What is this blog about?

"Hello, my name is John. I'm a recovering architect."

I like all sorts of towns, cities and buildings, but what I design are Classical buildings and Traditional towns and cities. You can see some of them at www.massengale.com.

With Robert A.M. Stern I wrote a history of architecture and urbanism in the Progressive Era, New York 1900, Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism 1890–1915 (Rizzoli, 1983) as well as an introduction to the history of suburbia before sprawl, The Anglo–American Suburb (St. Martin's Press, 1981). With Victor Dover, I am writing Street Design, The Art & Practice of Making Complete Streets (J. Wiley & Sons, 2013).

I'm a Board Member of the Congress for New Urbanism, the former Chair of CNU New York and a former Director of the Institute of Classical Art & Architecture and Federated Conservationists of Westchester County.

A co-founder of the New Urban and Traditional Architecture Councils.I was also a co-founder of the pro-urb list, a forum on the internet for an advanced discussion of New Urbanism. And in this blog you will find some postings from that list, along with other writings and clippings on architecture, urbanism, Classicism, Tradition, metaphysics and culture.


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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Glass Schmass

Glasschmerz*

Ny_glass_ii

WE'RE supposed to think that "folds" make glass buildings beautiful and interesting. This shape would be boring as a two inch sculpture. At 60 stories, it's deadly boring. Taken around the corner from the previous photo, in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, this picture makes New York look like Houston on the Hudson.

Boring on the street, boring on the skyline, and boring in between — tell me again why this is "avant garde"?

* apologies to Curbed

October 25, 2007 in Architecture, Current Affairs, New York, Urbanism | Permalink

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