earlier today - a different render than the one on YIMBY is on site:
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Another bad Kaufman building. Boy has he damaged the cityscape irreparably.
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why is it legal to offset buildings like that??
f#ck it would almost be forgettable
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gene kaufmans âarchitectureâ is the only reason I wouldnât mind all of NYC being governed by the LPC (although nothing over 3 stories tall would be built)
Itâs a never ending parade of abortions.
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Ugh another one.
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Kaufman strikes again
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Kaufman leaves his mark once again.
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Here is my understanding of how Kaufmanâs building are designed. The massing (overall form/shape) of the building is entirely determined as a function of the zoning regulations & user requirements.
The FAR on these buildings means you can go TALLER, if your footprint is SMALLER. When the smaller footprint is used you get the âsetbackâ from the street-wall as an added functional bonus. The setback is a bonus for the small hotel because there are people loading/unloading luggage all day from cars parked out front on the curb. If there is no set-back, the sidewalk traffic would be continually blocked; causing patron & pedestrian congestion. The flat simple facade maximizes the âroom countâ per floor.
That is my general guess on how the Kaufman boring, set-back, boxes come to be the bane of Architectural Beauty on any streetscape they appear.
This gives rise to another thought: the growing capabilities of AI (artifical intelliegence) will render âbuilding standardâ architectural services obsolete. It all simply becomes an algorithm that responds to zoning & functional requirements - the final form factor being entirely AI determined by a given buildingsâ program requirements.
That is my pontification of the day; hope someone enjoyed it⌠
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You make sense. Hopefully architects will still design surface detail.
Every time I think he canât get worse, he finds a way to outdo himself. Youâve got to admire the creativity.
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Another one. 
