Category Archives: The Other Kind

The Good Kind—The New York Municipal Building

by John Massengale Posted on May 15, 2015

McKim, Mead & White, New York Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street, Manhattan, 1907-1914. ONE-HUNDRED YEARS AGO, when the New York Municipal Building was one year old, McKim, Mead & White were known across the country as the best architects in … Continue reading →

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Honestly, isn’t this building giving New Yorkers the finger?

by John Massengale Posted on May 11, 2015

UPDATE: When I first published this quick post in September 2014, for some reason it attracted comments from young architects who not only wanted to defend the building, but who saw my comments as ridiculous. In retrospect, it’s obvious that … Continue reading →

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The Good Kind, and the Other Kind

by John Massengale Posted on February 6, 2015

The top photo shows, from left to right, the Pierre Hotel, the Sherry-Netherlands Hotel, the Savoy-Plaza Hotel, the Squibb Building, and the Plaza Hotel. In between the Pierre and the Sherry-Netherlands Hotel are the Metropolitan Club and two long-gone buildings. … Continue reading →

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“We are an evil people, and we deserve to be punished”

by John Massengale Posted on January 9, 2015

It was meant to trumpet an aspirational lifestyle and showcase the very pinnacle of luxury living in one of London’s most exclusive new residential towers, where penthouses are currently on the market for over £4m. But property developer Redrow’s latest … Continue reading →

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Separated At Birth: One Santa Fe & One Western Avenue

by John Massengale Posted on December 22, 2014

ONE’S IN the Los Angeles Arts District, the other’s at Harvard Business School. In addition to the 40-ton Swords of Damocles overhead, they share little human scale* and little to even show that humans live there. The critics love both, … Continue reading →

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Top Seven Reasons Behind the Shanghaiing of New York (#Dubai-on-Hudson)

by John Massengale Posted on October 29, 2014

Big Finance: Most people don’t realize that Big Finance is the engine driving the global movement that has the Mayors of New York, London, and Paris promoting shiny Starchitecture indistinguishable from the shiny Starchitecture in Dubai, Mumbai, and Shanghai (always in … Continue reading →

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We used to make the countryside more beautiful, but now that we’re richer than ever we rarely do

by John Massengale Posted on June 1, 2014

Technology can supply some of our favorite and most-loved things, but most of the time, we use it in a way that inadequately expresses human experience and aspirations.

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Second Annual Slouching Towards Alphaville Award

by John Massengale Posted on March 23, 2007

An old post from Veritas & Venustas: It’s cold. It’s winter. It’s minus 20 degrees, an arctic wind is blowing in from the Russian steppes, and you’re walking on the biggest street in Moscow. Above you in the swirling snow … Continue reading →

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Muschamp on Ground Zero: It’s Houston, And We Have A Problem

by John Massengale Posted on February 22, 2004

THE MAIN ENTRANCE to the 911 Memorial Museum looks like the exit from a cineplex in a suburban shopping mall. It is unworthy of New York and a sad commentary on how little we achieved at Ground Zero after a … Continue reading →

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Harvard’s architects say: How about us?

by John Massengale Posted on December 19, 2003

The Boston Globe is online at http://boston.com/, and the article “Harvard’s architects say: How about us?” can be bought from the online archives for $2.95. I have put selected portions of the article below. By Alex Beam, Globe Columnist, December … Continue reading →

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