Thursday, May 24, 2007

Bond. Carroll and Bond.

Yesterday I took a walk from the Bergen Street 2 stop back to Brooklyn Streets HQ at 1st and Court. I was drawn over to Bond Street and Carroll to take a peek at two ongoing construction projects, this one and this one, documented on Brownstoner.

The second I was drawn to see, because it is so out of scale when looking from several vantage points that it sticks out like a sore thumb. Carroll Gardens answer to the Williamsburg Finger buildings: the Gowanus Thumb. At least from the street, where the original facade has been maintained, it doesn't look too bad from close up.

The first . . . I realized quickly that I had seen this . . . thing at the Gowanus Lounge. Up close, the "Gowanus Bunker" appears to be shoddily constructed. It resembles a nightmare Stalinist cinder block version of Broken Angel. To be fair, there is no facade up yet, so who knows what the finished product will look like. But under that eventual facade will be steel I-beams bashed through cinder block, weirdly uneven mortar work, and a structure that looks like it was thrown together piecemeal from whatever was on sale at Home Depot each week.

Now, I'm no building inspector, engineer, or architect, but that's what it looks like to the untrained eye. Needless to say, it is a Scarano building.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

1 - I have seen a rendering of the facade. I think it is very hip.
2 - The apartments are very bright. If you look at the courtyard side you will see the windows.