This is more interesting, what are your least favorite skyscrapers?

My top two least favorite are the Metlife Building and American Radiator Building.

I'll post my opinion on the American Radiator Building later.

Here's my thoughts on the Metlife Building...

As one who has to walk from 5th ave to Lex every weekday, I pass by the tower to get a good enough glance on Park Ave everyday. I hate it. It's fatass just sits there, it's a huge slab, I usually like huge slabs, but not this brutal. It's a monster, dirty and all, it's like a huge wall blocking your view.

I was shocked one time to see some windows actually shine a bit off the sun, it was a rare moment, but even then it just didn't look good. One thing this tower has going for it is it's attitude.

It has the New York attitude you know? It's like I'm here, I don't give a shit if you like me or not, I'm gonna be here and I'm gonna block your view and force you to look at me, and you know what? To top that off, I'm going to stick my name right at the top so you can know who the hell I am.

What do I say back? You know what you can do all that, you still look like a POS.

I love the building for the same reasons you hate it :P .

Conde Nast.
there are some others, but they're just not popping up in my mind right now, so I'll talk about Conde.
That thing is vulgar and nasty, no need for other arguments :D

Conde Nast.
there are some others, but they're just not popping up in my mind right now, so I'll talk about Conde.
That thing is vulgar and nasty, no need for other arguments :D

I like Conde Nast, it looks great. At first I didn't have much of an opinion on it, but after the antenna addition, I think it turned out really well. It seems like it's a love or hate relationship with the building.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3181/24042004_0702Image0017.JPG

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3184/24042004_0826Image0024.JPG

Now that ain't so bad!

the metlife (panam) building. a one huge behemoth

That new residential tower, the 425th 5th avenue apartment building. I saw it from the observation deck of the ESB and it just looks horrible and garish looking. The colours are horrendous. A girl near me said to her friend, "What an ugly building! It looks like it's made of lego!"

http://img.slate.msn.com/media/1/123125/2079215/2093179/2096542/2096543/2097177/Graves-5thave-1_TN.jpg

can people please leave the metlife building alone...

P.S. there is nothing wrong with conde nast at all, its gorgeous.

Skyscrapers such as the Metlife are sure subject to criticsm, especially when it sticks out as a prominent eyesore.

Least favorite NY tower?
Definately MetLife, that thing just stinks.:fart:

there are some towers i don't like, but the ugliest is the un headquarters. they deserve a better tower.
i mean this is the typical boring design of the 50s

how can you all insult great towers!
Metlife, and now the UN building?
It looks great, it has it's bad days, but that's what's great about it, you have to keep coming and coming and hope that it's in a good mood so that you can get good pics because good weather doesn't guarantee good pictures.

Your right the UN Building is very moody, unfortunately most of the time it's having a bad day than good one. I'm glad they're going to renovate it.

I really hate the office block just south of Brooklyn Heights promenade. It's the only skyscraper I wouldn't mind to see demolished.
UN Secretariat is pretty boring and occasionally ugly, but you can't deny it works well as a centerpiece for the eastside Midtown skyline, and it's famous as hell. As for good days...
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=284147
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=284148
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=284149
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=284151
Metlife is just plain cool; the only building of its size and type better than it is the GE building.

The Radiator Building is brilliant.

The UN is a classic of its kind.

Metlife--well, feh, not my favorite. But at least you know it's there.

Conde Nast--I actually kind of like it...

That residential tower on Fifth--right on!!! That thing is butt-fuckin' UGLY and I work across the street from it! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeuch!

Also--Trump's crap on the West Side is pretty nasty. Plus that imitation gold-plated hotel he turned the old Gulf & Western building into.

Most of Times Square is a disgrace.

Water Street is a load of old pants.

Strangely enough, Trump Tower and the Metropolitan Tower have both grown on me over the years. Mostly this is because the recent competition is so bad....

my least fave in nyc goes to the westin hotel time square. never before has a facade of a skyscraper in the city in my opinion been this bizarre and distasteful. its amateurish color and color arrangements stands out like an eyesore in a skyline filled with other buildings that are architectual acclaims. if the architect and developer of this building thinks that its design is a good diversion for the ever-growing times square skyline, they are horribly wrong. that building, in my opinion, is trying to be what a skyscraper shouldn't be, and it's on the top of my skyscraper-that-should-be-demolished list until freedom tower and calatrava's townhouses-in-the-sky get built.

i also don't like trump world tower. it's hard to believe that trump actually did so much to bring buildings like bank of manhattan, gulf and western building, and the plaza hotel back to their prime just by looking at that seemingly uninnovative black box. but my dislike of it is mostly based on its location. i wouldn't mind it as much if they built it in the midtown skyline surrounded with other midtown skyscrapers, but it looks even more unfriendly than metlife in its current location. the corinthian also gets on my nerves. that building is totally outta wack, the worst-looking residential tower in the world with its painful-looking curves.

for me, i'm neutral toward conde nast. it's got cool facade variations, but the 4 billboard frames on the top just bugs the heck outta me. metlife's cool also. it actually looks a lot more interesting than the jp morgan/chemical bank/westvaco black boxes to the north of it on park avenue, and the wall effect it created is cool also in my opinion. but if the technology to move skyscrapers from 1 area to another ever happens (very highly unlikely), i'd make metlife and waldorf-astoria switch places. i like both the 425 5th ave and the gulf and western building in its current state. both got good architecture to them.

