Fancy Address + Lazy Design = $$$?

Well it looks like the former Newsweek Building at 251 West 57th Street is being hacked away at:














Fact is that 251 West 57th Street is slimming down for its fancy, new address: 3 Columbus Circle. Situated two blocks south of 59th Street, 3 "Columbus Circle" is actually not part of a circle. Or a half-circle. Or a semi-circle. Or even a curve (OK, maybe you can argue that Broadway kind of curves somewhat near it, but we'll just disregard that for now). It's in the heart of the city's grid system, and I'm not sure how the owners or developers managed to get away with latching on to the Time Warner Center's Circle of Capitalism. Well done, though.

Now on to the real problem I have with "3 Columbus Circle:" the design.

Nope. Your eyes are not deceiving you. It is in fact the same exact structure. All they're doing is stripping off the facade and putting up a glass curtain wall (remind you of any other recent Columbus Circle projects?). Everything else looks pretty much identical.

There is only one reason for such laziness: the less thought that goes into a new design that is meant to exhibit sleek capitalistic ideologies, the less money that needs to be spent on ideas, resulting in a greater profit when renting out space. Add that whole new "3 Columbus Circle" cherry on top to this money-making sundae, and it all becomes too, too clear.