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Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: Miss Philicia on March 31, 2013, 02:06:44 am

Title: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Miss Philicia on March 31, 2013, 02:06:44 am
for more images click here (http://nycaidsmemorial.org/)

(http://i50.tinypic.com/160oab5.jpg)

MARCH 29, 2013, 6:07 PM
AIDS Memorial Loses Plants and Gains Supporters (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/aids-memorial-loses-plants-and-gains-supporters/)

By DAVID W. DUNLAP
The New York City AIDS Memorial planned for Greenwich Village has emerged sleeker, lighter, more sculptural and a lot less verdant after months of scrutiny by city agencies.

The memorial would take the form of a steel canopy over the westernmost end of a new city park on the triangular block bounded by Seventh Avenue, Greenwich Avenue and West 12th Street, opposite the site of St. Vincent’s Hospital, which is being redeveloped. The construction of the memorial, which is being financed through a group called NYC AIDS Memorial, is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

The architects of the memorial are Studio a+i of Brooklyn. The structural engineers are Robert Silman Associates.

Though similar in many respects to the version of the memorial shown last summer, the revised plan that was made public on Wednesday differs in some important ways. Most obviously, it has lost all of the English ivy, Virginia creeper and honeysuckle that was to have covered it as if it were a garden trellis. This change was championed by Amanda M. Burden, the chairwoman of the City Planning Commission.

“Amanda really pushed us to think of the canopy as a sculptural element that would be beautiful no matter what happened to the plantings,” said Christopher Tepper, a founder with Paul Kelterborn of NYC AIDS Memorial. “In certain seasons, if it was too dry or too hot, she wanted to be sure that the underlying design was beautiful.”

Another leading advocate of the revision was the architect James Stewart Polshek, in his role as a member of the Public Design Commission. “The initial design was very heavy,” said Mr. Polshek, who lives two blocks from the future park and knows the site well. The elimination of the plants allowed the structural elements to become much lighter and thinner. “I was very pleased with their response,” Mr. Polshek said, adding that the commission approved the project unanimously.

A newly introduced dip in the middle of the canopy roof will open a much more generous view of the distinctive O’Toole Building of 1963, which was once threatened with demolition but is now being renovated as a medical complex, including a round-the-clock emergency room, by the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

The memorial and associated educational programs will cost about $4 million. The sponsors hope to raise $2.5 million from public sources and $1.5 million privately. On Wednesday, Scott M. Stringer, the borough president of Manhattan, pledged $1 million of city financing. On the private side of the ledger, the sponsors announced the receipt of $250,000 from the Arcus Foundation and $105,000 from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

New York already has a permanent, public AIDS Memorial, in Hudson River Park, at the foot of West 11th Street, but it is not as prominent as the one on West 12th Street promises to be.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: tednlou2 on March 31, 2013, 02:45:11 am
I guess it would have to grow on me.  $2.5 million from public sources?  What public sources?  It seems that money could be better spent.  It said the cost included the memorial and education services.  How much goes toward that, and what are the services?

That memorial doesn't look like it should cost any more than $50,000.  If I lived there, I would be questioning the expense.  I hope 99% of the 4 million goes to the educational services.

Debbie Downer


I
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: mecch on March 31, 2013, 03:54:32 am
What is that? A bus stop?  The stylish "gazebo" on the patio of a 60's or 70's hotel?
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: J.R.E. on March 31, 2013, 05:20:10 am
What is that? A bus stop? 

That was my first "exact" response, when looking at the pic. Either a bus stop or the entrance to a subway. Cmon planners.... Certainly money could be used better elsewhere.


Ray
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: ARMANDO on March 31, 2013, 06:10:20 am
50,000.00 goes to the building of the actual structure and the rest of the money goes to consultant fees!!
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: mecch on March 31, 2013, 06:14:37 am
Spending a few million doesn't bother me.  Maybe its a bit weird to have a memorial to an epidemic but whatever, why not. There are probably Spanish Flu Memorials.

I don't get the symbolism of this memorial. Also it seems neither strikingly unassuming, nor grand. Maybe in fact its grander than it looks in this visualisation.

It doesn't seem particularly interactive.... The architects must have presented some ideas about how the public might interact with this..  Where and what would the "education" consist of?
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: mecch on March 31, 2013, 06:15:46 am
Armando, is that true?  I doubt that. If its high class materials and finishes, and building something in the middle of an intersection in NYC, might cost a pretty penny.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: mecch on March 31, 2013, 06:19:57 am
Didnt the 9/11 memorials cost 10 trillion dollars?
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: J.R.E. on March 31, 2013, 06:24:38 am
Seriously,  If I wanted a "quiet" time to reflect, and remember those that have passed on through the years, I would much rather go to the  "not as prominent " one, :

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/nyregion/01bigcity.html?_r=0




 Then to sit  under that contraption, What were they thinking. 


