re: #261 lawhawk

I work within sight of the Gehry tower, and it is a sight to behold. Best views are actually from Brooklyn just before and after sunrise (golden hour) and then silhouetted at sunset.

It’s somewhat less inspiring when seen from street level in front of the building as you can’t really grasp the full beauty and scope from that vantage.

Yet, the Times writer couldn’t help but get a couple of shots in at the Freedom Tower (1WTC), which is now more than half its ultimate height (and will soon surpass Gehry’s tower in height).

There have been some phenomenal buildings to have gone up in NYC in the past couple of years - the IAC HQ on the West Side (another Gehry project), a couple of Brooklyn towers along Flatbush Avenue in Fort Greene, and Norman Foster’s Hearst Building expansion to name but a few.

I’m waiting for the mechanical/software upgrade to be made to the Comcast Tower in Philadelphia so that it can warp it’s outside reflective surface to actually *focus* the reflected sunlight into a point defense system. (Think magnifying glass vs ants, or for those with a SF-thing Niven’s “sunflowers” on the Ring World.) Right now I can be walking on the street 2-3 blocks from the building and feel the reflected light coming off the building - not to mention noticing that I’m casting two shadows as well.