Quote:
Originally Posted by patriotizzy
^^^^^
Hear me out. Looking at that last picture, a thought sparked in my mind. O'Vandy is the Chrysler of the 21st Century.
They contrast each other well. Chrysler has round features. Vandy has sharp features and angles.
They also mirror each other. A flowering crown, beset in graceful setbacks. Proportionally also.
As above, so below. The Empire State Building of the 21st Century is yet to come.
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Fine. But then BRING BACK GARGOYLES! Or a representation of such. Imagine Vandy with four gleaming eagles, and a bunch of hubcaps. Decorating the box wasn't so bad until Ayn Rand stuck her little rape fantasy tush into it! (Fountainhead joke.)
Truth is, when you take in all the details, materials and proportions of the Chrysler, there's no comparison. Our society just doesn't build with such intimacy and care anymore. Not a knock on Vandy, it's just the age we live in. IMHO computers, while allowing so many efficiency and engineering advancements, have also dealt a death blow to the more artistic craft of architecture. Nowadays you don't even have to be able to draw to become an architect. So says an old guy who finished his undergrad degree just as they were beginning to teach AutoCAD as an elective.
I do certainly think the architect was giving a nod to the Chrysler, but we just don't build those kinds of buildings anymore. That said, I can't wait to explore how Vandy interacts with Grand Central, it will certainly be an improvement to the area.
I would say 111 w57th is more akin to the Chrysler than Vandy, at least in its intimate details and slender, soaring nature.