Ray
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Ann on March 31, 2013, 06:31:49 am
I'm glad I'm not the only one whose initial reaction was OMG IT'S A BUS STOP!

It may have looked better with the plants, although I understand the rationale of omitting them. I don't think I would have liked it any better with plants anyway, but whatevah.

I'd also like to see the breakdown of the financing - how much is going into the building aspects and how much is going into (much needed) educational services?

And if part of their remit is "education", then why are there no panels giving a brief history of hiv in NYC to show what it's all about and why it's important to have an aids memorial?



PS - if google maps is anything to go by, the corner in question is currently a little oasis of green. Why not work with what's already there? I don't get it.

PPS - ^^ I was wrong.

The site must be at the other end of the triangle, going by the view of the O’Toole Building. That means a building would have been demolished on the site - is the cost of demolition and subsequent clean-up included in the "building" costs?
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: J.R.E. on March 31, 2013, 07:14:46 am


The site must be at the other end of the triangle, going by the view of the O’Toole Building. That means a building would have been demolished on the site - is the cost of demolition and subsequent clean-up included in the "building" costs?

I am not familiar with the location, but it does appear that a building is already on that triangular piece of land.

THis is the artists rendering :

http://nycaidsmemorial.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/aids_memorial_home1.jpg


And I believe this is what is currently on that site ( but I am not certain... ( second picture down):

http://www.thecityreview.com/stvin.html


PS:  doesn't look like a tranquil place to be !  ::)
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Ann on March 31, 2013, 08:40:52 am

PS:  doesn't look like a tranquil place to be !  ::)


I agree, but its proximity to St. Vincent's is poignant.

Quote

St. Vincent’s was the epicenter of New York City’s AIDS epidemic. It housed the first and largest AIDS ward on the east coast and is often referred to as the “ground zero” of the AIDS epidemic.

Read more here (http://nycaidsmemorial.org/st-vincents-hospital)

The relevancy of the site is some of what I had in mind when I said:


And if part of their remit is "education", then why are there no panels giving a brief history of hiv in NYC to show what it's all about and why it's important to have an aids memorial?

Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: mikeyb39 on March 31, 2013, 09:24:07 am
yeah i have to agree that it doesn't jump out as being an AIDS memorial.  At least when i visited the Homomonument in amsterdam i could see some type of symbolism.  maybe the NYC monument looks better in person

http://www.pinkpoint.org/homomonument.htm

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Ac.homomonument.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ac.homomonument.jpg&h=194&w=259&sz=1&tbnid=-kBCG_Xo4kmu-M:&tbnh=160&tbnw=213&zoom=1&usg=__QtotE3gwvgbZhUAttqrGmR92o8w=&docid=cEb5daxaDYQp7M&itg=1&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5DZYUauHMIPG9gTTmoCwDQ&ved=0CJ8BEPwdMAo
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: phildinftlaudy on March 31, 2013, 09:26:16 am
Not sure if this has been posted yet - I don't think so - but this give some idea behind the rendering of the memorial (this article written before the plant overlay idea was disbanded - but still speaks of the design of the memorial):

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/permanent-aids-memorial-in-greenwich-village-takes-a-step-closer-to-reality/


An excerpt from the article:

Some might see an echo of the pink triangle and think of Act Up, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. Some might see an echo of the letter lambda, the symbol of gay liberation when AIDS began decimating the gay population. Some might see a V for virus, or for St. Vincent’s, the hospital across the street where so many of the first victims went to die.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: WillyWump on March 31, 2013, 09:34:59 am
I love it.

It's flowing and dynamic. I think if i was standing under it i would feel as if I was a part of it...enveloped and protected in a way.

Much better than some solemn marble slab.

-W
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Miss Philicia on March 31, 2013, 11:03:54 am

PPS - ^^ I was wrong

The site must be at the other end of the triangle, going by the view of the O’Toole Building. That means a building would have been demolished on the site - is the cost of demolition and subsequent clean-up included in the "building" costs?

IIRC that structure there houses some sort of mechanical apparatus, maybe a generator for the old St. Vincent's hospital across the street (just guessing). The triangle there has always been a bit of "dead space"

By the way people, clueless about issues of construction as all of you obviously are, $50,000 wouldn't even pay someone to pick up dog shit for three hours in NYC much less two years of architectural design and engineering costs. I'm sure they also budget something for on-going maintenance costs, etc.

Has anyone other than Ann bothered to look at the site on google maps? Context is everything in urban design. This doesn't sit in a park, it's a small triangle in a primarily residential district opposite what was once St. Vincent's Hospital for a reason -- that was the primary place for AIDS patients in the early years of the epidemic in NYC. It's a place for people who lost loved ones to sit and reflect. So, in fact, a gazebo type structure isn't too far off the mark. But they probably also were sensitive to the fact that numerous apartment buildings look out over this area.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Ann on March 31, 2013, 11:12:33 am

IIRC that structure there houses some sort of mechanical apparatus, maybe a generator for the old St. Vincent's hospital across the street (just guessing). The triangle there has always been a bit of "dead space"


You're correct. A closer reading of the link I provided (to show why the location was important) reveals....

