VIA and The Ansonia
Observations of the historical Ansonia residence in the Upper West Side contrasted earlier this week with a visit to VIA, the new residential building on West 58th Street.
Not purposely, I took similar photos of each within the same week – their angles mirroring one another; the softer sides of the Ansonia contrasting with the sharp turns and and triangles of VIA.
As VIA’s layout interrupts the New York City skyline from the edge of 12th Avenue, the special spot in the Upper West Side – The Ansonia – brings nostalgia for the old amidst the new here on the island.
VIA, designed by Bjarke Ingals Group, was part of Open House New York in 2016 with landscape tours during the weekend. I missed the tours but when I went on my own, I could tell that the sharpness and steepness of this site is deafening. It cancels out all construction and noise taking place around it as it strikes through the other soundwaves of the NYC skyline.
Art Medium 