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"Arquitectonica's design for Rockrose Development Corporation, developers of the 74-acre
site in Queens where Pepsi-Cola was bottled and canned until two years ago, is still in
development. But it's not too soon to comment on the promise of this project and the
obstacles faced by the architects in fulfilling it. The project, expected to cost $1 billion, will
occupy almost 22 acres in the northern area of Queens West. It will include seven apartment
towers, for a total of 3,000 new units. There will be 13.5 acres of parks, streets and other
public spaces.
Arquitectonica is sui generis. Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear, the firm's
principles, were the first American architects of the baby-boom generation to start building on
a large scale.
The Spear House in Coral Gables, Fla., designed by them in collaboration with Rem
Koolhaas, was among the most photographed residential designs of the 1970's. Later,
Arquitectonica imprinted itself on the public imagination with the high-rises the firm designed
for Brickel Avenue in Miami.
As featured backdrops in the 1980's television series "Miami Vice," these towers helped
establish the new image of that city as an economic and cultural crossroads between Latin
America and the United States. And they defined the specialty for which Arquitectonica has
become known: a highly inventive, often colorful manipulation of the tall building type.
Arquitectonica is the Ricky Martin of contemporary architecture. While retaining Latin roots,
the firm has built widely around the world. Its cosmopolitan outlook suits Queens West.
There is nothing profound about this firm's work. On the other hand, there is none of the
spurious historical depth asserted by the retro buildings at Battery Park City and Riverside
South. This brings us to the obstacle Arquitectonica must reckon with in attempting
something fresh. Queens West, sponsored by a division of the Empire State Development
Corporation, is stuck with a Battery Park City-clone master plan and design guidelines.
For a site where views are paramount, the guidelines restrict the use of glass in favor of
masonry walls. Instead of encouraging new approaches to planning, the master plan
mandates neo-traditional towers on bases with uniform street lines. Can the bishop's-crook
lampposts, world's-fair benches, hexagonal pavers and other theme-park accessories be far
behind? Will we have Gene Kelly look-alike doormen dancing to "Singing in the Rain"?
Arquitectonica should be given the widest latitude in responding to the conditions of the site.
After all, the context here extends far beyond the neighboring low-rise brick buildings of
Long Island City. It also includes the midtown skyline, the river and its bridges, the airports
in Queens and, not least, the United Nations headquarters and all it symbolizes for the city
and the world beyond."
- Muschamp for NYT