A Meeting of the Minds: Meier, Ingels, Selldorf and Cook Debate the Future of New York

New York is accustomed to transformation. Here, gritty industrial areas become fashionable loft spaces, train tracks become elevated parks and defunct schools are revived as museums.

In a metropolis of over eight million people, you’ll hear more than eight million opinions on the evolution of the city. On January 20th at the 92nd Street Y, the New York Times real estate journalist C.J. Hughes asked four experts — architects Richard Meier, Bjarke Ingels, Annabelle Selldorf and Rick Cook — to share their views on the strengths and weaknesses of New York’s architecture and what we have to look forward to. Their insights extended past the city’s ever-evolving skyline to a larger discussion of the topics facing urban development today, from the value of green spaces to hurricane protection and the preservation of New York’s iconic landmarks.

Striking a Balance: Tall Buildings and Growing Green Spaces

The conversation began with each of the panelists discussing the relationship between the high-rise tower and open, green spaces. As Bjarke Ingels noted, the new Whitney Museum of American Art’s wide-open terraces and the success of the High Line — which he dubs “the most talked-about project in New York” — are indicative of a wider trend toward creating shared outdoor spaces.

Rick Cook — cofounder of COOKFOX Architects — was especially enthusiastic about the “greening of New York,” where bikes and running lanes are delineated, grass roofs are becoming more common and sustainability measures are built into city code. At his firm’s new offices at 641 Avenue of the Americas, his team incorporated the green building practices it uses for its client work.

The green roof of COOKFOX Architects’ 641 Avenue of the Americas

Communal green spaces, all four architects asserted, are essential to maintaining equal access to amenities in a big city like New York. The issue with the new towers rising just south of Central Park — now known as Billionaire’s Row — is the lack of public space at the ground level. Richard Meier commented: “As a New Yorker, I think high-rises are here to stay. But public spaces should be a given.” To create a “more dignified and civilized environment,” added Annabelle Selldorf, founder of Selldorf Architects, we need “a city where we distribute more equitably. More than anything, I crave a better, more equal place for people.”

Rafael Viñoly’s 432 Park Avenue

The panelists’ observations of socioeconomic equality had little to do with the height of the new buildings. In fact, Bjarke described the towers surrounding Central Park as “manmade mountain spires amidst the trees. It will only get more majestic. It’s not like people say, oh no, the Alps are too tall!”

Unfortunately, the language surrounding projects like Rafael Viñoly’s 432 Park Avenue is that the towers from a very elite, private building will cast a shadow on the public space of Central Park. It won’t. The problem is, in Richard Meier’s words, “they’ve taken space, but they haven’t given anything back.”

The Future of Affordable Housing

The discussion of equality in urban planning soon turned to the successes and failures of affordable housing in New York. As Selldorf said, “The shortcoming in this country when it comes to looking at affordable housing is that money dedicated to quality is extremely limited.”

It was generally agreed that the poor state of affordable housing in New York is not as a result of design failures, but rather a problem with public policy. To the detriment of many low-income New Yorkers, the leadership and funding required to commission a project like Meier’s Bronx Development Center — completed in 1977 — is sorely lacking today.

Richard Meier’s Bronx Development Center; courtesy Richard Meier and Partners Architects

Aside from poor construction quality, affordable housing units can be cut off from important resources. Access to good schools, supermarkets and public transportation is limited for families in need of support. The real problem, Rick Cook explained, is “monoculture.” When cities are mono-programmatic, Ingels added, “they become inefficient.” He advocated for “permaculture, where you try to somehow mimic ecosystems.”

Instead of delineating a dedicated commercial district, residential area and parkland, he encourages urban diversity. That way, “multiple interests can fund the enhancement of a neighborhood.” However, Ingels is optimistic about the future, and his forthcoming West 57th project will include affordable housing units. He predicts that “the market forces that propelled Manhattan into what it is can also be an engine for good.”

Insert Photo of BIG’s West 57th

Urban Planning Challenges: Preserving History

During the panel discussion, there was also a debate over two predominant schools of thought on urban planning in New York City: the approach of Robert Moses — the mastermind behind New York’s grid plan and an advocate of uniform, large-scale planning — and that of Jane Jacobs, a sociologist concerned with issues of gentrification who preferred to address issues at a local level.

When this famous dichotomy was raised, the younger architects initially said they were in the Jacobs camp. But when Richard Meier, the most senior member of the group, stood up for Moses’ achievements, the three younger panelists slightly changed their answers: now, they said, they preferred a diverse approach, one that allows for Jacobs’ desire for small communities to exist within Moses’ larger plan.

Annabelle Sellforf’s Neue Galerie New York

Discussing the challenge navigating preexisting architecture and maintaining the city’s unique character, Annabelle Selldorf — whose accomplishments in restoration and preservation include the beautiful Neue Galerie — shared her views on a current project, the dining room at New York’s Four Seasons Restaurant. She emphasized the need for “a loving hand … maybe because I’m a German house frau, I know how to do that kind of thing.”

As she uncovered the layers of history in the hotel’s iconic social space, she found that the sculptures were originally gilded, and the paint a more vibrant color. The practice of preservation, she told the audience, is as important to the future of the city as the buildings we design from scratch.

It’s hard to predict what is in store for New York City. In the coming decades, it seems architects will be approaching a new slate of projects with similar feelings of both hesitation and excitement. As construction continues, many New Yorkers are wondering: how will the city look in five years? After an evening of listening to designers’ predictions, the crowd left with an ostensibly optimistic outlook for the city’s future.