In the shadows of a city overwhelmingly rich in history as well as proud and protective of its traditions is a new central business district that has a skyline which could be confused for any generic US sunbelt city.

La Defense although much more sterile and boring than the city it represents is a fascinating place solely on the fact that it is truly the purest antithesis of Paris from tall soulless glass skyscrapers to big shopping malls and big outdoor concrete plazas that become lifeless when the workday is over (although there are efforts to make that change).

Like most cities built during the modern era, its a soulless place on its own and so the cure for that is always…lots of non-functional public art (!)

La Defense could very well become the biggest star in the architecture world soon if and when Morphosis gets to see their “Tour Phare” built.

It will be one of the largest structures in France and all its energy will be supplied by wind turbines on the roof of the structure. To give France credit, they are willing to take architectural risks that Americans have been slow to come around to.

Although it might not be welcomed with open arms, La Defense does what Paris proper won’t and that is build skyscrapers. Its an interesting debate. It would be hard to question the fact that the landscape of Paris would be severely different and perhaps not as unique and marketable as it is with 21st century structures towering over everything before it. When Paris did allow a skyscraper to be built they got suck with the Tour Montparnasse

which serves its primary purpose as a punch line amongst Parisians (you could even say its construction was a self-fulfilling prophecy but thats a whole other conversation). At the same time, it is become more present that France needs to modernize to stay relevant in the future and by severely limiting commercial space in one of the most famous cities in the world one could say they would only be hurting themselves. But when you have a 35-hour workweek, productivity and economic growth probably isn’t the most pressing issue on your mind.

My favorite artists and architects hail from the Netherlands, so it only made sense that I spend a couple days in the capital of the uber-progressive nation.

Unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment. Coming out of Centraal Station we walked towards what seemed like a quaint and historic city center but was basically a mecca for tourists who…lets just say weren’t seeking culture.

Not really being into prostitutes or weed-I bought a 48-hour pass on the public transit system and journeyed around seeking a more authentic everyday-type Amsterdam.

I saw a central business district in the way distance and guided myself there-its the Amsterdam WTC. And it made me feel a bit better about the lack of 24/7 vitality that is so sought after and rare to find in the states.


Beautiful buildings, with plenty more coming soon but not a soul outside at lunch time and not a residential building in sight. The buildings themselves lacked much 1st-floor presence as a lot of the offices just have secluded cafeterias. Knowing the quality of local architects and the decent rate of growth in Amsterdam, I’m sure these issues will be addressed but it was a surprise nonetheless.

I came back to the city-center (saying ‘downtown’ feels wrong when you’re in Europe) and came across a mini-cultural district emerging as a response to the red-light district that has a surprisingly heavy presence on the immediate area around Centraal Station.

We went to the Stedelijk Museum of art that one would assume would satisfy my quest to see some Mondriaans or any Di Stijl in general but it was under a massive rebuilding-only some small contemporary exhibits and a huge Warhol (sigh…) exhibit were open to the public. But when the new Stedelijk is done it will definitely be a huge attraction.

Right next door was the brand-new public library which blew me away. Best. Library. Ever.

Extremely thoughtful interior design and superior accessibility to everything-print media, electronic media, and decent food (for Dutch standards).

Next to that was a children’s and/or science museum…not my cup of tea…but nice to look at.

Between the two extremes of the city center and the WTC there is an msterdam that is for its everyday citizens who hail from all over the world and live in quaint old neighborhoods the provide everything you need on a daily basis and a great tram system to take you there. The people are low key and friendly and the neighborhoods are welcoming and comfortable.

Amsterdam was an okay overall experience-a bit weird but it has all the great assets of any big European cities.

The Netherlands as a whole seems like a great country-great urbanism, thoughtful transportation planning from trains to bikes. I’ll come back someday to see The Hague and Rotterdam but I’m pretty sure the capital is permanently crossed off my list of places to visit.

Kinda surprised to see no discussion of this in the local blogosphere but the FBI has outgrown their downtown Buffalo headquarters and is now seeking new space. If you like to see downtown surface lots disappear or like seeing some 21st century additions to the downtown building stock then this is a story you should be quite excited about.

The GSA-which is basically the landlord of the Federal Government enacted a policy that focuses on having high quality, aesthetically appealing, and sustainable architecture in all its new builds from the 21st century onward which gives Buffalo an exciting architectual opportunity. Although not groundbreaking, the GSA has given us a preview of such standards with the new courthouse under-construction at Niagara Square. The highlight of the GSA’s new architectural standards can be seen in San Francisco with the new Federal Building there designed by the groundbreaking Thom Mayne of Morphosis.

Aestetically controversial, it takes bold risks and attempts to completely change the everyday lifestyle and culutre of the office place, and the federal office place more specifically. We’re no San Fran, but a new FBI Building downtown can surely outdo the 2000 design of KPF’s Buffalo Courthouse.

There is a catch though, the FBI could move into any part of the very wide jurisdiction it covers (down into ski country even) but the Federal Government has a solid reputation of investing in urban centers across the country-even Buffalo. Higgins and Schumer are on the prowl in making sure this comes true. I trust the Feds and our representatives can make this happen. If nothing else, Buffalo is pretty good at landing pork projects that serve little financial benefit to downtown but make it a little bit prettier.

Its my first day back in Buffalo and I’m greeted with the news that Bashar Issa will in all likely hood not build the City Tower due to his construction workers becoming unionized. Newell who apparently is Bashar’s appointed and/or self-appointed hype-man makes this out to be a situation in which unions are holding back Buffalo and poor Bashar, losing lots of money in court to try to sway the pendulum his way-money that could have been spent on his skyscraper.

I’d have to disagree. I saw a bunch of the construction workers hanging outside the Statler a month ago and for the 1st time in my life I thought to myself…”Are these people SERIOUSLY working construction?!?!” Kids my age, younger than me, people who look like they have no clue what they are doing…I was even thinking of working for them after seeing such a sight. He came into town saying promoting the fact that the BSC Group has their own construction company-making it easier to get projects done when it fact it meant he has lots of really cheap, unskilled workers.

If unions are the real reason Bashar can’t do the City Tower then he is clearly a liar in regard to his personal wealth.

And as I’ve said in previous posts-the BSC Group moves as slow as molasses to do any of their proposed projects with only a few being completed in Manchester as of today.

So finish the Statler and accept the fact that in Buffalo, construction workers are unionized-and usually for a reason. If you can accept that, build the City Tower. If not-go back to Manchester and don’t come back.

Hooray for adding some more infamous people/projects to the post-modern history of downtown Buffalo.

Welcome back indeed.