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July 13, 2011
SHoP Architects' Gregg Pasquarelli Understands More Than Anyone Else, Almost
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
SHoP Architects' Gregg Pasquarelli, the guy who rendered the traffic-less George Foreman grill at the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush, gave a talk recently. He must love irony as much as Bruce Ratner does:
Are Architects Performance Artists? A Conference Addresses "Performativity"
By Jonathan Liu. New York Observer"We understand more than anyone else on the job site," Gregg Pasquarelli told a second-floor conference room one recent Thursday evening inside the New School's Arnhold Hall.
His audience peered at him through a remarkable selection of eyewear—surely the most impressive array of cantilevers, arches and trusswork west of the East River. "We truly do," he reiterated. "We know more than the developer, we know more the contractor, we know more than the inspector, we know more than the guy installing something. We know a lot about all the stuff. It's the integrator and the communicator role that's the most important thing: We don't build buildings, we make instruction sets for buildings."
...Well, with all of his highfalutin, self-congralutory archy-speak, surely Mr. Pasquarelli also understands he is in bed with an ethically challenged developer, designing an ethically challenged project. Doesn't he?
Related coverage...
NY Observer, Are Architects Performance Artists? A Conference Addresses ‘Performativity’
We don't know if architects are performance artists, but some of them — especially those involved with Atlantic Yards — sure seem to be pseudo-intellectual blowhards.
Posted by eric at July 13, 2011 10:38 AM