la bomba shelter

Entering an era of new public architecture?

Superstar architects become the latest group formerly blessed with an embarrassment of riches now starting to hit the skids, as high end residential projects in New York are cancelled.  Talk is turning to engaging these renown designers in infrastructure projects the next few years.

Every major architect in the world, it seemed, was designing an exclusive residential building here. With its elaborate faux-graffiti barrier, Herzog & de Meuron’s 40 Bond Street was among the most indulgent, but it had plenty of rivals, including projects by Daniel Libeskind, UNStudio, Mr. Koolhaas and Norman Foster.

Together these projects threatened to transform the city’s skyline into a tapestry of individual greed.

This is a positive development.  As an architect you should be happy when your work positively affects the greatest number and variety of people as possible.  Many of the people who would love a park, bridge, library or music hall would never get near one of the condo buildings, unless they worked there as a servant.