February 7, 2006
Barnard Student Center: XXX-Fugly?
Oh man-- we thought nothing would top the Lerner Student Center for ugliest new building in Morningside Heights, but it looks like the administrators at Barnard are gunning for the title with their Nexus building, scheduled for completion in 2009. The Spectator reports:
The $50 million building, which has graduated from schematic development to design development, will create space for classes, academic departments, dining, theater and dance rehearsals and performances, and gallery showings, among other events, thus alleviating some of the strain on current resources while creating new opportunities...Space in the 80,000 square foot building will be divided relatively evenly between public venues, areas for student organizations and academic departments, and instructional and research facilities.
Included in the building are two theaters: a large event hall and a 100-seat black box on the building’s bottom floor, complete with catwalk, green rooms, a workshop, and storage. There are also 12 new classrooms, at least one of which will seat more than 74 people.
One bright spot in this otherwise uninspired and starkly modern design: the building will have a green-roof, which should make it a little more environmentally friendly. Oh well-- even the ugliest building has still got to be better than the current Macintosh Hall-- a squat, 1960s style pile of concrete that has long been hated by Barnard students.
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Surely I'm not the only Gothamist reader who wishes Jake would stop trying to write "edgy" post titles? I have met Jessica Coen, and you sir are not Jessica Coen. Stop trying to be someone you're not.
Modern architecure makes you wonder if they used up all the good ideas. Sad to say we'll never see another Grand Central Terminal or Williamsburgh Bank Building. Instead we get Frank Gehry like crap.
as a recent alum, i just want to mention that the chessey, 70s-inspired mcintosh center was not hated by the students, but rather managed to actually foster a genuine sense of community. the atmosphere is something that the lerner space still stuggles to invite and this is a reason for some student opposition to the nexus' plans.
I would actually suggest to you that this looks like it will be a pretty nice building. Sure, it's not Grand Central Station, but should we really be using fake historicist motifs in a contemporary building anyway?
It looks like it will have as good a relationship with the street as any of the other buildings in the area and the continuous class public space through cutting diagonally through the building, while perhaps visually disturbing, will create important connections among the various activities in the building.
It does look like it will be decently environmentally friendly too.
"Sure, it's not Grand Central Station, but should we really be using fake historicist motifs in a contemporary building anyway?"
If it'd make a building more awe inspiring than this carbuncle, then yes.