compass
for guidance. "We're making it up as we go along in the interactive
[commerce] area, and because of the nature of interactive revenue,
there are few rules," Mr. Diller says.

Mr. Diller has put more planning into the IAC building, signing a 75-
year lease in 2003 for the 29,380-square-foot site -- a former truck
garage on the West Side Highway between 18th and 19th streets.

The building uses low-iron glass that removes its normal greenish
tinge -- and makes the glass clearer. People working inside the
building will have a clear view of the river and the city. At night,
the lights of the building will make the walls seem transparent.

The lobby will attempt to dramatize images of the company's more than
50 brands on a floor-to-ceiling interactive screen running the length
of the building. The images will be visible to pedestrians and to
passing cars through a transparent horizontal band.

The location is part of the fast-growing West Chelsea area, along a
disused railroad, known as the High Line, that the city is starting
to transform into an above-ground park. CSX Corp. donated the 22-
block rail line, which stretches along 10th Avenue from 14th to 30th
streets, to the city in November, and the project is expected to
begin this year as contractors remove the rails and build stairs and
elevators.

The first phase of landscaping, planting and building pathways is
scheduled to be completed by 2008. Already, the plans have attracted
a frenzy of new development. The Dia Art Foundation, which drew many
galleries to the area, is moving to a new building that will include
a direct entrance to the park. In addition, some 5,500 mostly high-
end apartments are being planned for the area, with noted designers
such as Jean Nouvel and Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

Mr. Diller says he hopes the IAC headquarters will further spur
development in the area, where some 200 art galleries mingle with car
washes, taxi garages and trendy clubs. "It is an embryonic
neighborhood...where we could be a participant instead of just
tacking onto the Rockefellers' legacy," says Mr. Diller, referring to
the family that helped shape much of New York City's midtown. "It'll
be a wondrous environment to live, to work, to play."

Expected to open by March 2007, the IAC building is Mr. Gehry's first
in New York City. Like his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and
the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the IAC headquarters is
as much a sculptural venture as an architectural one.

"It's not going to be that bombastic. Its façade is very sensuous,
almost feminine," Mr. Gehry says of the building. "I'm a very
pragmatic architect, but people think I'm not because of the shapes."

The skeleton of the 200,000-square-foot building already rises above
the walls of the construction site, ringed by a white banner
displaying the logos of IAC's many companies.

Working within zoning requirements that floors above 75 feet be set
back from the lower part of the building, the Los Angeles-based Gehry
Partners, LLP created a terrace on top of the lower five "sails."
Behind the three upper "sails," the building's atrium runs between
the sixth and seventh floors. Pathways separate the free-standing
structure from neighboring buildings to reveal its entire shape.

The building's diagonal walls, tilted columns and irregular spaces
allow for various configurations and open-plan offices. Joseph Rose,
the former city planning commission chairman who is now a partner of
Georgetown Co., the developers overseeing the construction, says
other contractors who notice the tilted structures have called his
office, saying his contractors aren't "pouring your concrete
straight."

Although there is obvious risk in developing a building three avenues
and four streets away from the nearest subway line, developers say
the occupancy cost of the space will be similar to what IAC was
paying for its midtown offices.

IAC says it has already fixed environmental problems on the site,
which long ago had been used to store gas. Real-estate experts point
out that companies assume additional risks when they own rather than
lease their office space. Owning ties up capital and limits
flexibility in the future if IAC expands more than expected or
contracts. Mr. Diller has said he will initially move more than 300
workers into the building, but it has room for 500.


Construction has begun on a tower that will house offices of
businesses that comprise Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. The
building, designed by Frank Gehry, is located on Manhattan's west
side. It is expected to open by March 2007.


Mr. Diller has obtained $80 million in tax-free Liberty Bonds to help
finance the project. Those were set up to help New York recover from
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the IAC project is one of
the few non-downtown office buildings to receive them.

The new headquarters is meant to give some physical coherence to IAC,
whose Manhattan employees are dispersed throughout five floors of a
tower next to Carnegie Hall -- its current main office -- and five
other locations. "We don't want to have to make appointments to see
each other," says Jason Stewart, IAC's chief administrative officer
who is overseeing the project. Mr. Gehry designed the Sunset
Boulevard building where IAC consolidated its West Hollywood
operations last summer.

The move to physically join the various Manhattan offices of IAC is
being reinforced in-house. In December, Mr. Diller created the
position of president to oversee operations throughout the
conglomerate, which earned $700 million on revenue of $5.3 billion in
the 12 months through last September. Filling the position is Doug
Lebda, founder of IAC's fast-growing loan exchange LendingTree.

Freed up to concentrate on strategy, Mr. Diller is focused on Ask
Jeeves, the search engine IAC purchased for $1.85 billion in stock in
March. Charged with coordinating the online presence of the disparate
companies, Ask Jeeves has already centralized sales in a single
Manhattan office and improved online links to the other IAC sites.

The building is expected to give Mr. Diller a place on the Manhattan
architectural map of buildings that stand for the corporations that
built them -- like the Seagram Building, Lever House and Phillip
Johnson's AT&T Building, now the Sony Building. But how it stacks up
against these trophies will be up to architecture critics to decide.

"Historically, corporations have looked to superstar architects to
give them cachet and to advertise their business with signature
buildings," says Mark Cottle, assistant professor at Georgia Tech
College of Architecture. "There are times when it can backfire when
that building doesn't relate to what's there now but instead to a new
collection of look-at-me buildings by global architects."

