I've been following a group on Facebook called Architectural Uprising--The Alternative to Ugliness for a while now. The group also has a website: architecturaluprising.com. The tagline for the group is: "A people's movement against the continued uglification of our cities."
Recently, the following images appeared on the group's Facebook page, juxtaposing two plans for construction on a city block. The two designs were described as "Modernist City Planning vs. Smarter City Planning."
The images brought to mind the only city block in Hudson whose reconfiguration is currently being considered. What's being proposed for the block bordered by First, State, Second, and Columbia streets seems to fall somewhere between "Modernist City Planning" and "Smarter City Planning."
It remains to be seen what the buildings will actually look like. At the last Hudson Housing Authority meeting, the architects promised a public workshop, or community charrette, for the development of the park the buildings will surround, but no such promise has been made regarding the design of the buildings. The assurance that the buildings' design will fit into the architectural context of the neighborhood is vague and promises nothing good. The neighborhood immediately surrounding the HHA site is entirely the product of Urban Renewal--not exactly a golden age of American architecture. COPYRIGHT 2024 CAROLE OSTERINK
How does a group of apartment buildings the tallest of which is only 18 feet shorter than Bliss Towers fit into the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood? The surrounding neighborhood is comprised of 2 story residential homes.
ReplyDeleteTake a walk down 7th street and look at the mess created from the construction of one apartment building, multiply that x 7. The house next door to that project is already abandoned, the grass is three feet high. That whole block is a goner.
This HHA proposal is like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer to treat a headache.
Well said Slow Art, I just don't get how this project can get this far along without the community seeing what the buildings will look like. From what we know so far it is like Urban Renewal repeating itself 50 years later. HUD was chased out of town about 30 years ago.
DeleteHudson has always been ripe for picking ... it seems Hudson has a 'shadow government' or 2 that are good at creating chaos not easily understood until its too late ...
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