Now after posting about Libeskind’s ROM and Diller + Scofidio’s ICA I think I found the perfect way to cap the small series.

And in case your spanish isn’t too sharp…

I thought this Simpsons clip would be appreciated by any rust-belter.

The ICA on the South End of Boston’s Harbor was completed last year and I read about in a NY Times review. Done by a fashionable duo of Diller + Scofidio. It reflects the also new Boston Convention Center seen below…

(No…its’ not an alien spacecraft)


It has some real nice public space with a boardwalk vibe to it with beautiful views all around…with talk of a new Weather Museum on Buffalo’s waterfront, this building presents a possible example. Everyone involved wants it to be architectually stunning and they should since this Boston ICA is just another of a million examples of various cities in the Western world adding contemporary, state of the art museums to show that they are a cultivated place.

I don’t think you can have a more thorough, rational, and realistic look at the Canal Side plan than BuffaloPundit does right here.

Took the words out of my mouth and then some.

Congrats to WKBW for joining the Buffalo News as an old media group recognizing the need to have a 21st century website. While WGRZ and WIVB changed their banner, channel 7 added some nice features and is now the most pleasant looking and readable site of the three channels.

Our hometown musical team are releasing a new single called “Fiction” that will be on the soundtrack for the Transformers movie coming out soon. Scroll down on the link and you’ll be able to hear before it gets on the radio or iTunes.
Not a big fan of the song but it’ll be popular. The Goo’s maxed out with 1990’s “Hold Me Up” and 1993 “Superstar Car Wash”…amazing post-grunge albums.

When I was in Toronto last week I got to see Daniel Libeskind’s
“Crystal” that is an extension of the Royal Ontario Museum of Art. Libeskind gets a rap for having really poor interiors for art galleries unless the art specifically compliments his design and his exteriors are pretty wild obviously.

Although a lot of people will hate it, I think the exterior of it will become a Toronto landmark…when people see it in photos or on TV they’ll automatically say “That’s Toronto.”

Not one person who walked by it didn’t stop to turn their head, talk about it, photograph it, or just admire it…and in that way its already great.

Burchfield-Penney’s extension is a pretty lame exterior facing elmwood but isn’t that bad overall. Most of Gwathmey-Siegel’s art building stuff is like that (UB’s Center for the Arts). At the same time, their interiors are great and thats the most important part of a museum. We’ll see if it becomes a successful architectual addition over time. I can’t imagine Wright or Saarinen’s work being highly touted in Buffalo right upon completion.

With the Albright Knox getting over $20 million with their art sales, maybe they’ll have to build an extension…and maybe that’ll mean being able to get a signature museum extension since that is all the rage now a days from Kansas City to Bilbao.

As most of us know, the Aud is ready for demolition for a future parking garage supposedly with 1st floor retail and possibly residential units on top. I am willing to part with the Aud but I recognize the rich history and many memories that stem from that building for a lot of Buffalonians. I really like the facade facing Exchange Street and would love to see that preserved.

In Montreal, the Forum has much more significance to the culture than the Aud could imagine. It was not torn down but turned into an average shopping center. A high quality Movie Theatre, A “Future Shop” (Canadian Circuit City pretty much) and a couple smaller retailers and cafes.

Some sections and assorted rows of seats were preserved and there is a center-ice-type decoration in the middle of the shopping center, giving locals a connection to the rich history of their historic franchise.

Perhaps we’ll see our Inner Harbor plan evolve into including an Aud that respects the Sabres’ history.

Sadly, Buffalo Biz Journals has been crashing everytime I try to open it over the last couple weeks but through WCP at BRO I was able to see an update on the Statler renovations. From reading it, I’m seeing a trend with the BSC Group’s reputation for failing to deliver up to the potential of the project.

What was once supposed to be a lot of completely renovated hotels into cool contemporary ones has become a simple renovation, keeping much in tact. From what I know, those hotel rooms were cool for the time period they served but they’re a bit outdated and small. Although Issa is stressing the “Art Deco” theme I really think he’s just seeing “Cheaper”.

And what the hell is this “Fourth Finger” idea? Extra office and retail space where the parking garage would have been? Does this mean he’s not to sure about getting the City Tower rented out?

But the addition of more office space than previously mentioned suggests Issa sees the immediate demand for downtown class A office space, which is good. Does it mean the downtown residential market has dissapointed him though?

Shouldn’t complain too much. The Statler was approaching a slow death and Issa-no matter how scaled down or different the project becomes-is adding life to this landmark and making Niagara Square a more prominent location like it should be.

I’m not going to even worry about City Tower right now…just going to focus on the Statler project and once that is completed, we can start contemplating whether or not Buffalo’s newest, tallest skyscraper is going to be a reality or not…although that “Fourth Finger” thing is making me think twice about the tower’s reality.

Had a wonderful trip, discovering cities I’ve never seen before/seen a lot and seeing them in a new light.

On the drives in-between I thought about the Motherland a lot and would ask myself why I would leave Buffalo and how I should definitely stick it out and make a life there not only through college but…forever. I’d say “Buffalo isn’t doing THAT bad.”

Ah but my friends, I got caught up on all the postings on FixBuffalo and now I remember the truth. My god do we have some SERIOUS work to do. I think the tough part about that is knowing that if you roll up your sleeves and give it your all, the good you do and the change you create could very likely only pay divedends after you’re gone. Its hard to keep pushing and committing when the results just don’t show up.

Anywho…plenty of posts ahead from my travels, some interesting things that could and should be done in Buffalo.