[lofter1]

Great pics here of models of this building: http://www.arcspace.com/architects/gehry/iac/iac.html

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6331/interactive06c0lr.th.jpg (http://img7.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive06c0lr.jpg) http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1221/interactive07c4qz.th.jpg (http://img7.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive07c4qz.jpg)
,

[lofter1]

^ yummy

[londonlawyer]

Wow. I had no idea that this building is out of the ground. I haven't been in that area in months. This will look superb.

[antinimby]

I think its topped out.
Next: the glass!

[Derek2k3]

Nice pic (http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=91588880&context=pool-35034350743@N01&size=l)

[londonlawyer]

Excellent!

[lofter1]

gotta love that :cool:

[Citytect]

Maybe it's my computer, but I can't see the picture linked above on Fickr. Am I the only one?

Edit: OK. I got it to work today! The building is going to be Hot, and Slippery when wet.

[kliq6]

this is a great little project, im glad it is going home and most important it provides space for a Fortune 500 to remain in NYC

[vc10]

It's quite modest in size (not that there's anything wrong with that...)


this is a great little project, im glad it is going home and most important it provides space for a Fortune 500 to remain in NYC

[kliq6]

its built to suite, they also have some swing space within for growth

[antinimby]

Are they really a Fortune 500 company and where were they based before?

[ZippyTheChimp]

IAC is a Fortune 500 company. It is based in NYC.

If the skin is nice, this is my project of the year.

[macreator]

Some stats on IAC I put together from some various websites including IAC.com

IAC, or InterActiveCorp, owns a variety of companies including:

A sampling of IAC's assets
-HSN
-Ticketmaster
-LendingTree
-GetSmart
-RealEstate.com
-Match.com
-Ask Jeeves
-Citysearch
-Evite
-Gifts.com

IAC recently spun off Expedia.com, the popular travel site.

IAC, by the numbers:

> 2004 Revenue -- $4.2B
> 2004 Operating Income Before Amortization -- $421.6M
> 2004 Operating Income/(loss) -- ($20M)
> 2004 Net Income -- $152M
> 66 million unique monthly visitors across the IAC operating businesses (September 2005, comScore)

IAC is headquartered in New York City

IAC is currently headquartered in Midtown at 152 West 57th Street, 42nd Floor, New York, New York 10019.

IAC by the employees

IAC and its subsidiaries employes approximately 26,000 full-time employees across its various businesses.

IAC's Exchange Symbol

Stock Symbol: NASDAQ: IACI

IAC's Fortume 500 Ranking

InterActiveCorp placed 293 on 2005's Fortune 500 List, up from 319 the previous year

[lofter1]

Don't know if this has been posted here yet, but some good stuff on the IAC building here: http://www.arcspace.com/architects/gehry/iac/iac.html

Penthouse Level:

http://www.arcspace.com/architects/gehry/iac/5diller.jpg
Photo: arcspace

[Kris]

http://www.archinect.com/gallery/albums/userpics/SOHO.Img1551DSCN3798.JPG

http://www.archinect.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=2&page=1

[ablarc]

^ Crazy. Structure like that doesn't make any kind of sense. That is too high a price to pay --in both intellectual integrity and money-- for a striking look. Calatrava can get the striking look with complete architectural rigor (the engineering term is "elegance"). That's what makes Calatrava a much greater architect.

[kz1000ps]

It looks like it barely survived a demolition derby. Still, I can't wait to see it sheathed in glass.

[MidtownGuy]

The skin will make all the difference, unifying shapes and making sense out of all the angles which at this stage look chaotic.

[BPC]

I am not a big Gehry fan, but this building, at least in the photo above, is starting to have a Gaudi-esque flair about it. It might be pretty interesting.

[ablarc]

I am not a big Gehry fan, but this building, at least in the photo above, is starting to have a Gaudi-esque flair about it. It might be pretty interesting.
Gaudi's inclined columns were catenaries. His particular path to structural integrity was to hang weights by wires from bedsheets that represented his building's roof configuration. Every bit of the resulting structure would thus be stressed in tension. Then he'd photograph these concoctions, turn the photos upside down, and voila pure compression. Not much arbitrary form-making there; his structure is far more rigorous than Gehry's.

And at least equally interesting, no?

[NoyokA]

^ Crazy. Structure like that doesn't make any kind of sense. That is too high a price to pay --in both intellectual integrity and money-- for a striking look. Calatrava can get the striking look with complete architectural rigor (the engineering term is "elegance"). That's what makes Calatrava a much greater architect.

I entirely disagree. Every interesting curve of this space will be used and enjoyed by the tenant and the passerby outside. Calatrava is a sculptor not an architect. Explain to me the "architectural rigor" of this building's wings:

http://duskdawn2.free.fr/images/Architecture/Calatrava/musee-du-Milwaukee-01.gif

[ablarc]

I entirely disagree. Every interesting curve of this space will be used and enjoyed by the tenant and the passerby outside. Calatrava is a sculptor not an architect. Explain to me the "architectural rigor" of this building's wings.
A true-blue modernist like Saarinen, Rietveld, Corbu, Foster, Gehry and even Mies would be amused by your comment. Why son, they might say, an architect is a sculptor. And Calatrava would agree. He's a sculptor, an architect and an engineer. By training. Unlike Gehry. Unlike Gehry, who hires a structural engineer to design the bones on which he hangs his clothes, Calatrava designs the bones himself (sometimes exaggerating them a bit), and then he leaves off the clothes entirely. Naked structure. Like a plankton.

In this, he's in the mainstream of the greatest architecture, like the Parthenon, the Pantheon, Chartres, Brunelleschi's dome, Gaudi, the Eiffel Tower and most work by Saarinen and Kahn.

[londonlawyer]

This building is awesome (regardless of the weather)!

