New York Times Building Architect Supports Rung Removal

Pritzker Award-winning architect Renzo Piano told the NY Times he was "totally in agreement" about the New York Times' decision to remove ceramic rods from the building's exteriors. The rods acted as rungs for three climbers to scale the building's exterior; Piano said, "I’m frankly quite worried about this new fashion of going up on buildings. This is what I call an inappropriate use of the building.” He added that the building was "built to be responsive to design after 9/11. The big challenge was to make a building that is not like a fortress, but that is transparent, and open to the city."