When a building talks
“Buildings talk to us if you care to listen. They have a personality, they can be gentle, funny, sad or have an attitude (often the case in NYC), but the best ones are welcoming, timeless and larger than life. Just like people in a way.” A former urban planner, now a journalist and multimedia producer, Guglielmo in his free time wanders the streets of NYC trying to capture through pictures buildings’ personality and the stories behind them.
CHAPTER 3
Green glass of New York
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WHERE: UN HQ MANHATTAN
ARCHITECT: HARRISON, NIEMEYER, LE CORBUSIER
WHEN: COMPLETED IN 1952
HEIGHT: 154M
CRAVINGS: MINT POPSICLE
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The more reflective the glass, the more expensive it is. Helps cool down the building they say. Some buildings in NYC are coated with glass so reflective that it is more like a mirror. The building then blends into the city, the facade an invisibility coat, the ultimate negation of architecture.
In other cases, some of the most iconic buildings in New York do quite the opposite. Colored glass panels underline their presence. For example, the black/bronze glass of many Trump towers or the Seagram building. Others, like Lever House or the UN building, opted for a calming green, almost emerald, glass resembling the East River on its cleanest days.
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Guglielmo Mattioli Bio
He is a multimedia producer with a past as an urban planner. Through writing, video, audio and Virtual Reality, he produces stories mostly focusing on the built environment. Gugliemo's work has appeared on BBC News, The New York Times, National Geographic, Wondery INC, Chora Media, The Guardian, RAI, Arch Daily, Architect’s Newspaper, Metropolis Magazine and City Limits.