Formique #2

<span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/search/label/formique">Formique</a> is an ongoing series that comments on contemporary architecture that ignores some of the basic human, environmental and other concerns that architecture should address, all in the name of formal invention.</span><br /><br /><img alt="formique002.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/formique002.jpg" title="166 Perry Street by Asymptote Architecture" /><br />[166 Perry Street by Asymptote Architecture | image <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/03/19/2010-03-19_reflect_on_this_166_perry_st_is_nycs_most_interesting_new_residential_building.html">source</a>]<br /><br />A story in NY Daily News on <a href="http://www.asymptote.net/">Asymptote Architecture</a>'s first ground-up building in Manhattan at 166 Perry Street in the West Village is aptly titled <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/real_estate/2010/03/19/2010-03-19_reflect_on_this_166_perry_st_is_nycs_most_interesting_new_residential_building.html">Reflect On This!</a> One thing the faceted glass curtain wall reflects is the sky, which makes me want to quote <a href="http://www.eartheasy.com/blog/2010/02/9-ways-to-help-birds-avoid-window-collisions/">Eartheasy's post</a> on a side effect of such a thing: "Birds often strike windows because they see a reflection of clouds, sky or trees which gives the mistaken impression that they are flying into open air." The prevalence of all-glass exterior facades is mind-boggling when one takes into consideration the avoidable harm to our fine-feathered friends. Very few architects actually address this concern (<a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/6c59b4fa-9821-11de-8d3d-00144feabdc0.html">Studio Gang</a> comes to mind), and in the case of 166 Perry Street the privacy of the residents trumps the lives of birds.

Formique #2

Formique is an ongoing series that comments on contemporary architecture that ignores some of the basic human, environmental and other co...

Read more »