[MidtownGuy]

Both architecture and sculpture at the same time, Calatrava's buildings are magnificent. They have extraneous elements at times, but then- what are all those details on the Woolworth building. In the above photo, those extra pointy wings sticking up and out may not be completely functional but they extend the lines and curves of the building so beautifully. It really is poetry.

[lofter1]

I walked by this site the other day and noticed that the cleats for hanging the facade are all pretty much installed on the floorplates (and can be seen in the big photo above).

Glass should be going on soon ..... oh, yeah !!!!!!!!

[infoshare]

In this, he's in the mainstream of the greatest architecture, like the Parthenon, the Pantheon, Chartres, Brunelleschi's dome, Gaudi, the Eiffel Tower and most work by Saarinen and Kahn.

I wonder if modern architects utilize traditional "Ideal" methods of creatiing thier SCULPTURE: the "golden ratio" never fails to be a crowed pleaser.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Ratio

[ablarc]

Golden section appears pretty regularly in nature and architecture. Greeks used it, you find it in the Middle Ages, Renaissance and baroque periods, it was common in the Nineteenth Century, Corbu applied it invariably (the Modulor), and so did his disciples, such as Jose Lluis Sert (Roosevelt Island housing uses it), and I use it myself.

It makes things simple.

[lofter1]

The first section(s) of glass have gone up at the first floor(street level) on the West St. facade.

It looks awesome ... it's pretty much hidden behind the scaffolding and they've only put up one small bit: the first wrap-around at the southern end of he building. The joint at the angle is beautiful, as is the milky-white (seemingly opaque) glass and nice slim stainless steel (?) channels between the panes.

[londonlawyer]

This building is a MASTERPIECE! BRAVO!!

[ZippyTheChimp]

I took these yesterday. I couldn't get a straight-on shot of the glass. The wavy pattern in #2 and 3 is construction netting behind the scaffolding.

As lofter observed, the glass has a milky translucence, probably caused by the ceramic frit within the panes.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/360/interactive08c4vl.th.jpg (http://img406.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive08c4vl.jpg) http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/9924/interactive09c3ni.th.jpg (http://img406.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive09c3ni.jpg) http://img324.imageshack.us/img324/2347/interactive10c9vu.th.jpg (http://img324.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive10c9vu.jpg)

[lofter1]

Excellent -- first published documentation of glass here, methinks :)

[antinimby]

If this building comes out looking well, I think Gehry's credibility among NYers will be greatly enhanced, including the Atlantic Yards critics. And don't forget, the Beekman building will probably resemble this somewhat except it will be on a larger scale. A great design plus more office space - this is all very good for the city.

[kurokevin]

No offence to Zippy, as I too have been meaning to take these pictures for almost two weeks since these glass panels have been erected, but the images do not do the glass justice. The reason being that there is no easy way to photograph them, and quite impossible even to view- as it is almost fully obstructed by the construction baracades.

However, if these panels are any indication, this building may look significantly better than its renderings would have us beleive. As someone who has admired the imagination of Ghery, but not always the product (Disney Music Hall is very overated, and the Millenium Park concert hall seems half finished IMO). This may be his best, most significant building to date. Combining his admiration for abstraction with the elegance of New Yorks yesteryear. We are fortunate to have this building on the West Side as a prescendent for what the Chelsea art district could ( and should) become, and most importantly Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards.

Here's looking to the future with excited eyes

[finnman69]

A true-blue modernist like Saarinen, Rietveld, Corbu, Foster, Gehry and even Mies would be amused by your comment. Why son, they might say, an architect is a sculptor. And Calatrava would agree. He's a sculptor, an architect and an engineer. By training. Unlike Gehry. Unlike Gehry, who hires a structural engineer to design the bones on which he hangs his clothes, Calatrava designs the bones himself (sometimes exaggerating them a bit), and then he leaves off the clothes entirely. Naked structure. Like a plankton.

In this, he's in the mainstream of the greatest architecture, like the Parthenon, the Pantheon, Chartres, Brunelleschi's dome, Gaudi, the Eiffel Tower and most work by Saarinen and Kahn.


Whereas most of the great architects have expressed their structure in some way, Gehry's buildings are pure skin draped over a structure that is indeed an afterthought. This building might have some promise using the glass he has selected. I am not a Gehry fan for the reason above, it's all skin, no architecture, no space, but I'll give him a chance on this one.

[lofter1]

I poked my head into some open gates here today -- the volume of space on the ground floor is awesome.

Plus: They're installing the metal channels that hold the window panels around the base of the foundation so more glass could be going up soon.

[MidtownGuy]

http://static.flickr.com/36/110694042_83b8243a6f_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/34/110693731_0aacd79420_b.jpg

[ZippyTheChimp]

More glass
http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/2122/interactive11c6ye.th.jpg (http://img480.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive11c6ye.jpg) http://img480.imageshack.us/img480/3886/interactive12c0mf.th.jpg (http://img480.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive12c0mf.jpg) http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/2874/interactive13c1po.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive13c1po.jpg)

[londonlawyer]

This is a masterpiece!

[ablarc]

All crazy and crooked. Don't confuse it with Gaudi.

Gaudi was structurally rigorous, and this isn't.

* * *

Still, he's about the most interesting architect currently around.

Even if he is what Philip Johnson called a whore.

[lofter1]

Very nice how the glass goes from opaque to transparent in the individual panes ...

This one is going to be a beauty!

[ablarc]

This one is going to be a beauty!
That's right, but it's all in the clothes.

You can use Gehry to prove that clothes make the man. Or that beauty is skin deep.

