A Tough and Sexy Statement(Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art)@Arch

Nicolai Ouroussoff writes about the new academic building at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art:

"Designed by Thom Mayne of the Los Angeles firm Morphosis, it is not a perfect building, but it is the kind of serious work that we don’t see enough of in New York: a bold architectural statement of genuine civic value."

Photo: Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times

"Its lively public spaces reaffirm that enlightenment comes from the free exchange of ideas, not just inward contemplation."

Photo: Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times

"Mr. Mayne’s building does not shy away from this debate by trying to fade into the background. Seen from the old Cooper Union Foundation building across the street, its big concave facade is enveloped in a glittering perforated metal screen, like armor, so that it’s hard at first to get a grip on the building’s scale. A big vertical slot is cut out of the facade’s center, as if it had been ripped open."

Photo: Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times

"The social heart of the building is a vast internal staircase, which sweeps from the lobby all the way to the fourth floor. The staircase, 20 feet wide at its base, has a classical grandeur, as if the Met’s front stairs had been pulled inside the building. The stair narrows as it rises, creating a forced perspective that exaggerates its length.

"A big window frames the top, allowing light to spill down into the lobby and drawing you up into the space."

Photo: Iwan Baan

"From the top people will filter around to each side and climb a smaller, asymmetrical spiral stair to the upper floors."

Photo: Iwan Baan

"When I first looked up through this space I immediately thought of the Baroque domes of Guarino Guarini, except that the complex order of Guarini’s domes represents divine order.

"In Mayne’s version that world has been set off balance, as if to allow for imperfections, and it is inhabited by students."

Photo: Iwan Baan

"The building seems to strike just the right tone for this time in New York’s history. A wholly contemporary work, it has a bold, aggressive profile that says as much about the city we’ve lost as it does about the future we are building. It proves that a brash, rebellious attitude can be a legitimate form of civic pride."

Photo: Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times

"Mr. Mayne has created a serious work of architecture. And when we look back on this era, the new academic building will stand out with a handful of other designs — the New Museum, perhaps, and the renovation of Alice Tully Hall — as projects that we, as a city, can feel proud of."

Photo: Iwan Baan

@Source from: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/06/05/arts/20090605-COOP_index.html