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This is a machine generated transcript. Text is unformatted and may contain errors.
Those who drive along the East River up the lookout from high apartments facing it in the Upper East Side must be distressed and dismayed by the dismal towering bulk of the Manhattan State Hospital that vast institution for mental patients which dominates the skyline on nearby Wards Island this is one of the worst examples of that deadly official bureaucratic routine style of design whatever may be the facilities inside for taking care of its unfortunate patients I bet the not a few inset as sensitive souls outside who are condemned to look at it from them and happen homes overlooking the East River may be driven to insanity by its exteriors appearance a few three or four storey buildings are dark brick and light concrete that have already risen near the base of this behemoth offer a pleasant contrast the show what can be done for institutional buildings by sensitive architectural design. We should be happy to note therefore that according to a recent announcement in the press there will be a new three million dollar rehabilitation center for mental patients to be erected on Wards Island in the foreground in front of the hideous big main structure the design of the new hospital group however follows lines of the later more attractive lower buildings that are already there designs for the new buildings by architects Cordell. And Scott a lively and concept varied in exterior treatment and they show that carefully selected architects can do well even at their client is such a vast agency as a state mental hygiene facility improvement fund it is good news that this agency is now making it a policy to select top flight architects for their current building program which is planning new health facilities of all sorts and many parts of New York State and I hope that they are all as good an appearance as the new buildings on Wards Island promise to be watch for these as they go up those of you who drive drive by or can see it from your windows. Concern for the way buildings look when seen from a distance as well as close up how they fit into the city's cityscape and how they relate to their neighbors will be one of the object is of the newly formed Council on urban design just recently appointed by Mayor Lindsay under the chairmanship of William Paley who headed the special committee that came up with that excellent report the threatened city which I told you about some time ago it includes many of the same people and a few others who will speak for the people who live and work in the city's physical environment which can be spoiled by thoughtless location and new structures the council will be entirely advisory with no legal power to prevent disfigurement or to dictate good design but their informal behind the scenes power powers of persuasion may do much to help make New York a better place to look at we will observe and complet and comment on their accomplishments with interest and with hope as Robert C. Weinberg critic at large an architect of the W N Y C.