Latest Building Don't Always Measure Up to Area's Vaunted Architectural Past

Recent additions to the High Line often aren't as distinctive as Frank Gehry's IAC Building at 550 W. 18th St. Keith Bedford for The Wall Street Journal

If you haven't visited the High Line recently, you may be in for a disappointment next time you return. Some of the latest architectural additions to its West Chelsea neighborhood don't nearly match the high standards set earlier in the park's evolution.

For several years, it seemed that the magic of the High Line, New York's greatest new public space in decades, was also enchanting nearby development. As the rail-viaduct-turned-park captured the city's imagination, the neighborhood sprouted projects by designers like Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Neil Denari, and others.

A walk along the park rapidly became "like going to the zoo for starchitects," says architect-developer Cary Tamarkin.

Unfortunately the menagerie has expanded with some more ungainly creatures, as recent buildings have been more hit or miss. More than a dozen mostly residential towers have recently been completed or are under way at the moment, and several of these recent additions do nothing to enhance a leisurely stroll along the High Line.

Many of the new buildings are "very average," says Francoise Bollack, professor of historic preservation at Columbia University.

Others make an attempt at an architectural statement but fall short, she says. "They seem compelled to do something special but not many are particularly successful."

Consider for example the new Avalon Bay rental developments on 11th Avenue between West 28th and West 29th streets. These are two separate brick and glass projects, the 14-floor AVA High Line, which opened late last year, and its next door 32-story tower, the Avalon West Chelsea, which is scheduled to open soon.

Together they swallow nearly a whole block in a feat of architectural nondescriptness that fails to fit into the neighborhood's past or create an interesting future. They might seem acceptable infill in Northern Virginia but not an area of such rich history or intriguing new additions as Jean Nouvel's bracing 100 11th Ave., Frank Gehry's iceberg-like IAC Building and Polshek Partnership Architects' Standard Hotel.

Jon Vogel, vice president of development at Avalon Bay, points out that it isn't fair to compare huge rental buildings with the smaller condominium developments and other more boutique projects that have dazzled the architecture world. "It's really apples and oranges," Mr. Vogel said.

But some would argue that size and function are no excuse for ho-hum architecture. While the city is full of examples of rental projects that are far from inspiring, other developers have proven that big rental buildings can be distinctive. The Frank Gehry-designed tower at 8 Spruce St. is a perfect example of this.

Other new towers along the High Line make an attempt to fit in but don't measure up to the achievements set by the earlier structures in the neighborhood. For example, architect Robert A.M. Stern designed the Abington House rental development on West 29th Street with dark brick, very regular fenestration and detail beveled steel so it appears "as if it always belonged to the neighborhood," he says. While it is pleasant, no one is going to attribute it timelessness.

Still there are glimpses of hope in the new construction along the High Line. Mr. Tamarkin's 508 W. 24th St. is a stark and striking Bauhaus-like vision of poured concrete and casement-windows. Mr. Tamarkin noted the presence to the north and south of buildings featuring "dancing, jumping, folding walls" and that "it made me want to make just the roughest toughest rock anchor for the High Line."

Somewhat to the south, plans for Thomas Juul-Hansen's 505 W. 19th St. also shows real promise, a solid building of roman-styled extra-long limestone brick and black aluminum with a rippling but rigid facade. While other buildings span the High Line, Mr. Juul-Hansen's will connect under it, consisting of two towers on opposite sides, an estimable gatekeeper for the park's middle portion.

One of the most important additions to the neighborhood will be the new Renzo Piano-designed Whitney Museum of American Art scheduled to open next spring. Currently under construction, its geometrically irregular design is being hotly debated in the architecture world, with some hailing it as an equal to other New York museum masterpieces while others see little more than a faddish building in a faddish neighborhood.

Hopefully for current and future generations of High Line visitors, the new Whitney will offer a solid anchor for the park's southern end. One of the park's main attractions are the singularly unusual vantage points that it offers from which to admire the city. Some new construction along the park has served to beautifully complement this novel experience. But mediocre additions have the opposite effect of encouraging visitors to stop and absorb the view; they make you want to walk faster.

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