[Zoe]

View from Hoboken
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/213/turksandcaicos0031hi.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[infoshare]

That's right, but it's all in the clothes.

You can use Gehry to prove that clothes make the man. Or that beauty is skin deep.

I am reminded of the schools of 19th century european painting; some were "romanticsm" and others were "classicism".

I would say that Gehrys' style would be more in the style of "romaticsim" - even if it is only "clothes" it will be an attractive building.

But! - If I were a stakeholder in the matter - I would choose the "classicism" of an Architect like Calatrava.

P.S. Thanks to person who posted the photo from Hoboken.....I have not seen that site in awile.

[ablarc]

I am reminded of the schools of 19th century european painting; some were "romanticsm" and others were "classicism".

I would say that Gehrys' style would be more in the style of "romaticsim" - even if it is only "clothes" it will be an attractive building.

But! - If I were a stakeholder in the matter - I would choose the "classicism" of an Architect like Calatrava.
You'd be in good company; history will too.

From the professional standpoint of an architect, the greatest of all Gehry's achievements might be that he actually convinces people to pay for his expensive and loopy extravagances. This is an outcome of his reputation, carefully nurtured over nearly half a century. Most anybody can dream up irrational forms; and though few can conjure evocative and communicative ones like Gehry's, there are more who could but can't find the clients to finance them.

History will perceive him as a willful artist who invented forms that belong in the realm of gigantic sculpture and then hired structural engineers to figure out how to build them. Calatrava's forms are devised as structure; he himself is the structural engineer, and his forms are conceived integrally with the knowledge of how to build them.

Gehry's forms are pungent and sculpturally interesting, but his spiritual father is the sculptor Claes Oldenburg. Being truthful and fairly humble, Gehry will confirm this.

.

[BPC]

Calatrava's forms are devised as structure; he himself is the structural engineer, and his forms are conceived integrally with the knowledge of how to build them.

While I mostly agree with your point, these are just generalities. Calatrava's "wings" on the Path Station have zero strucutural significance. They are the definition of showy sculptural architecture that you attribute to Gehry.

[ablarc]

While I mostly agree with your point, these are just generalities. Calatrava's "wings" on the Path Station have zero strucutural significance. They are the definition of showy sculptural architecture that you attribute to Gehry.
I know what you're saying. You're talking about functional integrity, which Calatrava's wings don't have. I'm talking about structural integrity which they do have.

Anything that is pure structure has structural integrity by definition. When you look at a Gehry building you're not looking at structure. The structure's well hidden (and with good reason).

[ablarc]

Another Mannerist who understood the uses of structural irrationality:

http://66.230.220.70/images/post/giulioromano/1.jpg
Giulio Romano.


Cf. photos above.

[LeCom]

Used up my last metro card risdes today to get some photos of this baby. I have to say, it was totally worth it. Photos later.

[BrooklynRider]

The glass along 18th street is kind of funky. It looking like it is frosted with a dissolved transparency line through the middle.

[MidtownGuy]

I'm lovin' it.

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4060/interactive14c8sv.th.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive14c8sv.jpg).

[ablarc]

Amazing and beautiful.

Clothes make the man.

[antinimby]

Between the illusional effect of the glass on this and the new Memorial Sloan-Kettering Research Building on the East Side, I'm getting eye strain.

[NoyokA]

It looks like this etching treatment will have the same supposed benefits as those at the NYTIMES Tower, sans a one hundred million dollar second curtain wall fascade and structure.

[aural iNK]

And the same negative effect on the building's occupants, no?

[NoyokA]

And the same negative effect on the building's occupants, no?

Your right. All thats been said about this technique's benefits and detriments, its to be seen once the building is complete and tenants move in. One thing that is known for sure is that this approach could've been applied as it is here and that building another fascade as with NYTIMES is expensive and unnecessary.

[LeCom]

https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/03/445750.jpg

Brave By Design indeed
https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/03/445748.jpg

https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/03/445752.jpg

Insanity
https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/03/445754.jpg

Here comes the neighborhood
https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/03/445746.jpg

Somebody give this guy a ruler
https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/03/445122.jpg

Westside, get ready
https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2006/03/445755.jpg

[TLOZ Link5]

In light of the public protest regarding the Atlantic Yards arena and the complete lack of information regarding the Beekman Street tower, what surprises me about this Gehry project is the fact that it has gone up so quietly by comparison. And damned if that glass does not look fantastic.

[infoshare]

Used up my last metro card risdes today to get some photos of this baby.

Well worth it LeCom,,,,,,,,thanks - great photos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism

[Citytect]

Eh. I don't know about that glass. Kind of weird. And it seems like the building might lose some verticality with the stripes.

[vc10]

It's in a nowhere area -- very few residents anywhere around there, so very few people to get upset, plus there are very few buildings of note in the area. Plus another striking thing about this building is how small it is. It's almost a boutique compared to other office buildings. So what's to hate?


In light of the public protest regarding the Atlantic Yards arena and the complete lack of information regarding the Beekman Street tower, what surprises me about this Gehry project is the fact that it has gone up so quietly by comparison. And damned if that glass does not look fantastic.

[kz1000ps]

Eh. I don't know about that glass. Kind of weird. And it seems like the building might lose some verticality with the stripes.


Same thing with the NYTimes Tower. While this building probably never would have screamed verticality anyway, those horizontal bands will ensure that never happens - but that's fine. The problem is they're gonna distract the eye away from the massing, which speaks clearly for itself without any other gimmicks needed.

[lofter1]

Some great pics here (renderings): http://www.danda.be/outdata/?dreview=125&category

Again, as with the Times Tower, once the lighting is on I think that what now appear to be "voids" will change completely. And (as at the TT) the verticality will be prime with the horizontal-ity secondary.

