The massive Mount Sinai Hospital fills a few blocks on Fifth Avenue alongside Eastern Central Park. The big Annenberg Building, built in 1976, literally towers above all other structures. Many have called it an eyesore and are keen on the block’s destruction. In what can only be called a revenge act, the hospital management has fought back by building another tower nearby.
Category Archives: Architecture
Schomburg Plaza
Up ten blocks from the Mount Sinai is this additional beauty from the 1970s called Schomburg Plaza (thanks to Julius for the hint!). The two towers have been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the past. Looking for information, I also stumbled upon an interesting exchange about how safe it is to live in South Harlem.
Tokyo Olympics continued
While researching for my book chapter, I just stumbled upon this amazing simplified map of Tokyo. It appeared in Sports Illustrated in 1964, and shows all the venues and points of interest for the visitor to the Summer Olympics, which took place here in October. You can access by clicking on “view this issue” (or try this link instead and go to pages 44/45). See below for a screenshot (click to magnify).
Several of the buildings on the map will be discussed in the upcoming book: Hotel Okura, Yoyogi National Gymnasium as well as Komazawa Olympic Park with its great stadiums. I wrote up a few facts on the Games here.
The photos preceding the map are gorgeous and the American tourism guide immediately after the map is worth the (cumbersome) read as well. From cheap taxis, road naming conventions, long nights followed by a Tsukiji fish market experience to buildings to be avoided for their apparent ugliness (Diet building, Tokyo Tower), the article is a great reminder of what has and what hasn’t changed since fifty years ago.
New York
Welcome to New York City! We arrived here a few days ago and are slowly settling in. In what has become tradition since Japan, my instincts immediately led me to two iconic 1950s buildings on Park Avenue. Jotting down some observations is one thing, yet I feel that exploring this city may need some more structure this time.
Lever House
Just across the street from the Seagram Building is another classic from the early period of modernist New York skyscrapers. It was the pet project of “boy wonder” career-changer Charles Luckman. The building inspired other skyscrapers around the world, even reaching my native Berlin in the process.
Seagram Building
The Seagram Building is German architect Mies van der Rohe’s sole contribution to New York’s skyline. In a city full of skyscrapers, his 1958 commission to build the Canadian liquor company’s headquarter manages to stand out until this day. Unlike any other NYC building, it also epitomises the downside of modernist architecture – its dismal environmental record.
Richard Rogers
A friend and I saw the Richard Rogers exhibition “Inside Out” in the Royal Academy of Arts last week. Having been under the spell of architecture and urban issues for some time now, I had a great time. I just don’t know whether I like Rogers’ architecture that much.
Belgium
While in Holland working as a political analyst, I came to Belgium quite often, mainly to Brussels. I have since returned a few times to see friends who have ended up here in one way or another, just like last week.
The Berlaymont, housing the EU Commission
West Berliner Platten
My recent stay in Berlin, especially the frequent cycling, has brought me past some impressive housing projects in the city’s West. Unfortunately, the two more internationally renowned projects I was planning to see were not among them. They’re saved for next time.
Woodberry Down
To my surprise, one of Europe’s biggest urban regeneration projects is slowly taking shape close to where I used to live in London. Woodberry Down is an older estate and one of London’s most iconic. Practically all buildings will be torn down to make space for a very ambitious development. I took a stroll around here last weekend.
