Everyone’s a critic in Philadelphia. I was strolling along Northern Liberties’ Second Street the other night to check the progress at Erdy McHenry’s Hancock Square, which is supposed to starting renting this month. As I was admiring the syncopated composition of the facade, with its angled glass windows and strategically placed voids, I was startled to hear two cynical hipsters mutter “ugly.” Huh? Is it really possible that people don’t know a good building when they see it? The development is Bart Blatstein’s first mature effort at new construction, and Hancock Square’s street presence is vastly superior to virtually every other large residential project going up in Philadelphia at the moment. What makes it good? Let’s start with the ground floor[…]

Well, if that don’t beat all. Read on as Inga Saffrom debunks myth and draws the line between North Second Street’s newest, largest building and ‚Äî mon dieu! ‚Äî Le Corbusier.
ChangingSkyline: I Am Beautiful, No Matter What They Say

This entry was posted on Friday, August 11th, 2006 at 10:36 am.