Morphosis' 41 Cooper Square

You can almost imagine being sucked into that Thom Mayne vortex...zapped into the complex and weird world of design and architecture (nerd!)...
This is the new Academic Building for the Cooper Union in NYC. So fresh...and soooo Morphosheeees.... At first glance,it is one of those buildings that make you conclude that it is just a "wrapper" thing...or the skin treatment technique that compensates for the toned down craziness of "function follows form" ---nth used cliche.
Well, NA-UH. Anyway, you can't expect a building to be as perfect or as similar to its original plan because there so many dynamics in construction, not to mention the mood-swings of architects. At the end of the day it's all about the money, this case,the program it serves. From the outside, this looks like a box with some playful perforated steel outer skin. Well, it kinda look that IT IS. I still have to figure out what those folds and creases are. But the skin is very functional, as it serves as insulation during winter and heat buffer during summer. No wonder it earned a high LEED rating. The interesting part is the stair. So Morphee jammed the elevators to stop on the first, fifth and eight floors only. This way, Coop peeps can actually use his glorified stairs. (IT would have been fun if he didn't include the first floor). This staircase is the Thom Mayne vortex.... In High School terms, vortex refers to a place where losers are sucked in.

They are actually using it...unless this shot was arranged. It it was, wouldn't it be nice if they hired models to work the stairway? ...to make people think that this school is for BEAUTIFUL people only? LOL....That way the vortex "image" will be erased.
I can see Wall-E ...crushed version

Description:

41 Cooper Square, the new academic building for The Cooper Union, aspires to manifest the character, culture and vibrancy of both the 150 year-old institution and of the city in which it was founded. The institution remains committed to Peter Cooper’s radically optimistic intention to provide an education “as free as water and air” and has subsequently grown to become a renowned intellectual and cultural center for the City of New York. 41 Cooper Square aspires to reflect the institution’s stated goal to create an iconic building – one that reflects its values and aspirations as a center for advanced and innovative education in Art, Architecture and Engineering...via Morphosis


All Photos by Roland Halbe via Dezeen