Pearl Duncan: Architect Frank Gehry Enhances NY's Iconic Skyline
[Pearl Duncan covered Newport-Bermuda Yacht Races, Miami-Montego Bay Yacht Races, Caribbean Ocean Racing Circuit (CORC) Races and others, for Sailing, Sail, and Yacht Racing/Cruising Magazines. Now she writes about historic New York and New Yorkers.]
Few experiences are more delightful than speaking with an architect who knows how a city should be built. Some say a city should have the light airy breath of a well-planned park, not the stuffiness of a randomly grown thick forest. When I contacted the architect, Frank Gehry, to ask about his vision for New York City, I asked one question and said it was okay for him to send an answer. I asked, “Why did he say the set-back skyline is unique to New York and to nowhere else, and what’s the benefit of the skyline?” When his assistant called, I thought, “Great. He’s responding.” But then she said, “Frank wants to speak with you.”
For several months, I’d followed Frank Gehry’s talks about his newest building in New York City. To my delight, he talked about light in the city. I’ll highlight his new building, then show you what he told me.
Will Gehry’s iconic design of his slender building change or expand the future of New York’s skyline? This gentleman, a world-renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning architect, in an earlier Wall Street Journal interview, said his residential building, a rental, at 8 Spruce Street on the east side of Lower Manhattan, standing on the edge of the districts known as Tribeca, Financial, Wall Street, World Trade Center, South Street Seaport, is a celebration of his respect for New York’s skyline. He said its design is an iconic signature. He captured “the essence of New York,” the heart, the core of New York. Quintessential Manhattan.
He spoke emotionally about what his working class Hells Kitchen resident dad would say if he saw the skyscraper. When he spoke of his new building, the 81 year-old architect told The Journal, “I don’t think you would see it anywhere else.” He told how he arrived at his conclusion by walking in the city and looking at what was built in the past. His new design is an anthem, not only to New York’s distinctive skyline, but to iconic architects and their earlier designs. I was curious to see what he saw, because this unique, world-famous architect said he looked up, and captured for the essence of the city.
Can we now walk the streets, look up at the skyline, and see the city through his creative eyes?...
Read entire article at Nearsay NY
Few experiences are more delightful than speaking with an architect who knows how a city should be built. Some say a city should have the light airy breath of a well-planned park, not the stuffiness of a randomly grown thick forest. When I contacted the architect, Frank Gehry, to ask about his vision for New York City, I asked one question and said it was okay for him to send an answer. I asked, “Why did he say the set-back skyline is unique to New York and to nowhere else, and what’s the benefit of the skyline?” When his assistant called, I thought, “Great. He’s responding.” But then she said, “Frank wants to speak with you.”
For several months, I’d followed Frank Gehry’s talks about his newest building in New York City. To my delight, he talked about light in the city. I’ll highlight his new building, then show you what he told me.
Will Gehry’s iconic design of his slender building change or expand the future of New York’s skyline? This gentleman, a world-renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning architect, in an earlier Wall Street Journal interview, said his residential building, a rental, at 8 Spruce Street on the east side of Lower Manhattan, standing on the edge of the districts known as Tribeca, Financial, Wall Street, World Trade Center, South Street Seaport, is a celebration of his respect for New York’s skyline. He said its design is an iconic signature. He captured “the essence of New York,” the heart, the core of New York. Quintessential Manhattan.
He spoke emotionally about what his working class Hells Kitchen resident dad would say if he saw the skyscraper. When he spoke of his new building, the 81 year-old architect told The Journal, “I don’t think you would see it anywhere else.” He told how he arrived at his conclusion by walking in the city and looking at what was built in the past. His new design is an anthem, not only to New York’s distinctive skyline, but to iconic architects and their earlier designs. I was curious to see what he saw, because this unique, world-famous architect said he looked up, and captured for the essence of the city.
Can we now walk the streets, look up at the skyline, and see the city through his creative eyes?...