Friday, August 14, 2009
An Architecture Critique
New York City has something I have not seen in any other city that I have been to or lived in. One cannot go far without encountering this item commonly referred to as a "Sidewalk Shed." That is the shorthand version, because to call it "scaffolding with reinforced decking to spare pedestrians the pain and suffering from falling bricks because the cheap bastard that owns the building won't fix the place up" doesn't quite roll off the tongue quite so easily.
Some of them are there for a limited time, while exterior work is being done on a building. There are others, however, that seem to have become a building's facade, a semi-permanent addition. I cannot believe that the Department of Buildings allows these things to stay in place without some kind of time limit. Some of them have been up for well over five years.
These hideously ugly, but utilitarian structures are ubiquitous on our crowded island. As I walk around my close by stomping grounds- Gramercy, Flatiron, Chelsea, Union Square, Murray Hill, The East Village, The West Village, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy, Battery Park, and Tribeca (Ok, I walk a lot. I have a big hound.) I come upon dozens of these, maybe over a hundred.
I wish I owned the scaffolding company. The rents on the gear must be unbelievable.
There are alternative uses for these structures. It does provide shelter from the rain for many homeless. And a private place to publicly urinate. The homeless almost have an excuse for this, since it can be hard to find a place to relieve oneself- but what's the excuse all those drunks are using? I'm pretty sure that an alternative purpose is not to catch and tear the sleeve of an expensive leather jacket as I walk by, damn it!
I truly have no alternative suggestion for these horrid eyesores. I know that some are there legitimately and will be gone soon. Maybe if someone made them with some kind of design flair, something to make them at least a little bit more visually acceptable. I'm not expecting visually pleasing. Just something that doesn't scream "I ASPIRE TO BE A PILE OF RUBBLE!"
It's just that I'm still pissed off about the jacket.
Some of them are there for a limited time, while exterior work is being done on a building. There are others, however, that seem to have become a building's facade, a semi-permanent addition. I cannot believe that the Department of Buildings allows these things to stay in place without some kind of time limit. Some of them have been up for well over five years.
These hideously ugly, but utilitarian structures are ubiquitous on our crowded island. As I walk around my close by stomping grounds- Gramercy, Flatiron, Chelsea, Union Square, Murray Hill, The East Village, The West Village, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy, Battery Park, and Tribeca (Ok, I walk a lot. I have a big hound.) I come upon dozens of these, maybe over a hundred.
I wish I owned the scaffolding company. The rents on the gear must be unbelievable.
There are alternative uses for these structures. It does provide shelter from the rain for many homeless. And a private place to publicly urinate. The homeless almost have an excuse for this, since it can be hard to find a place to relieve oneself- but what's the excuse all those drunks are using? I'm pretty sure that an alternative purpose is not to catch and tear the sleeve of an expensive leather jacket as I walk by, damn it!
I truly have no alternative suggestion for these horrid eyesores. I know that some are there legitimately and will be gone soon. Maybe if someone made them with some kind of design flair, something to make them at least a little bit more visually acceptable. I'm not expecting visually pleasing. Just something that doesn't scream "I ASPIRE TO BE A PILE OF RUBBLE!"
It's just that I'm still pissed off about the jacket.
