In a previous post, as I recalled, it was suggested (in rather less polite terms) that NYC was beating Chicago in terms of the design quality of new residential construction.
I'm not so sure this is true, and this view does not simply stem from Chicago boosterism or a desire to bash NYC. I just came back from a short visit to NYC, and nothing in this nation beats 100+ blocks of vibrant urbanism that is Broadway. But consider..
Some of the new highrises in NYC designed by extremely famous architects such as Richard A.M. Stern and Robert Meier are good, but by no means great showstopping buildings. I don't have much doubt that Ralph Johnson's Skybridge and Contemporaine (and Destefano's Erie on the Park) best Robert Meier's recent residential contribution in the Village or elsewhere in NYC.
Stern's tower in the upper east side is good but not great. Michael Graves tower in Midtown is another story -- I think its a great example of post-modernism and does best Chicago's 800 North Michigan.
And Trump's recent NYC additions are nothing special relative to Trump's contribution in Chicago. The 70-story black glass box near the UN is just that -- a big black box. And the Trump Place development on the West Side is decent, but nothing special. None of this, in my opinion, comes close to Trump Tower Chicago.
There is a fair amount of mediocre residential going up in NYC, as in Chicago. The mediocre arguably leaves a bigger mark on Chicago because some of it is so gargatuan and is not well blended into dozens of older construction as in NYC. (i.e., some of the new River North towers simply dominate that area.)
In general, I think Chicago is competing with NYC in quality due to the construction of the usual suspects: One Museum Park, 340 on the Park, 65 East Huron. There are few if any new modernist residential towers on par with the Bristol.> |
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