This one is obvious: AXA Center, it's such a horrible building, a terrible facde with a dumb top. :mad:

Yea, AXA is on the bad list, definitely, I don't even know why. Conde Nast is cool. It is a crazy energetic mess, just like the rest of Times Square, and it's pretty tall. I like Westin Hotel too - energetic and crazy, but more streamlined. I also like the Trump World Tower. It's simple and powerful as hell, and gives a much-needed peak to eastside Midtown skyline. I am really pissed off by the old buildings with nice facades but real crappy sides and backs, it's like, posers. I'd prefer a building that's ugly on all sides, or, of course, a nice one everywhere. They piss me off. I also don't like those thick wedding cakes in International style. Short and squat with boring facades. I am also pissed off by buildings with large podiums so you can't build anything next to them.

Buildings that I love that some others in this thread don't:
Conde Nast
American Radiator (the only thing I would change about this irreplacable classic is the black color of the facade)
Westin Hotel (somewhat tacky but unique and artistic)
Trump world tower

Now that that's taken care of, on to the buildings I don't like.
Metlife building: I dislike the way it seems to enclose Park Ave (although at night it can become a stunning 800-foot wall of lights), and the facade is terrible, but I do like the height and boldness. If it only turned a little of that width into height I would love the thing.
UN secretariat: I find the shape and facade overall ugly, but I do like the it for being the UN headquarters building.
And, I hate all residentials over 20 stories that have ugly metal balconies sticking out of every floor.

how can you all insult great towers! Metlife, and now the UN building?

Because they stink :fart:

savethewtc, you had me laughing out loud here at work with your Metlife review. :D

I can't single out any one building right now, but I get tired of seeing so many rectangular, boxy buildings (not just in NYC). I miss the romantic buildings of old, with their spires and ornamentation; wish we saw more of that.

savethewtc, you had me laughing out loud here at work with your Metlife review. :D

I can't single out any one building right now, but I get tired of seeing so many rectangular, boxy buildings (not just in NYC). I miss the romantic buildings of old, with their spires and ornamentation; wish we saw more of that.

Thanks, I hope I didn't get you in trouble. :D

Your boxes comment reminded me of the nasty infamous XYZ trio which usually never get any good reviews.

yeah, the XYZs never get good reviews. they are interesting only because there's 3 of them in a row and they look practically identical (although mcgraw hill looks darker in sunny days and celanese's columns are thicker).

but i discovered that most of the buildings that i disliked in nyc bugs me only because of their location. i wouldn't mind trump world tower at all if it's built within the midtown commercial skyscraper cluster and the westin would definitely be a hit if it's built in vegas. but bad location can definitely damper a building's popularity, esp in metlife's case.

I will depise the Freedom Tower.

Oh my god!!! What are you people thinking!!!

The AXA centre is so good, so is the westin hotel not to mention Metlife and UN buildings. I think you are all going mad! These are some of the classics of the city we love so much. without them New York would not be the same!

Oh my god!!! What are you people thinking!!!

The AXA centre is so good, so is the westin hotel not to mention Metlife and UN buildings. I think you are all going mad! These are some of the classics of the city we love so much. without them New York would not be the same!

i totally agree with u on that axa issue. it's like my favorite building in midtown after chrysler! i really like its setbacks and brown color and its blend of international and postmodern styles. and i was so shocked when i realized that it received so much negative ratings in the rate our talls forums. the building deserves much better than a mere 5.6!!!

metlife is awesome too, and u.n. will definitely be a classic once it get new windows that will always guarantee it a good day. as for the westin hotel, i guess it's just not really "new york" in my opinion...

Oh, I forgot to mention this one.

100 UN Plaza:

http://www.greatgridlock.net/NYC_Images/871.jpg

http://www.greatgridlock.net/NYC_Images/200.jpg

Naaaaaaaasty.

^Ewww.

That is...um...unpleasent. Yeah, I'll go with unpleasent.

why? I like this one, it looks pretty good when combined with the UN building

Why do most of you hate new york? 100 Un is nice, i like it, its not fantastic. but not horrible.