Absurd.
Further, I hate to state the obvious, but most of Asia is a Commie hellhole. If you think otherwise, then Big Brother’s propaganda has worked well on you.
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Exactly. Tianjin, which according to many is a failed city, still hasn’t finished the nearly 2000 feet Golden Finance Center. Construction starting over 12 years ago. What a joke! There is no demand for these tall buildings in China. American cities build in economic demand, not fake government investment. This in turn leads to an waste of money in a developing country (China). They should invest in better pandemic management and stop worrying about building glass showcase towers that are empty.
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Started in 2008, not finished yet despite China’s apparent economic miracle and wealthy investment opportunities…
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And that’s considering that it is built with slave labor.
I never really had an issues with China until recently. I respect the people, but their leaders are corrupt dictators. Xi is a repulsive tyrant, who makes Trump seem more benign than Mother Theresa.
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Asia’s architecture is tacky and will look dated in 20 years. NYC is killing it in the skyscraper game, blowing China and the Middle East out of the water. This tower is gorgeous and will still be gorgeous in 50 years.
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China builds places that make no sense. Its like building the WTC but nobody moves in but we’ll build Hudson yards. America never does that and we put money into areas that we see would be beneficial.
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I don’t think this building should have flat-topped crown. It definitely needs an Art Deco pinnacle to match the Chrysler’s Spire.
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It would look beautiful in New York!
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I should live so long!
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42nd Street already has a comical number of spires. Putting a “referential” spire on this building as a nod to its iconic next door neighbor would be a regrettable gimmick. However I do agree it shouldn’t be totally flat, so I’m hoping for some refinement to the crown. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s CTF Tianjin has a similar silhouette and a gorgeous latticework crown, so I know they can do better. (yes I know, blah blah China, blah blah American Exceptionalism, don’t @ me)
I might feel differently about the crown if the tower tapered more so the flat top wasn’t so damned wide. I was pretty surprised when the massing was originally unveiled, that the bulk of the tower wasn’t shifted further West, away from the Chrysler (or North, away from 42nd). It was clear from the CB5 meeting that the visual relationship between 175 Park and Chrysler is going to be a bone of contention, so do not be surprised if this design gets revised to address this. But hey – if that results in a somewhat thinner, resultantly taller tower that also preserves some sight lines of the Chrysler? I’d call that a win-win-win.
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If we add a spire to this one ,it will absolutely become a megatall !!!
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I agree it doesn’t need a spire. Even if it brokes this field of spire over the 42nd Street, the fact that they almost ressurect the Metlife Tower of 1929 in a more modern way largely compensates. It only miss a Larkin Tower revival ( or a skyneedle one its is the same design even if it’s in Chicago) and New York would have fullfilled all its old dreams of the 1930’s.
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If we are talking about need, why are we building this? I honestly doubt that even by 2030 office occupancy will be pre covid capacity, there is a strong chance that many companies (who do not own their offices) will reduce or eliminate the office space they have. As to its architectural qualities, it really has no real comparison I would say. It is rare for a rectangular tower to have so many setbacks so I think it actually quite handsome and for MASSIVE tower in midtown it does its best to integrate itself at street level. As for the PRC, its political economy is vastly different so why do we need to red bait and engage in yellow peril nonsense, to express our frustration about one tower never getting built on the other side of the world. While it is commendable that everyone has great affection for NYC and its towers, we do not need to be so vitriolic when some expresses an extremely antithetical opinion. TLDR; don’t be jackasses.
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Office demand will be back. Traditional employers expect their workers to be back in the office where productivity is greater.
Further, because NY is the financial and commercial capital of the world, it has scores of companies that seek modern space.
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Based on present assumptions, but with the continued botching of the pandemic I honestly think that prognosticating of any kind is a a bad idea. I’m not saying this tower won’t be built I am just saying that when it is built it will be empty for a while, this building cycle has definitely been protracted but it still will come to an end as all cycles do. As for New York’s prominence, while I hope it maintains a prominence among the cities of the world I cannot help but feel that US writ large is on the downswing in terms of it’s geopolitical dominance as it is approaching a point in it’s historical development where geopolitical superpowers tend to decline. But all of that is sort of irrelevant, this tower will be built and it will probably come to fruition at the end of this particular cycle, the tallest buildings are generally built at the end of each global economic cycle and the Jeddah tower is looking to ramp up again so just keep an eye on that.
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If coronavirus or another global pandemic exists when this tower opens in 2030, the world will have serious problems and building office towers will be the least of our collective concerns. A total global economic collapse, among other tragedies, will have occurred.
With respect to America, it will always be one of the most powerful nations in the world, and New York will always be its financial capital. The US has an enormous domestic market, political stability, and unlimited resources.
Moreover, as the world changes, America, Europe, Canada, and Australia will grow closer given the relative commonality of our culture. The US will be the dominant member of that group.
China, by contrast, has enormous problems in the future. First, it has an aging population with no safety net. Second, China will face enormous pressures from lack of food and water for its enormous population. Third, as its people grow richer, they will demand democracy, and a revolution in China is inevitable. The question is whether it will be velvet or bloody.
Lastly, as the Middle East goes, the rapid decline of their sole asset, oil, has been more precipitous than anyone predicted. As oil falls, their economies fall.
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America isn’t in decline. I’d actually say it’s still on the upswing. It is blessed with an egregious supply of capital because of its peerless geography. I would be very surprised if America isn’t the most powerful nation in 100 years. Hell, maybe 1,000.
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