I liked the Folk Art Museum. MoMA was kind of huge after the last expansion. Exciting news about VAG. In a city with some of the best attractions in North America, including an aquarium Seattle could only dream of matching, the VAG building seemed provincial.
Correction needed in this article: The Globe and Mail is a national Canadian newspaper, not a Vancouver rag. It's based in Toronto, and to Canadians, is still too Toronto-centric.
This would basically be like calling the New York Times a Seattle-based newspaper.
I, too, loved the Folk Art Museum and while it was open on 53rd Street, I went there more often than I went to MOMA. I loved the collection, and I'm apparently also the only one who liked the building: the rooms were beautifully proportioned for the kind of art they showed, which was mostly small and wanted to be viewed up close.
Too small and good and particular to survive in the mammoth uniformity that the city continues to insist on becoming. Sad.
I guess MOMA needed some more generic glass-beam-and-light space designed to avoid any offense, or any reaction whatsoever. Things need to be as blandly anonymous as possible.
@3 - no worries, and thanks for the article. Like most people in Canada, I feel flattered that you're taking an interest in goings on up here (& on the same scale as NY!).
One of the most interesting things to me about the VAG move for me is that the block of Cambie between Georgia and Dunsmiur in front of it is going to be closed to cars and converted into public space. This is important up here because the VAG has been the go-to site for protests, political rallies, street fairs, and general public life ever since they started operating out of the courthouse in the early 90s, and they seem to want to use this closed street to continue playing that role in the city. Judging from the G&M article, I suspect that Herzog & de Meuron would be the most likely to try to pick up on this role, but I'm mostly just interested in hearing what happens next.
Another Correction: its Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio.
And I do applaud you for mentioning the financial situation MoMA was in before they decided to go forth with the project. However, the real intent for the AFAM was never just about the expansion of gallery space, but also to accommodate another starchitect highrise slated to be inserted in the small slot.
I get the feeling that Todd Williams and Billie Tsien are somewhat resigned to the potential demolition....its been an inadvertent blessing for the international publicity of their firm and the quality of work they do, even at the expense of a great building.
This would basically be like calling the New York Times a Seattle-based newspaper.
Too small and good and particular to survive in the mammoth uniformity that the city continues to insist on becoming. Sad.
One of the most interesting things to me about the VAG move for me is that the block of Cambie between Georgia and Dunsmiur in front of it is going to be closed to cars and converted into public space. This is important up here because the VAG has been the go-to site for protests, political rallies, street fairs, and general public life ever since they started operating out of the courthouse in the early 90s, and they seem to want to use this closed street to continue playing that role in the city. Judging from the G&M article, I suspect that Herzog & de Meuron would be the most likely to try to pick up on this role, but I'm mostly just interested in hearing what happens next.
As for Kurt Schwitters he's to busy possessing Sam Bellomio to comment.
And I do applaud you for mentioning the financial situation MoMA was in before they decided to go forth with the project. However, the real intent for the AFAM was never just about the expansion of gallery space, but also to accommodate another starchitect highrise slated to be inserted in the small slot.
I get the feeling that Todd Williams and Billie Tsien are somewhat resigned to the potential demolition....its been an inadvertent blessing for the international publicity of their firm and the quality of work they do, even at the expense of a great building.