Stadium and Olympics Collide in One Ugly Rendering

As if the West Side Stadium for the Jets needed more negative press, Nicolai Ouroussoff has a scathing review of the stadium in today's NY Times. While Ouroussoff doesn't criticize the design of the actual stadium, he is less than thrilled with the add-ons from Kohn Pederson Fox, the architects for the stadium. The quote that Gothamist (and Curbed too) loves so much:

As if to mask its colossal scale, the stadium is dressed up in a blinding assortment of L.E.D. screens, advertising, shops and restaurants: a mind-numbing spectacle that would echo through the surrounding neighborhoods. The park spaces, supposedly conceived as an act of civic generosity, are nothing more than banal front lawns for retail outlets. The result looks like a parody of late capitalist consumerism.

Pictured above is KPF's rendering for the stadium during the 2012 Olympics. One thing's for certain, they love the use of color. With all the talk of commercialism in the stadium, there is still no mention of naming rights. Gothamist on the stadium and on the 2012 Olympics.

If the stadium ever gets built, what would it take for Ouroussoff and Kohn, Pederson, or Fox to get together in the boxing ring? They can plop the ring right into the stadium. Who would get the coveted black trunks though.

Rendering from Kohn Pederson Fox

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By tien mao in Arts and Events on November 1, 2004 12:59 PM

Comments [rss]

K. Thor Jensen

It looks like LeRoy Neiman threw up on a to-go sushi container.

Rose

Reminds me of that movie, which I didn't see because the story seemed morbid and not well-written, with Robin Williams and something about his wife dies and their child dies and there are these globby vivid colors going on in the afterlife or something like that.

davep

the stadium is for exhibiting football and not art right? the design seems dumbed down just right to me.

joe

Are they really planning to put the LED screens on the river side of the stadium? I bet people in Weehawken will enjoy that.

jenny

we get to vote on this tomorrow right? I get to do my part to see this thing go down in flames right?

erikka

Did they have to create an equally ugly building to go with the ugly logo?

Tim N.

I liked the comparision to "an enourmous shoe box."

I was also intrigued by the architects bogarting of the High Line. Have the Friends of the High Line weighed in on this yet?

halo | veritech pilot

ouch. that just pushes architectural progress back 30 years. the flaming torch mast is a particularly nice detail. its like the prow of the s.s. really-frickin'-ugly, setting out to sea.

Jen

What the hell is going on in that visual? My fingerpaintings from kindergarten were prettier!

I like the idea of critics and those they critique getting into boxing rings. I'm also thinking of regular journalists, like the Times' Sharon Waxman and director David Russell.