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July 21, 2006
Hugh Hardy: Architect Calls for Fresh Take on Public Life
Streets Blog
"The greatest achievement of New York is the streets," says architect Hugh Hardy. And he says we can achieve richer public places -- if New York's citizens can persuade officials to make those places serve people rather than cars.
Hugh Hardy, architect of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Terminal, describes some of the goals and challenges of "placemaking" in NYC.
[Hardy's] premise: outdoor activity defines New Yorkers' lives and should expand beyond traditional sidewalks and plazas.
...
He warned that economic pressures can thwart this progress, especially on retail corridors. "How you can cultivate the diversity of street flow in new buildings is troublesome," he said. "The cost of construction is so enormous that a developer has to build something enormous. People who rent it have to be wealthy. That means they live in their hot tubs or they are a chain retailer." The profusion of national brands along Rockefeller Center and other shopping streets, he said, has made the "scale of the city bigger and more empty."
Discussion in the comments section concentrates on Hardy's Atlantic Terminal.
Posted by lumi at July 21, 2006 9:57 AM