That was a beautiful, beautiful church.
'consciously start decompressing from the outside chaos'
reminds me of this place we wandered into in Kyoto last year - https://goo.gl/maps/USs2GMfLrc12 - where we stepped off a busy road into a peaceful haven - https://goo.gl/maps/QpqR53TnZRJ2
a traditional sweet (Awamochi are traditional mochi dumplings made with awa - foxtail millet) and green tea shop to sit down and rest the feet - we were greeted by half a dozen older folk behind the counter bowing in unison - and treated kindly and graciously - a traditional treat !
1
This building is a beautiful killing trap.
"Smoke & mirrors" high end buildings trap humans in search of external compensations. They also trap birds who crash into a sky reflection.
The French translation equivalent is "Miroir aux alouettes" (mirror for larks) refers to an old way of capturing larks. All tall buildings with lots of mirrors are bird killing traps.
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I think the aesthetics works with the surrounding buildings. Less glass and more natural material to look at. Like most churches in Brooklyn, the upkeeps are huge.
1
This building looks just like a few dozen mid-rise apartment houses built in the last few years (there are two in Brooklyn Heights, a bunch in TriBeCa, and one rising in Dumbo right now). They reflect computer manipulation of zoning envelopes more than anything else, but I’m sure the view of PC Richards across the street is almost as inspirational as the raked stone gardens of Kyoto.
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“It’s about celebrating what’s naturally incomplete.”
Lol.
It's another stack of stories with some terraces.
It's kinda pathetic to dredge up excuses to want to build condos and extract lots of money. It's exasperating, actually. It's an insult. It's appalling.
Sixteen parking spaces will be available for purchase for $150,000 each. 7,000-square-feet of ground floor retail space available. Very “wabi-sabi" indeed.
15
Maybe instead of this luxury condo, the light-blocking buildings proposed opposite the Brooklyn Botanic Garden should be built here after razing this boondoggle.
6
Maintaining these very old churches is very expensive, with small dwindling and elderly congregations. It is a shame, but a fact of life.
3
On the outside, this building looks like most other modern buildings, glass and something else, no touches of humanity or nature in carvings, windows, or other decorative elements. We keep destroying the old buildings that are essential to the character of cities, whether on your coast or mine, and I assume the middle too. It's a terrible loss.
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@West coast I'm pretty familiar with this area, and I found this article to be hilarious. It looks like the 2 buildings that already went up, one a block away (on the same block no less) and the other 2 blocks away. There are other buildings nearby that either look similar or are being built with similar features. I'm sure Ms. Okada tried to differentiate her building from the others, but I see no difference except for the marketing jibberish. I don't know how badly damaged the church was, but even in its decrepit state it was quite a sight. Brooklyn is/was known as the borough of churches, but many are being torn down for buildings like this or transformed into pricey condos (with the exterior the same). I really had hoped they would keep the exterior, but I guess they really wanted the 12 floors.
8
@West coast
The beautiful old 'well kept" gothic church is irreplaceable. Sad that the neighborhood did not feel it was worth saving, if only for it's historical value to the area.
The "wabi sabi" condo ...I can imagine what that building will look like in 10 or 20 years or 100 years.
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@robin I'll admit I didn't know the church that stood in its place before, but I do not believe any and all well-kept or beautiful buildings can or should be maintained beyond use. I think in a city with a housing shortage we need to have a very high bar for what we maintain and what is fair game for replacement. To be landmarked or saved, I believe a building needs to be an iconic and / or singular example of a style. Gothic churches in New York are not exactly a total rarity and I suspect this was not a singular example of a style that is now totally lost on New York. While it's lamentable that it couldn't be saved, the reality is this city needs to house its people and while this building may have been attractive it no longer served a practical purpose. Eye-candy is not enough of a justification, unless you are willing to personally pay for its maintenance and upkeep.
1