Matt Chaban discovers 101 Bedford, a rather nice design by Karl Fischer, particularly at street level. A lot of this has to do with materials and scale – neither of which is particularly crazy in this instance. Unlike the last development boom, which gave us Karl Fischer Row on Bayard Street and much worse, this boom is less about glass and funky forms and more about solid, in many cases tasteful designs. 80 Metropolitan may have started the trend, but it has been picked up at 101 Bedford, 50 North 5th and others.
Karl Fischer Has Scored a Major Coup in Williamsburg
NY’s Most Loathed Architect
The Post sure didn’t pull any punches in its profile of prolific architect Karl Fischer. Fischer is responsible for some pretty questionable buildings (I still can’t figure out where the entrance to 20 Bayard is), but he is far from the worst practitioner of architecture in Brooklyn.
On the other hand, I think it is telling that his “least favorite” buildings in NY are the Herman Jessor-designed co-operative village buildings in Corelears Hook (Seward Park Houses and Corlears Hook Houses) – some of the most successful working-class housing developments in the city, and the culmination of four decades of progressive housing in the neighborhood. The designs might be simple, but the planning and execution are wonderful. And they’re still standing (and in demand) 50 years later.