Ahead of this weekend’s Nor’easter, Eavesdrop spent Climate Week out on the town and doomscrolling the news. Read some quick observations that run the gamut from tired to wired—or, say, from Trump to Solange.
Mamdaddy Yard 🥹
This week started off with a bang. On September 21, after slapping down a press ban at the White House, President Donald Trump landed in New York City ahead of his address to the United Nations to catch up with New York mayor Zohran Mamdani. Outside Gracie Mansion the pair discussed building housing atop Sunnyside Yard in Queens.
Real information was scant. Trump did not commit any money, but he did not rule out providing federal subsidy. The only action item that came of it: Mamdani announced his staff will set up a “new level of that conversation between our housing and operations team” at the White House and City Hall.
Trump: “I am the code”
On September 23, the Washington Post published an inside account of Trump’s design battles with his former architect James McCrery II, who was replaced by Shalom Baranes Associates last December. Trump seemed to disregard the protocols of typical building requirements: “I am the code,” he reportedly said.
Of particular interest are the images obtained by the Post, which show Trump’s trademark black Sharpie put to use on architectural plans and drawings to give feedback, like a desk crit. Some of his comments include: “Is this decor or steel. Too deep!” “Probably need railing?” “Would you like an open balcony here, for bands, etc?” In another drawing, Trump’s Sharpie lines (and blue ink linework) are laid atop a plan. In one more, Trump is selecting door-swing layouts.
Trump also appeared to mock McCrery. Atop an illustration of a giant data center taking over Manhattan, he wrote: “James and you think we are big”
V.O.T.: Verify on Table
On Wednesday evening, Eavesdrop stepped away from the laptop to attend the New York launch of Building Postcarbon Futures by Billy Fleming. Hosted by The Architectural League of New York at the Center for Brooklyn History, the event put Fleming in conversation with Daniel Aldana Cohen, Keller Easterling, and Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò. The talk had abstract, philosophical passages, but given that the audience was mostly built-environment people, there were some useful material recommendations. One point of discussion came from Reinhold Martin’s essay in the book. (He was also in the audience). His powerful idea? “Nationalize the A&E system.”
The talk rejected Climate Week’s pro-business vibe, with Fleming pointing out that some of the companies that are working on climate centers are also designing prisons and pipelines. The exchange, along with Fleming’s call to action about the book, encourages people to create a bigger tent around climate design, as many of those who shape the built environment are not architects but actually individuals who are “outside the cul-de-sac of the profession,” as Easterling put it.
After the event, folks decamped to the nearby office of aanda, hosted by partner Annie Barrett. Jennifer Sigler, Fleming’s editor, was present, as were Sanford Kwinter, Andrea Monfried, Rosalie Genevro, Jacob Moore, and others. Merriment continued over NA beers and three long submarine sandwiches, whose lengths were confirmed by adjacent locked tape measures.
Fleming, who is based in Philadelphia, returns to the Big Apple next week to moderate an event with TERREMOTO at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Fuego
As reported in Arquitectura Viva, fire affected all seven buildings in the nearly completed La Querola d’Ordino, a luxury residential development in Andorra designed by Jean Nouvel in collaboration with Ribas & Ribas Arquitectes and Jordi Sala. The fire began on September 22 and was put out the next day. There were no injuries, and no cause of the fire has yet been determined. The project has been underway for nearly 20 years.
The incident has inspired Eavesdrop to revisit its list of buildings by starchitects that ought to be (safely!) torched…
Climate Callout at Columbia
On Thursday, September 24, at Columbia University’s Climate School, The New York Times climate desk editor David Gelles fielded tough questions from a climate journalist about the NYT’s decision to invite DOE Secretary Chris Wright, a known climate denier, to participate in its Climate Forward live journalism event. The reporter asked Gelles if the NYT had an ethical obligation to have a climate scientist present during Wright’s speech to dispute any misinformation.
Gelles said Kate Marvel, a former climate scientist at NASA, spoke later that day. The reporter rebutted by saying that Marvel’s talk came hours later. After the exchange, Eavesdrop checked in with the journalist. Their advice: “Don’t invite climate deniers to climate events.” Point taken. Climate Week wraps up on Sunday, September 27.
Swiss Diss?
Who had the best set design for Climate Week in NYC? Swissnex’s Assembly program tapped students at HEAD MAIA—Master of Arts in Interior Architecture in Geneva to design the stage and surroundings at Performance Space in the East Village. The students’ not-so-subtle commentary about New York City’s streetscape resulted in a thematic tribute to our infamous scaffolding, with embedded video screens broadcasting moody black-and-white city images.
Swissnex, the government-backed global innovation initiative, called the transformation of the fourth-floor auditorium “an immersive environment centered around scaffolding as a striking focal point.” Eavesdrop likens the set to an urbanist rethinking of a typical 1980s MTV stage design—though we’re sure that the HEAD MAIA students won’t recall the aesthetic.
Solange in New York
Solange is teasing us. While she posted she was back in the studio in September, her latest venture is a public art installation, part of Google Chrome’s exhibition Unfinished Projects. Atop New York’s High Line, the singer (and sister of Beyoncé) unveiled a collection of sculptures made from cast copper, plywood, and stainless steel. Various geometric forms—triangular prisms inset with spheres, bisected boxes, and a hollow ring—are partly inspired by Fred Eversley and were originally conceived for the 58th La Biennale di Venezia, in 2019. The work is intended to “charge electrical conductivity through form and survey the shift in material over time when interacting with light, touch, and human energy,” according to the website dedicated to the project.
The exhibition also features ballet flats designed by PinkPantheress and a chess set by Joe Burrow, the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Act now to see it IRL: The show is only open through September 27. Bring your umbrella.
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