Cooper Union Pleasure Palace Update: No LIC!

Monday, October 9, 2006, by Lockhart

It's been far too long since we heard word about architect Thomas Mayne's Psychedelic Pleasure Palace for Cooper Union, seen shimmering to the right in the above rendering. Construction on the project, which begins with the demolition of the existing Hewitt Building, was supposed to get underway in August, but delays have pushed that back a few months. (Once the demolition is complete, the Mayne building will take about two years to build.)

Good news for Cooper Union students, right? Um, not so much. Per The Villager:

But 120 art students who just set up their art studios in the Hewitt Building in September are now reportedly undergoing serious angst about what this $120 million project will mean for them. The art students were recently told they must clear out their studios by mid-November, and that new studios have been prepared for them in Long Island City.

But the prospect of having studios in Queens and schlepping back and forth to the East Village has them up in arms. Being in Long Island City will mean having to take both the 7 and 6 trains to get to The Cooper Union — not to mention, a long 10-minute walk from the studios to the 7 stop in Long Island City... "One girl cried at the meeting," said one person who attended the meeting, requesting anonymity. "There were students saying, 'So you’re saying we’re not worth $8 million?'" Students demanded shuttle service and that the studios be open 24 hours. In short, the source said, "The students don’t want to go to Long Island City — not unless they get something really sweet out of the deal."

First Long Island City, then life inside a Thomas Mayne creation? We'd be screaming holy hell, too.
· Art Students Suffer Angst as Cooper Readies to Build [The Villager]
· Cooper Union's Psychedelic Pleasure Palace [Curbed]

Filed under Architecture, Manhattan: East Village, Queens: Long Island City,

Email this post to a friend

Comments feed for this post

Comments (13 extant)

you guys should learn your right from your left. The building is on the right side of the picture. dumbass.

By soup at October 9, 2006 10:30 AM

that's my commute to work... I guess going to school for free isn't enough of a convenience
http://www.cooper.edu/administration/admissions/faqs.html#q14

By none at October 9, 2006 10:43 AM

howmoten do you ahve to carry large paintings or sculptures to work?

By Anonymous at October 9, 2006 11:03 AM

how often do you have to carry large paintings or sculptures to work?

By Anonymous at October 9, 2006 11:04 AM

Damn, that is one ugly glass turd. Does Cooper Union really hate its neighborhood that much? Guess so.

By mike at October 9, 2006 12:09 PM

I agree -- four years of free tuition is quite a deal. Maybe they can spend the money they're saving on cabs or a van service for when they have to transport large or heavy artworks. And it will give them a taste of what their future holds when they become real struggling artists -- only they won't even be able to afford LIC by then.

By babs at October 9, 2006 1:28 PM

OMG TEH HORROR!!!

Forget North Korea firing off nukes, god forbid those poor students would have to trek back and forth from LIC. Retards.

By Anonymous at October 9, 2006 2:28 PM

How often do the students carry their work around now? Wouldn't most critiques take place in each artist's studio space? I imagine most of the commute would be for seminars and lectures, not crits.

By none at October 9, 2006 4:34 PM

cooper union is free tuition, the horror!
the horror of it all

By the hating hater at October 9, 2006 7:06 PM

10.

I'd really appreciate it if Thom Mayne decided to spend a bit more time in New York, just so he can stop fucking up Los Angeles with his godawful inhuman buildings. The man needs to have a giant shit taken on him.

By Pete at October 10, 2006 8:09 AM

11.

Paintings and sculptures technically never have to leave the studio as long as professors agree to do their criteria reviews in LIC. Additionally artists typically spend a few hours at a time in their studios, it's not like you just step in for a quick touch up. I went to Cooper and I think you guys are making a big deal of nothing. If you'd rather stay in a dilapitated building fine, be my guest.

By Anonymous at October 24, 2006 11:10 AM

12.

First of all, Cooper Union does not hate its neighborhood. Yes the building is sort of out of place but think about the protest to the "pickle" apartment building on astor place. Everyone hated the idea of having it there but it looks great now and so will Cooper's new building. The only downfall to the building is that its more social than academic, if you look at the blueprints..there seems to be a lack of classrooms. THey do claim that the building will have state of the art technology. For those of you who think that four years of free tuition justifies the situation. You are extremely ignorant. Firstly, its not "free tuition" its a full scholarship that each and every student at cooper union earned and deserves through hardwork. We do not have to justify or prove our spot at cooper so don't dare ask us to. There is a reason why the school only has about 900 students because only the BEST are picked from a pool of thousands. Secondly, if any one of us cooper students were in another school such as columbia or NYU we would be full scholarship candidates that doesnt mean NYU would throw us on the streets if they were rebuilding, in fact they would treat us like royalty. If this situation happened to a full scholarship NYU artist, people would be crying for them. But no since cooper students get "free tuition" its ok to make them suffer. Third, east village rent is extremely expensive and apartments are hard to get. So we either go through hell and months of search to find apartments OR we live in brooklyn. So imagine getting the news of the long island city studios after finally landing an apt deal in union square after 2 months of searching. Think about how frustrating that is..or how much of a waste it is. And for the artists traveling from brooklyn, thats no 1 hour commute..thats a HELL of a commute..youd have to transfer 2-3 times. So before you all criticize and accuse students of being complainers. Think it through. Cooper students are survivors, we're put through alot of shit. And if you are wondering, I am NOT an artist at cooper. I am an engineer, so this isn't a biased response.

By Anonymous at August 7, 2007 10:25 AM

13.

I agree with everything that the guy above me said cause Cooper Union students had to work extremely hard to get there full tuitions. Thousands of people apply but only a few hundred make it, Cooper students are either naturally talented at what they do or are just extreme perfectionists and worked there asses off for there spot. Anyone who would look down on them in anyway is just pissed that he or she didn't make it in after trying or that there life sucks cause they screwed it over themselves while the cooper union students lives look so good to them (which is not necessarily true, it depends totally on the type of person the student is and there luck). This was just my opinion so don't start giving me the bullshit that you must be a Cooper student protecting them and so on, I'm still a high school student attending Midwood High School and i plan to try and get into Cooper Union if i fail i don't plan to hate anyone like alot of you people i will just find another place to go (i will be perfectly fine knowing that someone more talented then me got the spot, although it would suck to have to convince myself that.)

By Anonymous at November 19, 2007 10:57 PM