Letters

Your article "Concrete Jungle" (January 2005 issue, page 44) jumped off the page when I saw it. This building will never win a beauty contest. Nevertheless, I can understand that if a building breaks new ground technically, it is worthy of notice. However unattractive I find it, it has a fatal flaw that should be brought to your attention. Judging from the pictures, this apartment building has three units per floor and is 10 stories in height. The floor plan indicates a single means of egress! Compounding this astounding oversight, the single stair is a spiral, where part of the tread is below any reasonable standard in width.

The public has a right to expect that architects meet a minimum standard of life safety in their designs. In my professional opinion, this building unfortunately fails to meet that expectation.

Rather than "Concrete Jungle," I would have titled this article "What not to do." I'm sure that your readership is scratching their heads wondering what were they thinking.

Michael Jarosz , AIA, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, New York