Many buildings of this period have become maintenance nightmares and, although Yale has renovated a number of their important buildings on campus, this imposing structure is a challenge and it surely stands out in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood of little stores, cafes, and restaurants. It will be interesting to see whether their renovations will finally make the building one that students want to use.
Architects and design critics of the era LOVED Brutalist-style architecture, even though it was nearly universally panned by those outside of the profession. In fact, many architects still have a soft spot in their heart for Brutalism. Many buildings at UB North and even the Buffalo City Courthouse were critically acclaimed when construction was complete, believe it or not.
Well, we could add the Shoreline Apartments on Niagara Street to this collection, too. I'm not a fan of the Brutalist style because I don't think interior spaces were addressed well. The Whitney Museum on Madison Avenue in New York City is an almost windowless structure and most of the art does not receive the benefit of natural daylight.
Even though I'm not a fan, I hope that many of the buildings in this style can remain for future generations to appreciate.
PaulBuffalo - were you being intentionally ironic when you added Shoreline Apartments to your list--? Architect: Paul Rudolph.
RaChaCha, no I wasn't being ironic. Yes, Paul Rudolph was the architect here, too. The early 1970's Shoreline Apartments have been overlooked, in my opinion, as having architectural value. However, I remember it as having been a maintenance nightmare, too, as far as heating is concerned. That may have been corrected, though.
OK, let's go over this one more time:
"loose" = not tight
"lose" = the opposite of win; to misplace; to forget.
I think Paul Rudolph was more stylist than engineer as an architect. That's the problem with many of his buildings: the styling got in the way of practical concerns. But those forms are well worth preserving at any cost. Brutalist architecture in the hands of a practicioner such as Rudolph is sculptural and very pleasing to the eye and he loved surprises and stylish feats such as impossibly thin, light stairs, and cantilevers. A house of his in Westport Connecticut has recently been demolished and it was a stunning example of his work. Anything by him in Buffalo needs to be cataloged and appreciated as the work of one of mid-century America's most curious modern architects.
For the folks who may know more about Paul Rudolph, are the Shoreline Apartments significant in a singular way among all his works? I ask for my own curiosity; but, I also ask since Buffalo doesn't seem to value Shoreline and I can imagine it as yet another structure that will easily meet the wrecking ball in a future generation.
Lets not forget the Niagara Falls Public Library is a Rudolph building! Also, the Waterfront School #95 is a Rudolph building that was treated poorly in Phase II reconstruction by Kideney Architects.
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