Robert A.M. Stern disses Hudson Yards, Oculus and DoBro projects

Robert A.M. Stern is not impressed.

He’s not impressed by Hudson Yards.

“What is there to smile about,” Stern told the Commercial Observer. “My view of the Hudson [River] is gone.”

He’s not impressed by Downtown Brooklyn.

“There is a boom in Downtown Brooklyn, but the quality of the buildings being built is not stellar,” he said.

And he’s definitely not impressed by the World Trade Center Oculus.

“It is a disappointing structure to me. I don’t love the way it looks [or] the way it works,” he said.

During an interview with the CO, the starchitect waxed cantankerous about his least and most favorite elements of design in the city. He said the Santiago Calatrava-designed transit hub is too “linear” in that it is defined by the back-and-forth movement of PATH train passengers. But he likes Grand Central Station, calling it the San Marco of New York. Known for his affinity for limestone, Stern [TRDataCustom] said he doesn’t dislike glass per se. He dislikes the “mindless use of it.”

In September, The Real Deal released a short film that took viewers into Robert A.M. Stern Architects’ Far West Side workshop. [CO] — Kathryn Brenzel