Christian de Portzamparc Unveils New Renderings of Riverside Center
Famed French architect, and Pritzker Prize winner, Christian de Portzamparc is causing quite a stir. Take a glance at his website and you’ll be met with a rendering of the new Riverside Center that would inspire hope in the most pessimistic NIMBY.
After a disappointing official rendering of the first building cast some serious doubt on the fate of the much-anticipated development, de Portzamparc has unveiled a new vision, and fingers are crossed that it will be realized.
Riverside Center was initially conceived by developer Extell. The final product will consist of five buildings that will transform the previously bleak landscape of storage units and parking lots into a development worthy of the New York City skyline. According to NY YIMBY, the finished Riverside Center will also feature high-rise apartments, a hotel, a school, a park, and much more.
The plan, featuring de Portzamparc’s design, was well received and development was approved at the end of 2010. However, since then, Extell has sold off pieces of the property. After acquiring the first building, Carlyle and Dermot made some changes to the original design. The end result was called everything from an “eyesore” to a “monstrosity”. The recent November 2013 sale of another building to Silverstein and Elad begs the question: Will the end result be a cohesive beauty or an island of misfits?
The new rendering on de Portzamparc’s website is a welcome breath of fresh air. It’s still unknown whether this is a subtle way of displaying the final scheme or if this is just a proposal from de Portzamparc. Either way, with this new glimpse, there’s hope that this project may reach its potential after all.
[Via NY YIMBY]
Images courtesy of Christian de Portzamparc