Quote

As part of the same redevelopment, Rudin Management must build new public open space as part of its project, which they are planning to construct on the triangle of land bordered by 7th Avenue, 12th Street and Greenwich Avenue (the “Triangle Site”) that is currently covered with hospital infrastructure and mechanicals.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: mecch on March 31, 2013, 03:44:07 pm
OK starting to come around!  Thanks for all the context. I see the points about location and yes the gazebo, too.

I never saw anyone with AIDS in that hospital. I was usually going to Beth Israel, and sometimes Lenox Hill or NY Presbyterian.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: leatherman on March 31, 2013, 04:39:36 pm
Some friends and I were chatting about this. We thought it would look better with plants, so I'm really glad for the link to the pictures of the structure covered in plants. I also really like the circle cut-out in the center of the plant-covered sculpture that's over the fountain/pool

however, although the sculpture itself is a nice design, without the plants it kind of looks like a steel mesh bus stop, offering little protection from the elements when inside the sculpture.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Miss Philicia on March 31, 2013, 04:53:43 pm
I liked it with the plants as well, but I'm sure that would greatly increase the cost with irrigation and on going maintenance. You'd have to have something that would survive a harsh winter, then also a potential drought in the summer.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Ann on April 01, 2013, 04:13:40 am
I wasn't too impressed with the mock-ups showing plants. The darn thing looks like it needs a shave!

Thank you to those who provided the links to the mock-ups with plants; seeing the structure from different angles really helped me to get a better feel for what it's supposed to look like.

I have to admit it's growing on me too.

I still think they should have some panels in it to give a brief history of hiv in NYC and why the site is where it is. With St Vincent's now being luxury apartments, the connection will not be obvious to the younger generation.

Oh, and it looks like the fat end of the triangle (the "base", located directly across Seventh Avenue from St. Vincent's) is going to retain the trees, so that part will have a "park" feel to it, which is nice. Perhaps they could put some information plaques up along the path through it (presuming there is one).
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: leatherman on April 01, 2013, 11:00:13 am
the cost with irrigation and on going maintenance.
I didn't notice but did any of these articles talk about exactly what the water feature is that seems to be in these pictures? It is a fountain or just a pool? I would imagine this feature was designed into the plans to deal with the water and maintenance issues of having plants.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Miss Philicia on April 01, 2013, 12:36:26 pm
Think: homeless people urinating in that at night. And drunk kids from nearby NYU exiting bars at night.
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: mecch on April 01, 2013, 08:59:51 pm
Its a shin high, round, reflecting pool with silent cascades?, of some sort?
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: ds4146 on April 01, 2013, 09:27:59 pm
I still think they should have some panels in it to give a brief history of hiv in NYC and why the site is where it is. With St Vincent's now being luxury apartments, the connection will not be obvious to the younger generation.
Ann,
This was in in Phil's article and maybe this is what you were thinking or they are thinking:
"The memorial aspect would be most obvious in the granite paving under the canopy, to be inscribed with narrative text, facts, statistics, quotations and poetry..."
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: Ann on April 02, 2013, 06:11:32 am
Ann,
This was in in Phil's article and maybe this is what you were thinking or they are thinking:
"The memorial aspect would be most obvious in the granite paving under the canopy, to be inscribed with narrative text, facts, statistics, quotations and poetry..."

~slaps forehead~

Thanks for pointing that out. I don't know how I missed it.

I'm not the only one to have missed bits of the article, it seems.

I didn't notice but did any of these articles talk about exactly what the water feature is that seems to be in these pictures? It is a fountain or just a pool? I would imagine this feature was designed into the plans to deal with the water and maintenance issues of having plants.

Its a shin high, round, reflecting pool with silent cascades?, of some sort?

At the point where you left off in your quote of the article, it goes on to say: "A granite disc, glazed with a thin surface of running water, would sit under a circular opening in the canopy roof." It also has a infographic under the text.

(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/07/20/blogs/20120720AIDSSLide/20120720AIDSSLide-custom1.jpg)
"Narrative text, facts, statistics, quotations and poetry would be inscribed in the granite paving around a water feature." < caption under image

 
Title: Re: NYC AIDS Memorial final design unveiled
Post by: mecch on April 02, 2013, 10:53:02 am
Ok mystery of signage resolved.
Now what is that wet pill and the hole symbolising?  Also not sure I like the scale of that wet pill....  Should be bigger.  Someone's gonna trip on that, for one.  They put some lame ass "water features" in a new public space in my town, low to the ground, people hurt themselves...