November 2013 | Eyesore

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.

Behold (above) the wished-for outcome of a project that would turn the Interstate 81 elevated freeway that runs through the heart of Syracuse, New York, into a surface boulevard. The detailing is excellent. Good relationships between the urban building frontages and the broad sidewalks. Generous medians with good formal plantings of street trees. Moderate-width carriageways that will discipline the speed of cars. The original intention was darn good.

Now look (below) at the engineered rendering by the design contractor, Stantec, Inc., an international traffic engineering company. It raises the question, why bother? This is not a real pedestrian environment. This is a nightmare of entropy-made-visible. These idiots should be ashamed of themselves. The city of Syracuse should be ashamed of hiring them. The proposal has turned into a sick joke, and the joke is on Syracuse, New York. I don’t hear anybody laughing.