Architectural Optimist

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission put the kybosh on a proposed 30-story glass tower designed by Norman Foster atop a 1949 building on Madison Avenue. The battle may not be over; the commission encouraged Mr. Rosen and Mr. Foster to come back with another proposal for an addition to the building, the former Parke-Bernet Galleries, at 980 Madison Avenue, between 76th and 77th Streets. In an interview afterward, Mr. Rosen vowed to continue pursuing the project. “Maybe it can come down in size, and we’ll study that,” he said. Mr. Foster, who said he gained “many valuable insights” from the meeting, said, “To be an architect, you have to be an optimist.” While those against him had described it as “an alien element in what is otherwise a very spare and rectilinear composition.” Others argued that he'd done it before at the Hearst Tower. In my educated architectural opinion; "It's just just not as pretty as the Hearst Tower."