"The passionate battle fought recently over the redesign of 2 Columbus Circle, the curious white marble structure built by Huntington Hartford to house his art collection, was reminiscent of the preservation wars of the 1960s.
Now, with the opening this weekend of the newly renovated building as the Museum of Arts and Design, the public will finally be able to judge for itself whether it was a sin to disfigure the 1964 original.
Already a few things are blazingly clear. Designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, the renovation remedies the annoying functional defects that had plagued the building for decades. But this is not the bold architectural statement that might have justified the destruction of an important piece of New York history. Poorly detailed and lacking in confidence, the project is a victory only for people who favor the safe and inoffensive and have always been squeamish about the frictions that give this city its vitality........
.......Sadly, the Museum of Arts and Design will only reinforce the suspicion that city officials are more intent on sanitizing the city for jittery tourists and business interests than safeguarding the public realm.......
............The disappointments continue inside, where Mr. Cloepfil demonstrates his practical skills, but none of the virtuosity — a feel for materials and structure, for the play of light across surfaces — that can elevate a design from mundane concerns into the lofty realm of art.
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For me, this new building looks great. It's much more better than the original. The writer was too skeptical. I'm not convinced by his/her reasons.
Using English letters H and E as exterior decoration reminds me of Typography. It's a great coherent since it is also a design museum.
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