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March 10, 2010
An about-face from Ratner: after wanting Gehry to design all AY buildings, now he's said to seek different architects for each one
Atlantic Yards Report
Childs' firm, Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, may be in the running for an AY tower, according to the Brooklyn Paper, which reported that he approved of the arena redesign:
“It’s a good-looking design,” said Childs, who specifically cited the building’s “industrial” outer membrane.
Critics Francis Morrone and Paul Goldberger last September slammed Borough President Marty Markowitz for suggesting that the building invoked Brooklyn's industrial heritage.
Gilmartin on architects, MAS
Forest City Ratner Executive VP MaryAnne Gilmartin told the Brooklyn Paper that, while FCR had talked to Childs, it was too soon to speculate on who might work on the project. The Paper reported:
“This is about finding the right architects for the challenge,” she said. “There are many architects who could create a beautiful design, but this isn’t only about design. One has to add in the challenge of building a high-rise structure with union labor and an affordable housing component. Atlantic Yards is about cracking the code on this kind of challenge.”
Gilmartin said she was gratified by Childs’s kind words, considering that he is chairman of the Municipal Art Society, a design watchdog group that has a faction that is opposed to Atlantic Yards.
MAS position
The Municipal Art Society (MAS) doesn't have a faction opposed to the project; rather, as it spearheaded BrooklynSpeaks, it has warned of serious design problems in the project, such as superblocks, and since suggested the Atlantic Lots scenario of indefinite interim surface parking.
Then again, when members of BrooklynSpeaks finally went to court last year, MAS was not part of the case.
Posted by eric at March 10, 2010 11:12 AM