A+A

12/10/2008 Uncategorized

 

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I was just in New Haven this past weekend – visiting the old haunts – including the newly renovated A+A (love it or hate it?).  The old corrugated monster looks great: the super Rudolph section is now freed and legible, the furniture is new.  I couldn’t believe, though, how pale the new History of Art building was in comparison. While the Rudolph building can almost handle being adhered to – it’s strong enough – the poor little Yale Daily News building is completely overwhelmed.  The joints between the two (three?) buildings are handled with a complete lack of grace, and the details (window mullions, materiality of the façade) feel tinny compared to the concrete and masonry gravitas of its neighbors.  It’s easy to be a critic, it’s true, but it’s hard to imagine that this is a building that will age well.

Christina