A couple of weeks ago, my brother in law, Scott, dropped me off at the ferry terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey. I had to wait about ten minutes for the Ferry to make it over, so I spent some time just gazing over at the skyline of midtown Manhattan. Something looked new to me. Something big. As the ferry took off and we got closer and closer to the city I realized that the building I was viewing was the new New York Times building designed primarily by the Renzo Piano workshop. This would be a building I would see up close and personal later in the day as part of an architectural walking tour my friend Kevin and I were doing.
I’m embarrassed to say that I really don’t have anything insightful to relay about this building. I haven’t studied up on it’s shading system which not only covers the building (with thousands of ceramic tubes each looking like a fluorescent bulb) but covers the air above the building for a height of 40 feet above the top floor (don’t ask me why).
I guess the only thing I can offer is my gut reaction as I came off of the subway in midtown. This was: ” Wow, it’s crowded with tourists here!” I hope for the sake of the people having to work in this building that there are great services and food stalls within the building because having to step out the door several times a day would suck.
Looking up at the facade, I was glad to see the beautifully crafted shading device which Renzo piano has chosen. I hate to say this because his projects are always so different from each other, but this shading device is so Renzo. It seems unavoidable for him to use these panels on a building anymore. He must have a tight relationship with the manufacturer. I know this is kind of a stupid and thoughtless comment, but I don’t give a crap because it’s design crack, after all.
I wrote a bunch more but my browser crashed. I hate life right now. 
To find out more, check out:
- NewYorkTimesBuilding.com
- Flickr photos of New York Times Building
- Wikipedia entry for the New York Times Building
- Google Map of New York Times Building
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:39 am
I was reading your little article you created and found it interesting. It’s always nice to see how people approach a building that’s new to them, especially a notable one that they came upon. Even if you didn’t understand everything in this building, your appreciation for it means that the building is successful. Sorry about your browser crashing. Your ending made me laugh a bit.