Architecture can take the experimental path; experiment means that new solutions can be found; the public availability of architectural work, their sheer presence in our everyday lives, creates an exemplarity, which in turn sets thinking in motion and provides incentives for new creations.
Shapes are used to define space. In this striking architectural example of the Upper East Side in Manhattan the facade on 5th Avenue is continued by an imposing wall, whose openings afford a visibility of other buildings and of the sky.
Never mind the function. Our concern here is with exemplarity. These are “windows” noone takes daily care of. They tell us that architecture is disconnected from the lives of those who live in it. There is a dense message in the use of pure decoration on such a large scale.
5th Ave. Oct 26, 2103. Photo by Roberto Casati
