Edward Durell’s design for 2 Columbus Circle in New York City was never a masterpiece of architecture, but its idiosyncratic character expressed a unique vision that raised it to landmark status. The famous architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable, who hated the building when it was completed in 1964, came to love it over the years, describing the “sense of pleasure” she had when walking by it’s quirky, curved and monolithic facade.
The redesign by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture for the Museum of Arts and Design has been completed. The result is a boring, slick wrapper that swallows up the old building, but offers little in return. The giant letter “H’ that is unintentionally spelled out on the facade, is particularly awkward, but then again so are most of the design choices. This is a loss for not only architectural history, but for the citizens of New York.
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