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'Accidental Architecture': The result of a tough economy
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Metropolitan Life Insurance North Building
In a tough economy, it is oftentimes the case that development projects, both grand and minute in scale, are put on hold. A moratorium on such a project can trigger a variety of unwanted effects, such as a desolate, vacant site ripe for undesirable activity. Furthermore, stagnant development sites can also stunt further economic development and real estate investment in a neighborhood. Construction sites left abandoned are not exactly appealing to prospective investors and neighborhood residents alike.
Not much unlike our current economic situation, there have been many instances in history in which buildings have been left unfinished due to financial woes. In this country, the greatest cessation of development was the Great Depression, in which many construction projects were halted due to the inherent lack of funding. In the years that followed, due to our involvement in World War II, funds were alotted to wartime efforts, thus spending much needed money on commercial and ecclesiastical endeavors seemed fruitless, and most importantly at the time, unpatriotic. This lead to an overwhelming amount of buildings left incomplete, contrary to the architect's original plan.
Although no architect ever wants to see one of his or her masterpieces unfinished, I would contend that there is something intrinsically beautiful and natural in such works left undone. Such "accidental architecture" is the complete antithesis of the architect's vision, which typically involves a highly methodical process focused on intricate design and strong attention to detail. In the case of the following structures, the unfinished result has become iconic architecture; thus, it begs the question, does being incomplete add or subtract to the building's allure?
Metropolitan Life North Building
Along Madison Square Park lies the Metropolitan Life Insurance North Building, designed by Harvey Wiley Corbett and D. Everett Waid, adjacent to the landmarked Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower. The Art Deco North Building, designed to be a 100-story tower, was to be the world's tallest building at the time. However, due to the Great Depression, only the first 29 floors were built before construction halted in 1932. If built according to its original plans, it would have been double the height (with certainly more bulk) than its neighbor, at fifty stories.
City Bank-Farmers Trust Company Building
Completed in 1931, the City Bank-Farmers Trust Company Building, located at 20 Exchange Place and designed by Cross and Cross, was also originally intended to be the world's tallest building. However, with the Great Depression looming, the building was scaled back from 846.4 feet to 741 feet, making it the fourth tallest building in the world. Now a designated New York City landmark, this building is notable for its bronze depictions of themes synonymous with the Art Deco style - such as transportation, strength, and progress.
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City Bank-Farmer's Trust Company Building International Magazine Building (Hearst Magazine Building)
International Magazine Building (currently Hearst Magazine Building)
Publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst commissioned Viennese opera set designer Joseph Urban to build his new headquarters on 8th Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Described as a "theatrical tour de force, recalling the grandiosity of World's Fair architecure," this building too was left incomplete - only six of the planned thirteen stories were constructed due to both the Great Depression and Hearst's failed, extravagant real estate ventures (Diamonstein, 508). Left unfinished for almost eighty years, the building was "completed" by Sir Norman Foster in 2006 with the addition of his both highly reviled and highly lauded glass tower with a triangular framing pattern. Whether one likes it or not, no one can debate that this tower has certainly become an interesting addition to the New York skyline.
Sources:
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Building North image: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GRP/grp-MetLife.jpg
City Bank-Farmer's Trust Company Building image: http://img.streeteasy.com/nyc/image/16/2317716.jpg
International Magazine Building image: http://adaptivereuse.net/wp-content/uploads/images/hearst-tower-norman-foster.jpg
White, Norval and Elliot Willensky. AIA Guide to New York City. 4th Ed. New York: Crown Publishers, 2000.
Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Barbaralee. The Landmarks of New York. New York: The Monacelli Press, 2005.
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