The Timescapes presentation at the Museum of the City was fantastic. It was the perfect 2014 visual presentation: old photographs, panoramic screens, 3D rendering. Most importantly, it presented the history of the City in a way that a Wikipedia entry couldn’t. My favorite part of the exhibit was the old photographs. Seeing Union Square in […]
Deyan Sudjic’s The Edifice Complex isn’t awful. It’s thoughtful, well researched and full of interesting examples. It’s also overreaching, authoritative and prone to leaps in logic. Sudjic wants to have the readers believe that he has come up with a fresh theory on why powerful people commission buildings: to stroke their egos and imprint their legacy’s […]
October 29th, 2012 marks the day Hurricane Sandy and struck New York City. Multiply properties across the city were damaged and many lost their lives. The Rising Waters exhibition at Museum of the City of New York clearly depicts a timeline of events that happened during Hurricane Sandy. From the burst of water into residential […]
What we perceive is the reality that we know of. Oftentimes, architecture forms the way we see the world; each section is designed to cover or reveal something. On the flip side, the structure itself is a symbol, as Sudjic proposes in The Edifice Complex. He gives strong evidence as to the connection between meaning […]
The Timescapes video at the Museum of the City of New York was a very dynamic and informative presentation of New York City history. The fast moving, varying images on each of the three panels successfully represented the rapid and changing development of New York City over the last few hundred years. While the video […]
Timescapes, a media presentation digitally projected on three panoramic screens, traces the growth of New York City using animated maps as well as historic photographs, paintings, and prints from the museum’s collection. It is narrated by actor Stanley Tucci and literally turns back the clock to display how the city has changed from a small […]
Stephen Elliott IDC 4001H A few months ago, I sat down on a train ride home in the early afternoon. The friend with whom I’d been returning to Long Island, was making a joke out of my scratchy beard, insisting I looked homeless. Beside us sat an elegant German woman, maybe thirty years of age, […]
Rossella Failla While reading the article, The Edifice Complex, I couldn’t help but think, what is the meaning of architecture? Is there even a meaning? Sudjic explained that architecture can equate to power. He specifically referred to Saddam Hussein’s hunger for power in Iraq, and his constant obsession with reflecting himself in architecture. After his […]
Navtej S. Ahuja Professor Maciuika Shaping the Future of NYC 17 February, 2014 We build to fulfill a need, and that need is what can be seen through what we build. According to Sudjic, there are many reasons why people build. Whether it is to cement personal glory (as Saddam Hussein did during his years […]
From what was once mere shelter, architecture has shifted towards a display of one’s hierarchical standings. Throughout history, the victors tore down buildings and structures of the past to create ones that would praise and honor themselves. By using their wealth and power, history and culture are weaved into existence by the architects whom are […]
Navtej S. Ahuja Professor Maciuika Shaping the Future of NYC 17 February, 2014 The rise of a city is a complex and lengthy process, and the interesting thing about this process is that it is never truly complete. Constant challenges regarding maintenance, changes in the demographic composition, and other areas keep those in charge […]
Joseph Maugeri, IDC 4001H First, let’s take a look at the island of Manhattan. There are skyscrapers, luxurious apartment buildings, tenement buildings, restaurants etc. But obviously Manhattan wasn’t always like this, there used to be townhouses and buildings no more than 5 stories high. Why the change? Well I’m sure all of us know the […]
Going to school in the one of the most renowned cities in the world, we are surrounded by one marvelous building after another. In his book, “The Edifice Complex,” Deyan Sudjic asserts “architecture is about power” and that the powerful construct buildings for the simple reason that they have the money to do so. Furthermore, […]
Like many of my peers, I found some faults in Timescapes at the Museum of the City of New York. As I pulled back the curtain to the mini-theater on the 2nd floor of the museum, I found that the size of the room compared to the screens was problematic. Luckily, I found myself seated […]
Rossella Failla The twenty-two minute long film was able to capture the essence of New York throughout a time span of over 350 years. It captured the progress that New York City made through the years, in terms of industrializing and modernizing. What I found particularly important was the priority that the film gave to […]
Alessandra Rao IDC4001H Tuesday 11:10 MTBH The Museum of the City of New York featured a 23 minute screening of a brief history of New York City. Three large screens in a dark room told the story of how the island of “Manhatta” was sold for only 24 coins, and handed over to the Dutch […]
Derick Liu IDC4001H MTBH If I were to judge Timescapes as a film, I wouldn’t be able to give it a passing grade. Don’t get me wrong, the information presented in the short is very interesting and eye-opening. The problem is how it was presented. The first, most obvious problem is in regards to the three […]
Joseph Maugeri, IDC4001H Timescapes at the Museum of the City of New York is a multimedia/multiscreen production that gives a brief history of one of the greatest cities. Spanning from Manhattan’s days as a simple farm land to what we know today. I think it is easy to criticize the video for not including everything […]
In The Edifice Complex, Deyan Sudjic argues that architects are often employed by people with power to create and design buildings and complexes that seem to exert a certain message of power. Sudjic argues that architects and the rich and powerful who have the resources to employ these architects almost have an ulterior motive when […]
Twenty-two minutes to capture New York City’s rich history into one video is a daunting task for anyone to partake. The Timescapes exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York attempts to do so by telling a narrative of the history of New York and incorporating various forms of media into one video […]
Timescapes is a concise twenty-two minute film that condenses the history of New York since its founding in 1624. This is an interesting documentary that includes detailed information supported with maps and rare, old photographs of New York.The short film highlights important aspects in the evolution of New York that may be inspirational and touching […]
The Museum of the City of New York features a three screened short film, “Timescapes,” that spans across the history of New York City since its founding. The film itself was very interesting, informative, and well made, but I personally felt as if the experience was lacking. The short film, utilizing animated maps, historical photos, […]
Have you ever walked around in the city and started wondering to yourself what the land that you’re walking on looked like 400 years ago? You start asking yourself questions such as, “Were there wild animals aimlessly exploring the land for food and shelter? Did trees and shrubs blanket this land? Did the Indians have […]
In the Edifice Complex, Sudjit explains that “architecture is a means to tell a story about those who built it.” Stories that express capability, decisiveness, seduction, imitation, celebration, and ideologies of the architects, the countries and the patrons. While he sounds believable (especially because of his passion in looking for the symbolism and the whys […]
