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NYC Slide Apartment: Design, Context and Perception

By Rain Noe - March 18, 2011

in Object Culture

I'm not sure what this says about me (though I'm sure you readers will not be shy about sharing your diagnoses in the comments section): I had a variety of reactions to this duplex penthouse NYC apartment making the blog rounds for having a slide built into it to connect the two floors.

My first reaction was "Hey, neat."

Then, noticing the view of the city beyond the windows, and given that the apartment is listed as being in the East Village, I determined it was that stretch of the East Village around 4th and Avenue D—right next to the PJ's. And suddenly having two apartments combined into a duplex and adding a slide, all within view of several hundred families living off of food stamps in the projects, seemed crass and decadent. I went from a reaction of "neat" to finding the design almost offensive.

Next, looking closer at the windows of the brick buildlings I realized that's not Avenue D or the PJ's at all: Those buildings are Stuyvesant Town aka Stuy Town, the private housing complex above 14th Street filled largely with middle-class families. Suddenly the apartment with the slide seemed within reason.

Finally I read that the apartment in question was commissioned by a professional gambler who made his fortune in online poker. Now the very existence of his place seems capricious, fleeting and serendipitous to me, as if its deed will one day end up on the table as part of a high-stakes wager.

My four reactions to this place may seem pedestrian to those of you who can debate architectural theory with a great deal of depth, but for me it was a reminder of how context—and indeed, perceived context, which is often impossible to predict—influences how a particular design is received.

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Crowski

13 years ago

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@octo. Manhattan's poverty rate is higher than the national average. We have nearly 1.5 million people living below poverty level. I believe the author was highlighting the close proximity of gross disparities of income levels and how jarring it can be.
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GregV

13 years ago

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Context does influence perception and function. I once had a baseball bat that would lay around my house in the suburbs of Detroit just in case a pick up game were to start. That same bat moved with me to Woodbridge, Detroit, near downtown, where it would lay around the house in case I had to defend myself.
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Tom Mc

13 years ago

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It makes no difference who the neighbors are. As the property owner, you build what you want in your own house. If they find it offensive because you achieved greater economic success, then they should aspire to be more like you, instead of criticizing you for what you have.

Should it also be tasteless to drive a nice car through a rough area of town? Chances are you'll get carjacked (and you'll be blamed for not knowing better to avoid that area).
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octo

13 years ago

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what context? it's in Manhattan. From outside your city, it seems perfectly reasonable for NYC

do people forget why they pay to live in Manhattan?
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Jbelkin

13 years ago

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It seems a more colorful plastic would have been more fitting whimsy ... This seems like the guy got a good deal on industrial pipe and it was a DIY project ... Cheap looking and the whole mini wall cuts out floor space like its some safety feature for a public slide ... Basically it seemsto be the worst execution of the idea of adding a tube slide ...
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montana

13 years ago

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What's really odd is the apparent relation of proximity/offensiveness in regards to wealth. The level of perceived offense ascribed to wealth is directly proportional to it's proximity to dearth?
Moving that dwelling from poorer environs to a more financially mean locale makes it less offensive in regards to the people suffering in impoverished conditions, then? It's crazy that that bears out... The more insular one's environment, the less likely one is to be concerned with the plight of others, and less burdened by the inherent guilt associated with indulgence in the face of suffering.

I want a slide in my house. so bad.
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