Richard Meier, Bjarke Ingels, Annabelle Selldorf and Rick Cook debate the future of New York's skyline
POSTED 27 Jan 2016 . BY Kim Megson
The quartet participated in a wide-ranging roundtable discussion Credit: 92nd Street Y
Four of the world's best-known architects have united in calling for New York developers to create more public leisure space.
Rick Cook, Bjarke Ingels, Annabelle Selldorf and Richard Meier made the case for green space in a roundtable discussion called The Future of New York's Skyline, organised by cultural collective 92nd Street Y.
Pritzker Prize winning architect Richard Meier said buildings should be a “gift to the city,” but voiced his concern that the public is being ignored by developers creating skyscrapers for wealthy tenants.
He said: “High rises are here to stay and buildings will continue to get taller. What is missing is public outdoor space, which should be a given for any building in Manhattan because it's part and parcel of great buildings.
“We need to think more about how a building relates to its context through public space," he continued. "Manhattan isn't Hong Kong; it doesn't have buildings on top of buildings. When you walk on the sidewalk, no matter how tall the building, you should feel related to it.
“At the moment towers are taking up the air, but at the ground they haven't given anything back...The question is whether it's the city’s fault or developers’ fault that we’re missing that in so many areas.”
Selldorf – who has created many cultural and commercial New York buildings – agreed, stating: “I crave trees, nature, parks, but more than anything I crave a better, more equal place for people. We need to do a little bit more to create more dignified and more civilised space in our urban environment."
“I’m living in the place in New York I found with most outdoor space,” he said. “I ended up camping this summer on my terrace and I woke up with bird tweets, and I realised I hadn’t heard birds singing almost since I moved to New York. But they’re here and there’s definitely something there.
“It used to be a space with a terrace was the least value in a building, now it’s an asset because of what it offers in the form of entertainment and quality of life and work.”
Ingels added that any piece of architecture should belong to the public just as much as it belongs to the client or the architect. He said: “The second you have done something, it’s no longer yours. It’s everyone’s, and their interpretation of it is as valid as yours. Once you put it out there, you can understand what it means. That’s how cities evolve.”
Rick Cook, who is known for his environmentally sustainable buildings, said he has seen a growing focus on civic parks, waterfront activity and the resiliency of buildings.
He said: “Nature is more beautiful than anything we can create and people have inherent desire to feel connected to that.
“For a developer, you want someone who cares, someone who has love and compassion and who wants to do something that is meaningful.”
You can watch the roundtable discussion below:
PROJECT PROFILE: The Dryline New York City’s Dryline – a proposed flood barrier around Lower Manhatten by BIG,
(Bjarke Ingels Group) is to be the subject of a webinar on Friday 12 June.
RELATED STORIES
Take a flying tour of Bjarke Ingels' New York 'courtscraper' POSTED 11 Dec 2015. BY Kim Megson Bjarke Ingels Group hotly-anticipated New York ‘courtscraper’ is nearing completion, with
dramatic new video footage – captured by a GoPro camera attached to a crane – showing
the final panels being added to the structure’s cladding.
Arup outline vision for greener global cities POSTED 10 Dec 2015. BY Kim Megson International architecture and engineering practice Arup have published a report declaring
city planners around the world must do more to create green urban environments that
promote the health and wellbeing of residents.
Renzo Piano's new Whitney offers one of New York's largest art spaces POSTED 27 Apr 2015. BY Tom Anstey The Renzo Piano-designed Whitney Museum of American Art in New York’s Meatpacking
District will open to the public this Friday (1 May), offering indoor and outdoor galleries, a
conservation laboratory and the largest column-free exhibition space in the entire city.
27 Jan 2016 Richard Meier, Bjarke Ingels, Annabelle Selldorf and Rick Cook debate the future of New York's skyline BYKim Megson
The quartet participated in a wide-ranging roundtable discussion photo: 92nd Street Y
Four of the world's best-known architects have united in calling for New York developers to create more public leisure space.
Rick Cook, Bjarke Ingels, Annabelle Selldorf and Richard Meier made the case for green space in a roundtable discussion called The Future of New York's Skyline, organised by cultural collective 92nd Street Y.
Pritzker Prize winning architect Richard Meier said buildings should be a “gift to the city,” but voiced his concern that the public is being ignored by developers creating skyscrapers for wealthy tenants.
He said: “High rises are here to stay and buildings will continue to get taller. What is missing is public outdoor space, which should be a given for any building in Manhattan because it's part and parcel of great buildings.
“We need to think more about how a building relates to its context through public space," he continued. "Manhattan isn't Hong Kong; it doesn't have buildings on top of buildings. When you walk on the sidewalk, no matter how tall the building, you should feel related to it.
“At the moment towers are taking up the air, but at the ground they haven't given anything back...The question is whether it's the city’s fault or developers’ fault that we’re missing that in so many areas.”
Selldorf – who has created many cultural and commercial New York buildings – agreed, stating: “I crave trees, nature, parks, but more than anything I crave a better, more equal place for people. We need to do a little bit more to create more dignified and more civilised space in our urban environment."
“I’m living in the place in New York I found with most outdoor space,” he said. “I ended up camping this summer on my terrace and I woke up with bird tweets, and I realised I hadn’t heard birds singing almost since I moved to New York. But they’re here and there’s definitely something there.
“It used to be a space with a terrace was the least value in a building, now it’s an asset because of what it offers in the form of entertainment and quality of life and work.”
Ingels added that any piece of architecture should belong to the public just as much as it belongs to the client or the architect. He said: “The second you have done something, it’s no longer yours. It’s everyone’s, and their interpretation of it is as valid as yours. Once you put it out there, you can understand what it means. That’s how cities evolve.”
Rick Cook, who is known for his environmentally sustainable buildings, said he has seen a growing focus on civic parks, waterfront activity and the resiliency of buildings.
He said: “Nature is more beautiful than anything we can create and people have inherent desire to feel connected to that.
“For a developer, you want someone who cares, someone who has love and compassion and who wants to do something that is meaningful.”
Precor Precor promises precision-quality products with steadfast reliability that are inspired by exercisers and built to perform for the world’s best fitness facilities. View full profile>>
