ENTER! Miscellaneous Avatar Contest: The Big City
- Thread starter Saito S
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@Locutus: After reading your post Sunday morning on my way to the city for a photo shoot, I was inspired to take this shot from East 87th & Madison Avenue:
For reference, 432 Park Avenue is between 56th & 57th Avenues - 30 blocks away (which is a lot in Manhattan). And yet, 432 Park Avenue remains the most prominent building in the shot.
As an enthusiast of skyscrapers myself, I'm excited by the way these new supertall buildings will add to Manhattan's always-evolving skyline. However, as someone concerned about the socio-economic future of the city ... eh ... the jury is still out on the benefits of these structures.
For reference, 432 Park Avenue is between 56th & 57th Avenues - 30 blocks away (which is a lot in Manhattan). And yet, 432 Park Avenue remains the most prominent building in the shot.
As an enthusiast of skyscrapers myself, I'm excited by the way these new supertall buildings will add to Manhattan's always-evolving skyline. However, as someone concerned about the socio-economic future of the city ... eh ... the jury is still out on the benefits of these structures.
Right?!
- Downtown Toronto, as seen from the CN Tower
(Yeah, the little avatar size doesn't really do it justice!)
I considered not doing this theme, simply for that very reason. As good as these entries are, cityscapes are meant to be viewed in slightly higher resolution, heh. But in the end, it was too cool an idea to pass up, and there have been a lot of really nice entries so it's working out well. 
The building they're playing Tetris on is 432 Park Avenue, recently surpassing the Empire State as the second tallest building in New York, though it's the tallest building by roof height in NY (ie. not counting 1WTC's architectural spire). At 1,396 feet (426 m), it's 32 feet taller than the roof of One World Trade Center. It's also the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.
Unfortunately, it's also a giant Jenga tower of inequality, housing only 104 ultra-luxury residential units. It represents the first of many new ultra-tall and ultra-thin residential and mixed-use skyscrapers which will drastically transform the New York skyline over the next fifteen years, for good or ill. Personally, I love me some skyscrapers, but some of these are unimaginative glass boxes design-wise, and razor thin on account of the limited space available, so they look like they'll blow over in a stiff breeze (not really, but you know what I mean).
The same thing has been happening in San Francisco, with ever-taller apartment complexes being built. I understand the need for more housing in a dense, urban area, and I love modern buildings and skyscrapers, but some of these developments that just tower over everything else around them really are a bit much. Not only aesthetically speaking, but (more importantly) since as with your example, these new buildings are going to be made up almost entirely of high-cost luxury condos and office space, so they really do nothing to combat the ACTUAL problems with housing and space in San Francisco. Not to mention that this is earthquake country.
King of them all is the ludicrously tall tower being planned to be built on top of the Transbay Transit Center that's currently under construction. But then, the entire Center is a gigantic joke overflowing with problems anyway, so meh.
Yeah, as outlined above, I'm torn as well on this kind of thing - not just for NY or SF but in general.@Locutus: After reading your post Sunday morning on my way to the city for a photo shoot, I was inspired to take this shot from East 87th & Madison Avenue:
For reference, 432 Park Avenue is between 56th & 57th Avenues - 30 blocks away (which is a lot in Manhattan). And yet, 432 Park Avenue remains the most prominent building in the shot.
As an enthusiast of skyscrapers myself, I'm excited by the way these new supertall buildings will add to Manhattan's always-evolving skyline. However, as someone concerned about the socio-economic future of the city ... eh ... the jury is still out on the benefits of these structures.
That said: Awesome photo!
@Locutus: After reading your post Sunday morning on my way to the city for a photo shoot, I was inspired to take this shot from East 87th & Madison Avenue:
For reference, 432 Park Avenue is between 56th & 57th Avenues - 30 blocks away (which is a lot in Manhattan). And yet, 432 Park Avenue remains the most prominent building in the shot.
As an enthusiast of skyscrapers myself, I'm excited by the way these new supertall buildings will add to Manhattan's always-evolving skyline. However, as someone concerned about the socio-economic future of the city ... eh ... the jury is still out on the benefits of these structures.
You have such a wonderful eye for composition in your photos. For an impromptu shot that is really outstanding. Of course, having a city to play around in with such epic scenery certainly helps, but you still really do make it visually exciting.
Looking at your shot in particular and the distance from 432 Park Ave. you mentioned, I can kind of see where the designer was coming from. The monolithic slab sides, thin profile (though the ground footprint necessitated that), and the oversized windows act as an optical illusion of sorts that conceals the true size of the building. Were it not for the scaffolding and crane in that shot, you would probably think you were a lot closer to the building than you actually were.
But it's cool that my post inspired you to take that awesome shot. Thanks for sharing!
Los Angeles seems to be heading in the other direction from New York (for obvious reasons of land availability and earthquake conditions), with only one super-tall building under construction (the Wilshire Grand Tower, which will become the tallest building in LA in 2017) and some more modest skyscrapers but lots of other green projects, parks, museums, new stadiums and malls, medium-sized residential skyscrapers, and urban renewal projects (though with the possibility of some gentrification issues in Watts). Though LA has always taken a more horizontal approach to things rather than build-up, due to earthquakes and strict building height restrictions just like San Francisco had until both got rid of them a few decades ago.
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This is an aerial view of the city where I live (Red Deer).
Berlin at night
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