Oculus at the World Trade Center, New York, NY © harlan erskine 2017

New Architecture Photography: Oculus at dawn

November 13, 2017 in Architecture, my pictures, New York

Recently, I ventured out for a dawn shot of Santiago Calatrava's Oculus at the World Trade Center. It was a cool early morning that was so beautiful it made me want to be more of an early riser. The bird/dinosaur-like structure of the stark white Oculus is a polarizing building but it's definitely one of my favorite new structures in the city.

Here is a detail of the shot above.

Oculus at the World Trade Center (detail), New York, NY © harlan erskine 2017

Orange County Government Center, August, 2017. © harlan erskine.

Revisiting the Orange County Government Center, Goshen, NY — Part 2

September 27, 2017 in Architecture, design, my pictures, New York

In the middle of August, I drove north to check on the changes at the Orange County Government Center. The interior lighting has been installed and you can see they are finishing up. Even some of the construction fencing has begun to come down. Sadly, the new building isn't looking any better–sure the cladding will remove the blue color, but the silver envelope of zombie modernism remains.

Part 2 of an ongoing series as the new construction wraps up. View part 1 here, my original post here and the full Orange County Government Center project here.

Orange County Government Center, April, 2017. © harlan erskine.

Revisiting the Orange County Government Center, Goshen, NY — Part 1

September 22, 2017 in Architecture, design, my pictures, New York

A few years ago when I first heard about Goshen, NY's plans to demolish the Orange County Government Center from 1967, I knew I had to go and check the place out for myself. I hadn't been to Goshen since I was a little kid and was unfamiliar with the landscape there. After my first visit, I was smitten with the Brutalist structure and disappointed in the attitude that it should be demolished.

Since then I've tried to visit regularly. I've been back there over a half a dozen times–each trip making images of the architecture and the status of the cultural butchery. My last two visits were particularly weird. A new building has grown an appendage to Paul Rudolf's masterwork set in a style. You could call Zombie Modernism. While it's not quite worse than a full demolition, it is a growth that is offensive. There seems to be little thought or care in its design. There is no conversation between the two structures; it's more like an argument. For example, the new building is clad in smooth steel. The brutalist structure has a rough concrete exterior.

I think about cases where old and new were joined together successfully (The Morgan Library's Renzo Piano editions come to mind), and I have to say this is an awful example of architecture gone wrong. This is the McMansion Hell in government office form. My only hope is one day a future generation will come along and slice off the new appendage.

Part 1 of an ongoing series as the new construction wraps up.