[lofter1]

Any info on what company is manufacturing the glass for this one?

[Citytect]

The problem is they're gonna distract the eye away from the massing, which speaks clearly for itself without any other gimmicks needed.

Exactly. I think a nice uniform, light-color clear glass might look better and show off the shape of the building more. The stripes might make the building look a little chaotic/busy/garrish. Like you said, one too many gimmicks with the stripes. I think the glass is interesting, though. Might look cool on a building with a simpler shape.

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6483/interactive15c6lm.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive15c6lm.jpg).

[Fabrizio]

This thing will stop traffic with necks craning to get a better glimpse.

All of this creativity and effort for such a relatively small building is going to make it look very expensive.

[czsz]

I hope they...eh...do something about the cracks between floors.

[TonyO]

The curtain wall is more blue in reality than in the renderings which were grey. I like it! This is going to be worth a walk across the island to see.

[czsz]

Did you see a rendering with the frosted glass? I was under the impression it would all be clear.

[Citytect]

^Yeah, me too. That weird glass just kind of appeared out of nowhere.

[TLOZ Link5]

This definitely looks better than the rendering on the first page of this thread.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Did you see a rendering with the frosted glass? I was under the impression it would all be clear.
I never saw a rendering that accurately depicted the final look, but all of the descriptions mentioned a frit within the glass, and most of the renderings showed the glass as somewhat translucent.

http://www.iac.com/media/nyny3986.jpg

It was posted that the glass was going to look like this, but I think that would have been horrible.

[lofter1]

I like the glass -- it's got a nautical look about it.

[NYatKNIGHT]

I was sort of hoping those crazy support columns would be visible through the glass.

[lofter1]

^^ Maybe when the interior lighting is up and running there will be a "ghost" effect ...

[Citytect]

I like the way the glass appears in the model a lot more than what they're putting up. However, that degree of transparency would be nearly impossible to attain.

[finnman69]

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/6483/interactive15c6lm.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive15c6lm.jpg).

It looks like the frit was airbrushed on. So much for my high hopes for Gehry's latest very expensive experimenting. The horizontal stripes will look like zebra stripes and totally takes away from the shape and form of the glasswork.
http://www.ewildlife.com/weeklypictures/120100123100/zebra.gif


It was a huge mistake not to emphasize the structure through the glass, but that's Gehry, it's all about skin, never architecture.

I predict the IAC executives will HATE the frit from the inside, drastically reducing their views which could have been so much nicer.

If Gehry had used a slick 7 WTC type clear skin on the same design he would have had a winner. This could be one of the ugliest new buildings in NYC for a long time.

[finnman69]

I like the way the glass appears in the model a lot more than what they're putting up. However, that degree of transparency would be nearly impossible to attain.

Transparency anyone?
https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2005/12/422830.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/image/40279744.jpg

[Citytect]

^Transparent, indeed. But if you compare those examples with the glass depicted in the model of IAC, you will notice a difference. Not quite the nice, colorless, glare-less, satin-y glass seen in the model.

I'm not saying the 7WTC glass wouldn't have been a good choice for this building. I think that's what most of us were expecting. My first choice would have been the fictitious glass from the model. Something like the 7WTC glass second, preferably less blue. I'm sick of blue/blue-green/green glass. Alas, I only get to make these decisions in my fictional glass world.

Not fond of the 505 glass.

[Cayo]

Any info on what company is manufacturing the glass for this one?

http://www.saint-gobain-glass.com/uk/b01.asp?product_id=621

[lofter1]

Thanks, Cayo ...

Some great looking product there.

[MidtownGuy]

The glass is making me sad now.

[lofter1]

It will be interesting to see if the glass changes on the upper floors.

[Fabrizio]

Finnman made a great post and a good case....a sharp critical eye. However.... the fact that the clear stripes have a "feathered" edge ... with a transition from clear to solid, leaves me hopeful that the final effect will be something more interesting than "zebra stripes". We´ll see.

And yes, 7WTC and 505 5th do have nice glass (and I especially like the traditional verticle shape of 505´s windows). While we´re at it: wouldn´t the Time Warner have looked great with this kind of transparency...)

[lofter1]

What we're seeing now -- without interior lighting -- has very little relation to how this will appear when the building is complete and operational.

[infoshare]

I am perplexed by the glass choice: bold horizontal lines across the entire structure will visually "cancell-out" the the overall form of the building.

To go to the time/expense/effort to achieve those subtle contorted forms only to "hide" them behind bold horizontal stripes - what a blunder.

I wait and see - they cant be that daft. or can they?:confused:

[ablarc]

The stripes will be much less pronounced once the lights are on inside.

[infoshare]

1704This is the print on the glass

Still....Ghery "blob-architecteure" is "all" about the non-linear contours: these structures dont have much else going for them aethetically speaking. So my attitude is that any courtain wall choice "must" serve to "accentuate" those unique undulating forms....not detract form them.

This glass choice will visually detract from the overall form: regardless of interior lighting.

But in all fairness.....they not done yet......so its wait and see.....I may yet have to recant my opinion as stated: but this seems like a real "blunder".

cheers

p.S. thanks for the attachment (cool photo link) viewed it in its larger size. Nice glass....wrong building.

[lofter1]

p.S. thanks for the attachment (cool photo link) viewed it in its larger size. Nice glass....wrong building.

Yes ... Thanks, Cayo.

But I totally disagree that this is the "wrong" glass, particularly after seeing how the glass looks with the fade from nearly opaque to translucent.

At night especially my bet is that it will look magnificent.

