Personal Cultural Inadequacies, Part 2

Since last September, almost every Monday night, I’ve been bowling in a league at the alleys in the sports complex at Chelsea Piers. During this time I’ve watched a strange new building rise directly across the street at West 18th St., and for the last month the finishing touches have accelerated until it looks, to me, like it might be ready for the new tenant to take up residence, which happens to be the headquarters of IAC (InterActiveCorp.), which is Barry Diller’s media and internet empire. As it was going up I thought it was an interesting and unusual building so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised (but I was) to learn that it is architect Frank Gehry’s contribution to the skyline, his first in New York (even though he has cut a swathe around the rest of the world). Now comes the hard part. Do I like this building? Like other architectural naifs I really have no idea whether I do or not because I have no background to judge. I think I like it because it’s unusual and, therefore, interesting to look at, especially at night when I can see it in its entirety from the Pier’s exit.

But is it a well designed building and does form follow function which, in my naivety, I’ve always thought was the blueprint, pardon the pun, for good architecture? I have no idea, it doesn’t look very functional to me (wasted space?), but maybe that criterion is no longer part of the equation. In the past, probably in ignorance, I’ve associated a Gehry structure with the all-encompassing word “bizarre,” including his signature design of the museum in Bilbao, Spain. You’ve really got to admire the audacity of that one even if you’re actually there to view the Goyas. The building on 18th is different; it is, after all, an office building, a high-rise to house corporate thinking. And it’s the headquarters for a media empire so maybe it’s visually right, that is, just odd enough to reflect the future but still staid enough to complement the Armani suit culture. Okay, okay, so do I like the building? Waffle, waffle, waffle.