“That’s why we got haters, that’s why we got haters
Haters everywhere we go, haters everywhere we go”
– B.o.B
Justin Davidson, writing about the architecture of Downtown Brooklyn for Curbed:
Architecturally, though, it’s one of the city’s great missed opportunities. Vast expanses of aluminum panels and budget glass, slabs that look like they were drawn with a hacksaw, façades checkered with air conditioners, stretches of dead street frontage—the whole neighborhood looks like a first draft. Now that the area is no longer one enormous construction zone (though new buildings continue to rise), we can see that it’s become the Olive Garden of New York real estate, offering a mediocre product and plenty of it.
Oof. This article is scathing. Davidson goes building by building, eviscerating each design. Brooklyn Tower, in one of the kinder comments, gets described simply as “assertively detailed.”
I suppose I’m not the architectural subject-matter expert here, but the descriptions seem a bit harsh to me. Viewing the New York City skyline from a distance, you can now clearly see the cluster of Downtown Brooklyn buildings alongside Midtown and the Financial District. And Brooklyn is holding its own.
Now that some of the construction has started to clear (though not nearly enough), the neighborhood feels much more homey. It feels lived in, not just visited or passed through. New grocery stores are popping up left and right.
I suppose these are all vibe-related, and not architecture-related. But I think they’re connected. For anyone living in this neighborhood, or considering moving here, this article feels off—disconnected from the reality on the street.
So, when Davidson claims that “the irony of Downtown Brooklyn is that it provides city living for people who don’t much care for the city,” I can’t help but feel sorry for him. The lens through which he’s evaluating the neighborhood seems fogged, obstructing his view. It makes me wonder what else he’s missing.
Aaaaanyway, do you hate the architecture as much as he does? Is that even possible? I’m curious what other people think.