[Kris]

From this article (http://www.businessweek.com/print/innovate/content/apr2006/id20060404_384813.htm):

Gehry also showed a slide of the new headquarters he has designed for Barry Diller's Inter Active Corp. near the Chelsea Piers in New York. Gehry said its giant glass panels were bent more than three inches to give the impression of sails. "Barry is a sailor, as I am," Gehry said. "He has a sailboat that'll be in the harbor in front."

[infoshare]

I enjoyed reading this article (http://http://www.businessweek.com/print/innovate/content/apr2006/id20060404_384813.htm) because there were many comments on Architecture that go beyond the aesthetics of only the "Visual Arts". The Architects that were quoted in the article seemed to be addressing matters of morality, politics, philosophy,,,,,,heady stuff for Starchitects. Thanks Kris

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpts from Article in Business Week By Christopher Palmeri
http://www.businessweek.com/print/innovate/content/apr2006/id20060404_384813.htm

----- Like most of Gehry's work, Pelli added: "It's just a phenomenal will of an individual over matter."

----- "It's a pharmaceutical company," Gehry said. "It's not a bottom-line place."

---- "I don't design for me," Pelli said. "We have different devils urging us and different angels helping us."

------ His popularity with the feds led Gehry to jokingly ask: "Are you a Republican?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was an interesting panel discussion. Well, this building is a work of Art with a capital "A" : even with the zebra stripes.

[lofter1]

I encourage everyone to take a walk over to this building and take a look at the glass up close. Stand on the corner of West / 18th St. -- get as close as you can (there's a gate there and the perimeter fence is very close to the building) and look up the side of the building.

Wow!

The glass is awesome -- almost like a cloud in the way that the coloration moves up the facade. The striping effect is much softer in person than it appears in photos (funny how architecture often works much better in 3 dimensions).

[infoshare]

I encourage everyone to take a walk over to this building and take a look at the glass up close.

I will go there, probably tomorrow.....however, opinions to the contrary are mounting.........I "want" this to turn out GREAT.....Other views on the project can be found at the GUTTER - http://gutter.curbed.com/archives/2006/04/05/bad_skin_mars_gehrys_nyc_debut.php#more

[lofter1]

GUTTER is fun -- but they never say anything GOOD about ANYTHING (it's their reason for being)

[finnman69]

I am perplexed by the glass choice: bold horizontal lines across the entire structure will visually "cancell-out" the the overall form of the building.

To go to the time/expense/effort to achieve those subtle contorted forms only to "hide" them behind bold horizontal stripes - what a blunder.

I wait and see - they cant be that daft. or can they?:confused:


I realy liked what Gehry is doing with the building massing. It's not his usual crumple up a piece of paper and then scan the modell. It's non traditional, but there is a rational logic to the massing of forms, almost like the edge oif a glacier or a mountain range that is very appealing.

However, the horizontal glass stripes totally dominates over the forms themselves and to me ruins the effect.

[finnman69]

The stripes will be much less pronounced once the lights are on inside.

I also can tell for obvious reasons the glass frit is opaque at the spandrels. At night it could be interesting, but it really depends on the interior lighting. Hopefully it will be uplight pendants and not a hung ceiling w/ 2x2 egg crates.

It could look a bit like the Louis Vuitton store in midtown. Not one of my favorites.
http://www.visualstore.com/dbimages/8413-1.jpg

[finnman69]

Finnman made a great post and a good case....a sharp critical eye. However.... the fact that the clear stripes have a "feathered" edge ... with a transition from clear to solid, leaves me hopeful that the final effect will be something more interesting than "zebra stripes". We´ll see.

And yes, 7WTC and 505 5th do have nice glass (and I especially like the traditional verticle shape of 505´s windows). While we´re at it: wouldn´t the Time Warner have looked great with this kind of transparency...)


Gehry had the glass right for this building in this study model. I like seeing the angled columns through the glass.
http://www.arcspace.com/architects/gehry/iac/5diller.jpg

[lofter1]

... the horizontal glass stripes totally dominates over the forms themselves and to me ruins the effect.
This is similar to discussions at the Times Tower thread about how the horizontal openings in the rod curtain were overhwhelming the building and minimizing the verticality of the tower.

Now that the rod screens have reached almost halfway up the Times Tower the entire mass of the screens reveals a verticality that wasn't apparent when the width of the installed screens was greater than the height. Now the vertical nature of the Tower is reinforced by the screens.

Similar situation at IAC: With only a portion of the glass installed the horizontal aspect of the clear portions of the facade seem to overwhelm the upward thrust of the building. Once it is all installed the overall massing of the building will take precedence.

[Citytect]

You're right about that, Lofter. But there are a few important differences between NYT and IAC that should be noted. Most importantly, the huge difference in height. The Times tower has the great advantage of being tall to overcome its horizontal lines. Secondly, the shapes of the buildings are quite different. Gehry's building is all about it's unique shape. Piano's building has a simple shape with a unique skin applied to it. In the case of Gehry's building adding a eye-catching skin only detracts from the building's main architectural statement, it's shape. Lastly, and least important I think, is the different relationships between the transparent, translucent, and opaque portions of the buildings. The treatment of the NYT tower facade seems to transition mostly between translucent and transparent, with the translucent portions dominating the overall effect of the facade. The IAC building seems to transition between opaque and transparent with a little translucency in between. The overall effect here, is more pronounced horizontal lines because you have both visual extremes, opaque and transparent... But that point probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me, haha.

