new Northwest Corner Building.

ConfucianNemisis
Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:44:53 +0000

I used to be like this. I went to college wanting to be a historic preservationist. I love the classical buildings on campus. But, among other things, the fact is that it would cost far too much money to execute a building with the detailed qualities of a McKim work. Some schools can afford that. Other times you get ugly apeing (see the broadway side of Lerner) or just unwieldy and ill proportioned wastes, like CEPSR which at first glance seems like a nice modern homage to the rest of campus, but is really heavy handed and ugly once you get used to it. So rather than trying to emulate the past and only insulting it in the process, I prefer to try something new.

I’ve seen the new building up close, and I’m pretty happy with it. Hopefully Columbia doesn’t eff up the little details that give a place it’s soul (this is the first building Columbia has built that’s been designed with a street facing lobby and entrance. I really hope they don’t turn it into a cramped sterile military check point) and I imagine the views will be stellar from the inside.

Lerner is a disaster for plenty of reasons, among them that Tschumi’s theories are those of an egomaniacal jerk. I’ve studied them. I really enjoyed the Blue & White review of a book Tschumi published shortly after lerner opened: http://www.morningside-heights.net/lerner.htm (towards the bottom of the page)

That being said, take morningsideheights.net with a grain of salt. Nothing would satisfy those people, and they love spending other peoples money! It’s a great source for history, but the opinion stuff gets a little out of hand :)