About a month ago, now, a friend of mine and toured New York for the latest in architectural works. I had been told that the design duo, Herzog & de Meuron, had been commissioned to design a new condominium building in Noho. So, we went to take a look. My first impression when we arrived was that I was not the only architecture geek in Manhattan. There was nothing special going on at the building. It was just a random Sunday. And yet, there was a small crowd gathered just opposite of the construction site all snapping pictures and gawking as if this building were Lindsey Lohan. The building is not Lindsey Lohan, though. If it were personified, the building would be more like Dieter from Sprockets.

This is an overused comparison, but I didn’t want to offend any real life people that are more than just caricatures. The building, just like Dieter is austere, angular, rigid, boxy, and somewhat cold. Where the building diverges from Dieter is it’s zest for trying something new. Dieter is caught in a stagnant world of black turtlenecks whereas this building’s facade is about as innovative as any I’ve seen. The facade is made up of what appears to be translucent green glass and steel mullions with clear glass panels. The mullions are like ghosts. They are illusive in their physical makeup and are hard to pin down exactly what they are.

Another diversion from the stodgy Dieter is the gate to the project (which I do not picture here, but should be seen in at Flickr to be believed). The gate, I believe is either made from a massive CNC router that carved out the piece or from a massive 3D printer that built up the piece. However the gate was made the effect is it looks like limp spaghetti draped over a form and then sprayed with lacquer. I’ve heard people complaining that it’s ugly. I do not feel this way. I love it, and I think of it as an artistic expression of technology that could not have existed at any point in history that made this gate happen. If you’re in New York, you need to see this building.

For more about 40 bond, check out:

• 40bond.com
  
• Herzog & de Meuron on Wikipedia
• 40 Bond on Flickr
• 40 Bond Gate at Curbed.com
• Sprockets Videos