I did walk past the IAC last weekend on my way to the batting cages in Chelsea Piers with some friends. I don't think they knew what to make of it. I thought the effect of the glass became a little more abiguous the closer you got the the building. The fading effect worked better and the stripes became less pronounced. But you still notice the weird glass with horizontal stripes more than the sail-like shape of the building. However, like always, I'll wait until it's finished to form a definative opinion.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Gnaw on these bones.

http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/1029/interactive16c0gf.th.jpg (http://img425.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive16c0gf.jpg) http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/1497/interactive17c2jz.th.jpg (http://img425.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive17c2jz.jpg) http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/7013/interactive18c7cg.th.jpg (http://img425.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive18c7cg.jpg) http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/7308/interactive19c3jb.th.jpg (http://img425.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive19c3jb.jpg) http://img425.imageshack.us/img425/7981/interactive20c7vf.th.jpg (http://img425.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive20c7vf.jpg)

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/4508/interactive21c9jw.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive21c9jw.jpg) http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/4034/interactive22c0vi.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive22c0vi.jpg) http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/5673/interactive23c1cy.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive23c1cy.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/1471/interactive24c4uw.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive24c4uw.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8633/interactive25c4bk.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive25c4bk.jpg)

[ZippyTheChimp]

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/9707/interactive26c2zw.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive26c2zw.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/2204/interactive27c5qn.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive27c5qn.jpg) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/5071/interactive28c5mx.th.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/my.php?image=interactive28c5mx.jpg).

[antinimby]

Don't like the glass at all. Now that the glass is covering up the unconventional leaning columns, it could fit in any suburban office park and wouldn't even get anyone's attention.
I suspect the original glass design might have been scrapped due to high cost. A fact of life these days but still unfortunate.

[ZippyTheChimp]

You won't find this glass in any suburban building around here. The quality is supurb and the "frosting" effect is subtle.

Since the panels are curved in two directions, moving a few feet completely changes the appearance.

I have not seen such a high level of passerby interest in a building since Miere's Perry West.

[lofter1]

Awesome pics, Zip ...

The reflection of the clouds and the building against the sky are sublime.

Add lighting and it will be magic.

Gehry does theatre -- and every good theatre director knows that it is the light that takes us into the dream.

[Citytect]

I don't find the glass or the building to have any suburban quality to it at all. The quality of this glass is great and it has a really unique look to it. I can't disagree with those sentiments. That glass alone would make a building appear striking, so I know it's going to grab everyone's attention. But coupled with the complex shape, I'm affraid it's a little too fussy looking for me.

[ablarc]

Amazing.

[kz1000ps]

The reflection of the clouds and the building against the sky are sublime.


My thoughts exactly. Although I won't completely rescind my comments from a few pages back, I gotta say it's looking better as more glass goes up ( a la the NYTimes Tower, coincidentally or not).




Methinks we need to stop being so quick to judge a facade's worthiness when just one panel or a couple floor's worth is applied. It only gives Curbed more of a reason to gossip.

[MidtownGuy]

Thanks Zippy for those great photos.
The cloud reflections minimize the stripes, which in these latest pics look much softer and better than I thought. I, for one, shall try to refrain from jumping to conclusions in the future. (can't make any promises, though:) )
This is turning into a real showstopper!
Bravo.

[Fabrizio]

Zippy thanks for the fotos. That´s crazy beautiful. Wow... it´s not going to be another Zebra building. Look how the stripes have depth. I like the light grey whitish color. And glass with no ripples and distortion.



Midtown: "shall try to refrain from jumping to conclusions in the future". I think critical thinking is good though.... and sticking your neck out. It all adds to the discussion and developes the eye.

[ddjiii]

I think I understand the suburban comment. For me it comes from a flat glass facade reflecting clouds, with no articulation to give it a sense of scale or proportion. But it's true that the glass is spectacular, and I have a sense that especially since it's under construction that being there might make all the difference. I'm not a huge Gehry fan, but I'm interested to see how this will turn out.

[czsz]

I still wish something could be done about the cracks between the panels...

[ablarc]

I still wish something could be done about the cracks between the panels...
You mean because they look a little uneven?

Workmanship problems tag along with Gehry; his conceptions are so complex that often the execution just can't keep up.

MIT's Stata Center has the same problem.

[lofter1]

Uneven? Don't know whre you're seeing that. There is some distortion in the photos -- but if you click them to the largest size you'll see that the joints / spaces between panels is pretty much uniform.

I imagine that there will be tyoe of "fill" between the panels -- particularly on the horizontal joints.

This will go a long way towards easing the minds of horizontaphobiasts ;)

[ddjiii]

I actually went by on my bike and looked at the building today. The glass is spectacular, no question about it, but I'm afraid that since glass is all there is that the building will end up being a big spectacular blob. There is (so far) nothing at ground level for the pedestrian, and I don't anticipate anything at the roof to designate the top. It's just not an urban building.

But every city needs some follies for us to gawp at, maybe it'll be fine.

[macreator]

As much as I'm sure their new building will provide some spectacular views, I am still unsure why IAC would chose to move from their very convenient location in Midtown down to Chelsea where the nearest subway is blocks and blocks away.

Chelsea doesn't have to be inconvenient, I used to work on 6th and 22nd street which was great for subway access, but IAC's spot is not even close to any mass transit.

[czsz]

Yes but West Street is well travelled (as well as easily accessible from the suburbs) and their building will make an architectural statement...it's a great exercise in branding and advertising the company.

[antinimby]

Plus, this is Manhattan in 2006 with a tight real estate market, one can't be too picky. There aren't that many perfect sites out there left, just be happy that there are even sites at all.

[vc10]

Barry Diller continually has to live down the fact that he came out of old media. So this is another bid for edgy new-media/web hipness.

