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.
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.
ReplyDeleteIt'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.
ReplyDeleteBESPOKE my aunt fanny!
ReplyDeletewhen is this disaster area going to be completed? they are still tearing up the streets every other day. trees aren't planted. come on!
ReplyDeleteAs 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?
ReplyDeleteIt 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.
ReplyDeleteI would have thought it was a student project; when I was a student, there was a Chair class. Maybe there still is one.
ReplyDeleteJust 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
ReplyDeletecmarty, I'm sure pedestrian traffic flow was considered when deciding on the diameter of this bench. You don't have to worry.
ReplyDeleteI think they look nice, and I'm sure they'll be used extensively.
Jesus Christ that is some fancy verbiage. Wonder how much this Architizer firm was able to shake down the city for.
ReplyDeleteWho would have guessed loitering would become an industry.
ReplyDeleteOops, Architizer is the website, and WXY is the company that made the circular bench. Boy is my face red.
ReplyDeleteWith the cold weather approaching, I'll suggest you kids avoid the urge to lick the bench.
ReplyDeleteThere are more trees being planted today along the roadway - I think there were about a dozen.
ReplyDeleteNow 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..
I just passed it yesterday. So beautiful. Love it. Would like to see more of them...
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
ReplyDeleteBless 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.
"Bespoke" - ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! It's UGLY as f*ck.
ReplyDelete"Facilitate a multiplicity of options" - that's archi-talk for "we don't know".
I'm confused: do non-bespoke benches offer no options?
ReplyDeleteAnd, 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!
At least now that Tompkins Square Park pervert knows where to go to have a circle jerk.
ReplyDeleteWould 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?
ReplyDeleteThe 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!
ReplyDelete@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.
ReplyDeleteHow 'bout the first inner city rollercoaster?
ReplyDeleteBuild it so it winds around the perimeter of Astor Place.
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!
ReplyDeleteI applaud the positivity of this bench, and I decry the intentions of people who doing something other than gathering, relaxing and engaging.
it facilitates so many options, except sleeping--unless one sleeps in a sort of C curve! Very clever. Comfortable, but not *too* comfortable.
ReplyDeleteGee doesn't that look comfortable Yeah.
ReplyDeleteThis bench is gonna be taken over by crusties, sleepers, and other monopolizers.
ReplyDeleteEveryone 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.
That looks like a humidifier air filter.
ReplyDelete