Goldman Sachs' new headquarters in New York is "modern but nowhere near the architectural cutting edge; neither cheap nor extravagant; and efficient without seeming merely functional." Paul Goldberger dissects the new Henry Cobb design.
"These days, it would be understandable if Goldman Sachs wanted to disappear." The fallout from the financial crisis, including, reportedly, a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors is enough to make a corporation recede from public view. This design achieves this aim, while satisfying "the firm's long-standing obsession with being both extremely powerful and utterly inconspicuous."
The article studies the contemporary relationship between large corporations, the cities which provide their headquarters, and the architects employed to build them. Goldberger finds the interiors full of impressive touches, but the exterior elevations "unlike New York's most admired business temples, will never mean much to people who don't work in it."
FULL STORY: The New Goldman Sachs Building at 200 West Street

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

Savannah Reduces Speed Limits on Almost 100 City Streets
The historic Georgia city is lowering speed limits in an effort to reduce road fatalities.

A Park Reborn: Resilience and Renewal in Fire-Stricken Altadena
Rebuilt in just two months after the devastating Eaton Fire, Loma Alta Park now stands as a symbol of community resilience and renewal, even as some residents hope recovery efforts will continue to support housing stability and long-term equity.

Spain Moves to Ban 66,000 Airbnbs
The national government is requiring the short-term rental operator to remove thousands of illegal listings from its site as part of an effort to stem a growing housing crisis.
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