Contemporary New York
When it comes to how New York changes during harsh times, both during and after, it depends on how bad things were and what was effected that brings the change. In my opinion I think that some of the ways we as a city change are ridiculous and very expensive. Its not that there isn’t any reason for it, its just that the sometimes over compensating isn’t necessary. For example the freedom towers that replace the world trade center are great structures and pay condolences to its predecessor, the only problem is that it looks like it cost more than what originally stood there. The idea of rebuilding structures to pay condolences is great, but spending so much money on a building without even having detail to it, any sense of creativity is just a waste.
Comparing the New York Public Library to the Ford Foundation is based on the design and the detail of both buildings respectively. When you see how the structure looks and all the detail on you are able to notice that it’s from a later time than the ford foundation, which doesn’t have the type of detailing as the library does. The library cost approximately $245 million, based on the details of the column and the statues and the pediments it makes sense that it would cost that much. The problem is when you look at the Ford Foundation, which cost $16 million to make, doesn’t have the kind of detail for an expensive building, the main attraction is the atrium that is surrounded by offices, basic architectural knowledge states that glass is cheaper than the material that is used to make walls. If that’s the case then why is the building so expensive if most of it consists of glass? It just seems that things become more expensive as time goes by, when it should be the other way around, if the New York Public Library were to be built in recent times the price to have it built would skyrocket because of all the detail that it has on it. To conclude I believe that just because times are changing that doesn’t mean buildings and their prices should change.
