The Bowery in its latest, absurdly hip, incarnation is no stranger to ugly architecture. Just look at the Cooper Square Hotel, the Sculpture for Living (technically not on the Bowery), or the finger coming out of the middle of Fourth Street. And yet each time a new piece of hideous design is introduced we're dismayed once again. Which is to say, remember how the old Salvation Army on Third Street is going to become a boutique hotel? Well, Curbed got its paws on the rendering you see above.
It doesn't help that the mockup of the Gene Kaufman-designed building is a poorly executed one, of course, but that isn't our fault. This bizarre, not-little number seems to have picked up the worst traits of its Bowery brethren: while the bottom appears to mimic the curvy metal exterior of the new Cooper Union (without any of the grace or wit) the top looks sort of like a boxy white combination of the Cooper Square Hotel and the neighboring finger building, with extra boxy white balconies as a bonus.
What is infuriating about cheap looking designs like this—and to be fair, this is just a rendering and the final product may in fact look nothing like it—is that it isn't like everyone is building ugly stuff on the Bowery. On the contrary the new Cooper Union building has turned out to be a lovely addition to the area and shows real promise of aging better than its predecessor. And the New Museum ain't bad either! Even the brick-skinned Bowery Hotel and the similar-looking new 2 Cooper Square have managed to move onto the strip without offending the eyes of every passerby. We just wish the ratio was a little more in favor of good taste.
We'll admit that the old Salvation Army building wasn't a whole lot to look at, but this rendering is a whole lot less. Of course, that's our quick take. Your mileage may vary.
