Oculus - Fall 2016 - 15

first words LETTER FROM THE EDITOR New Spirit in Great Old Bones ©Sam Hall Kaplan T Editor checking out Johnny Swing's Murmuration chaise of welded nickels at The Four Seasons pre-auction preview. (Final gavel: $112,500 - it is not in editor's living room.) his is the second time the Oculus Committee has collaborated with the AIANY president and the exhibition curator to build an issue around an exhibition that highlights the "President's Theme" for the year. The first was the Spring 2014 issue, "Civic Spirit: Civic Visions," which expanded upon the theme of 2014 AIANY President Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, "Open to the Public: Civic Space Now," also the title of the exhibition curated by Thomas Mellins. This year we worked closely with 2016 AIANY President Carol Loewenson, FAIA, LEED AP, and Donald Albrecht, curator of this fall's presidential theme exhibition "Authenticity + Innovation." Some of the projects featured here are included in the exhibition. Others expand the conversation about respectfully reusing historic structures to meet 21st-century needs - and it goes without saying that it's not always without challenges. Albrecht's eloquent "Opener" on page 25 puts them all in context of "the dynamic fusion of old and new that is at the core of what is authentically New York City." In our regular departments, "One Block Over" climbs the new Hills on Governors Island. "In Print" delves into tomes about dream cities and the British Empire. And "97-Year Watch" tells us the fascinating tale of a rather extreme façadectomy: how "Goodhue's splendid St. Bartholomew's Church was designed to incorporate the entry front of the congregation's former home." As we put this issue together, auctioneers sold off the contents of The Four Seasons Restaurant. I've lived within three blocks of the Philip Johnson-designed jewel box for umpteen years. It was my refuge whenever the city was too much for me. One shaken-not-stirred cocktail later, as I watched the beaded curtains form sun-dappled waves across the windows, and I was back in love with my city again. I think Johnson's spirit left 99 East 52 Street with the news of The Four Seasons' departure and auction. Johnson's Table 32, estimated at $3,000 to $5,000, sold for $35,000. (I had hopes for a Huxtable-designed metal, footed bread basket - ha!) I'm glad that (most of) the interior is landmarked. And while the space will continue as a restaurant and not remodeled into something else, the whole adventure had me wondering about the old, but not necessarily landmarked, buildings and spaces presented here given new life with, as Albrecht writes, "new uses never imagined by their original designers and builders." What would those designers and builders think? Philip has left the building. Have they? Perhaps, but they left behind some great bones. With the passage of Intro. 775-A in June, which many consider a weakening of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, I'm heartened by the number of developers, owners, architects - and city agencies - who see beyond the abandoned factory building and storm-ravaged office tower to find inspiration in those great old bones. Kristen Richards, Hon. AIA, Hon. ASLA kristen@ArchNewsNow.com Authenticity + Innovation: Architecture Repurposed Fall 2016 Oculus 15

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Oculus - Fall 2016