Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Something new to sit on at Astor Place



An EVG reader shares this photo... showing one of WXY’s Zipper Benches that arrived outside Cooper Union this week. (Not sure if there will be others, or just this one.)

In general (per Architizer):

The Zipper conceptually strives to positively encourage social interaction with any different number of people gathering, relaxing and engaging. The bespoke elements of the bench design facilitate a multiplicity of options in their arrangement.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

I passed this last night..It is incongruous with the Great Hall building. This picture doesn't show that it is only a few feet from the base of the building. Why wasn't it put across the street on the new plaza or further south below the enclosed park? While it is interesting as a sculptural element, it is in the wrong place. It really distracts from a landmarked building.

cmarrtyy said...

It's a very heavily traveled area especially at rush hour. Why would you put such a big object in such a narrow space with so many people coming and going? And the bench takes up even more room when people are sitting on it. While I think the area needs more trees and benches, This bench as good looking as it is, is misplaced. A smaller bench would have been better.Nice try but just another wrong headed decision. This is just like the ice cream outhouse by the subway station - it is out of place and causes pedestrian traffic problems.

Eden Bee said...

BESPOKE my aunt fanny!

Anonymous said...

when is this disaster area going to be completed? they are still tearing up the streets every other day. trees aren't planted. come on!

NOTORIOUS said...

As exciting as it is to have a steel bench to sit on in time for winter, the question remains: will it light up and spin on its own?

Anonymous said...

It would even had been better to put it where the "temporary" Citibike stand is: open space, a view of the windows where there are displays, not blocking foot traffic.

Scuba Diva said...

I would have thought it was a student project; when I was a student, there was a Chair class. Maybe there still is one.

Anonymous said...

Just more seats for transplants and transients and young people and hipsters to enjoy their new artisanal food and craft beers why don't they just put a regular old bench this place has really gone downhill bla blah blah blah

Anonymous said...

cmarty, I'm sure pedestrian traffic flow was considered when deciding on the diameter of this bench. You don't have to worry.

I think they look nice, and I'm sure they'll be used extensively.

Anonymous said...

Jesus Christ that is some fancy verbiage. Wonder how much this Architizer firm was able to shake down the city for.

Anonymous said...

Who would have guessed loitering would become an industry.

Anonymous said...

Oops, Architizer is the website, and WXY is the company that made the circular bench. Boy is my face red.

pinhead said...

With the cold weather approaching, I'll suggest you kids avoid the urge to lick the bench.

Anonymous said...

There are more trees being planted today along the roadway - I think there were about a dozen.
Now it would be nice if they could build some kind of enclosure for the garbage that gets put out by the buildings along ??? What used to be 4th Ave??? No idea what to call it now...All of this work(like it or not) and what we see are garbage bags..

Anonymous said...

I just passed it yesterday. So beautiful. Love it. Would like to see more of them...

Anonymous said...

The Astor Place restoration is a win for contractors and a total loss for anyone that lives nearby and has had to deal with the logistical nightmare of navigating through the most heavily trafficked pedestrian area in the neighborhood.

Bless the Lord for providing a nice rest stop for Crustie Punks when they return next spring from their winter hibernation in their parent's Philadelphia condo. The arduous journey from Penn Station to the street corner in front of the Chase Bank is too much to for any individual to accomplish without a brief respite at a comfortable resting point smack dab in the middle of a pedestrian area.

Anonymous said...

"Bespoke" - ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! It's UGLY as f*ck.

"Facilitate a multiplicity of options" - that's archi-talk for "we don't know".

Anonymous said...

I'm confused: do non-bespoke benches offer no options?

And, BTW, what ARE all the options, and how come only this one bench has them? Is there a bidet concealed within? A footrest? Some back support? Free wifi and a printer? Inquiring minds need to know!

Giovanni said...

At least now that Tompkins Square Park pervert knows where to go to have a circle jerk.

Gojira said...

Would have been nice if they'd put a back on it so people could sit and relax, or isn't anyone over 21 or with lower back pain supposed to utilize this option-rich installation?

Anonymous said...

The concept of the bench is interesting, but I wouldn't have placed it right there. It's right in the middle of a heavily trafficked sidewalk!

Anonymous said...

@Gojira: Didn't you get the memo that us old timers have to get out of NYC b/c we just don't belong anymore? I feel like I get a fresh copy of that memo every couple of days.

Anonymous said...

How 'bout the first inner city rollercoaster?

Build it so it winds around the perimeter of Astor Place.

nutbeem said...

It's good to positively encourage social interaction with any different number of people. Imagine the horror of encouraging social interaction with a specific number of people. Or doing so negatively. Or with a generally neutral attitude. Imagine if that specific number was one. Or zero! Unthinkable!

I applaud the positivity of this bench, and I decry the intentions of people who doing something other than gathering, relaxing and engaging.

Anonymous said...

it facilitates so many options, except sleeping--unless one sleeps in a sort of C curve! Very clever. Comfortable, but not *too* comfortable.

Carol from E. 5th Street said...

Gee doesn't that look comfortable Yeah.

Anonymous said...

This bench is gonna be taken over by crusties, sleepers, and other monopolizers.

Everyone not from NYC reading this: don't go on or east of Broadway, it's an utter waste of time. You will be bummed out.

JQ LLC said...

That looks like a humidifier air filter.