It's the equivalent of a middle-aged midwesterner buying an Alfa Romeo Spyder.


As much as I'm sure their new building will provide some spectacular views, I am still unsure why IAC would chose to move from their very convenient location in Midtown down to Chelsea where the nearest subway is blocks and blocks away.

Chelsea doesn't have to be inconvenient, I used to work on 6th and 22nd street which was great for subway access, but IAC's spot is not even close to any mass transit.

[lofter1]

Don't forget that Diller is a yachtsman ... he can berth his craft right across West St. and in 5 minutes he's in the office.

[BrooklynRider]

As much as I'm sure their new building will provide some spectacular views, I am still unsure why IAC would chose to move from their very convenient location in Midtown down to Chelsea where the nearest subway is blocks and blocks away.

Chelsea doesn't have to be inconvenient, I used to work on 6th and 22nd street which was great for subway access, but IAC's spot is not even close to any mass transit.

Barry Diller wants to be closer to the gay bars and Chelsea boys.

[kurokevin]

This is similar to discussions at the Times Tower thread about how the horizontal openings in the rod curtain were overhwhelming the building and minimizing the verticality of the tower.

Now that the rod screens have reached almost halfway up the Times Tower the entire mass of the screens reveals a verticality that wasn't apparent when the width of the installed screens was greater than the height. Now the vertical nature of the Tower is reinforced by the screens.

Similar situation at IAC: With only a portion of the glass installed the horizontal aspect of the clear portions of the facade seem to overwhelm the upward thrust of the building. Once it is all installed the overall massing of the building will take precedence.

Could not have said it better myself. Now if only they'd get around to building the (I believe Diller) Eyebeam Institute that surfaced some years ago. Add the Highline and BAM instant artistic wonderland.

[finnman69]

This is similar to discussions at the Times Tower thread about how the horizontal openings in the rod curtain were overhwhelming the building and minimizing the verticality of the tower.

Now that the rod screens have reached almost halfway up the Times Tower the entire mass of the screens reveals a verticality that wasn't apparent when the width of the installed screens was greater than the height. Now the vertical nature of the Tower is reinforced by the screens.

Similar situation at IAC: With only a portion of the glass installed the horizontal aspect of the clear portions of the facade seem to overwhelm the upward thrust of the building. Once it is all installed the overall massing of the building will take precedence.

I think the comparison is apples and oranges. Gehry's stripe is so bold in the glass, while the diaphanous effect of Piano's screen is light and uniform. I could be wrong, but don't think I am.

[finnman69]

bold stripes with a curved silvery/grey sail shape, obviously the reflective glass will be more interesting

http://www.ucnet.pe.kr/USA/New%20York/NY%20City/WFAnca%20America-Academic%20Center%20Baruch%20College-01.jpg
http://www.emseal.com/Projects/COLORSEAL_PROJECTS/ColorSeal_By_Emseal_Baruch.jpg

[czsz]

Ugh, what were they thinking with the base?

[ablarc]

Ugh, what were they thinking with the base?
For that matter, what were they thinking with the rest of it?

[stache]

Baruch college is not ageing well at all.

[czsz]

For that matter, what were they thinking with the rest of it?

Atlanta Edge City?

I'll grant that it's a nice contrast among the early 20th century tower mass visible from the Empire State Building surrounding it.

[TonyO]

Baruch college is not ageing well at all.

True. It is a nice looking building, it really breaks up the monotonous boxes. However, they aren't keeping the metal curtain wall clean so there are large corrosive stains running down the side.

[czsz]

New images:

http://testofwill.blogspot.com/2006/04/skinning-iac.html

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060418%20012.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060418%20014.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060418%20019.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060418%20022.jpg

[BronxBoy]

Simply georgeous!!!

This is going to be one of the nicest buildings in NYC when finished.

I like it as much as I like the Hearst Tower.

[lofter1]

It looks better the bigger the picture ...

And BEST in person.

[BPC]

I really liked the poles. I wish the internal frame was not being completely glassed over.

[krulltime]

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/230/1249/1024/060418%20012.jpg


Wow what a shot!



I really liked the poles. I wish the internal frame was not being completely glassed over.


Hopefully the internal frame will have a different look of glass (Maybe a more clear glass). That will be awesome!

But the whole thing is looking great! Those sharp corners of glass! Or at least that is the visual effect.

[macreator]

Talk about a contrast -- look at the building to the immediate right of the Gehry building.

[lofter1]

I really liked the poles. I wish the internal frame was not being completely glassed over.
In person the poles are visible through the glass -- particularly if you view the building from the north to the south, where you actually view "through" the building, from glass to glass. This might change, depending on how interior walls are configured.

[krulltime]

Anybody knows how tall is this building in total feet?

[Citytect]

In person the poles are visible through the glass -- particularly if you view the building from the north to the south, where you actually view "through" the building, from glass to glass. This might change, depending on how interior walls are configured.

You have to look for them, though. I don't think the poles be noticeable after they finish installing the rest of the glass, unfortunately.

I really like the glass, and I think the building is looking good. But I have to wonder if this is the right glass for the building - or if this building is right for the glass. What I like about the design concept is that it has a subtlety that one rarely sees in Gehry's work. With this glass, though, the subtlety is long gone.

[Alonzo-ny]

columns guys, columns

[NYatKNIGHT]

April 24,

http://www.pbase.com/image/59248184.jpg

[BrooklynRider]

That's a nice shot.

[vc10]

I walked by this yesterday and was underwhelmed. I'd have preferred monocolored glass, or at a reduction in the amount of glass that is white.


That's a nice shot.

[MidtownGuy]

I must agree.