45-12-11th-Street-facade

Last week, the Internet reacted to the facade on display at 45-12 11th Street, in Long Island City. Now the Daily News reports the architect and home owner Tom Paino’s side: “Paino compared the naysayers to yokels who attacked three-dimensional paintings during the Renaissance.” Paino designed the home as an energy-efficient passive house, with rain-soaking plants on its roof and innovation ventilation and insulation units. Even those tiles on the facade are made from recycled material. If the home is certified as a passive house it’ll be the first one in Queens, and the third in New York City.

At the end of the day, Paino doesn’t care what internet commenters think of his design. As he says, “All I can tell you is that the façade is dramatic enough so that people walking by stop to look at it.”

Passive House Architect Takes on Critics [NY Daily News]
45-12 11th Street Facade Revealed [Q’Stoner]
A History of Weird Facades at 45-12 11th Street [Q’Stoner]

Photo by New York Shitty


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. I live around the corner from this building and know the owner. The previous facade had been ruined years ago and had covered up all the original aspects of the row house. It was yellow brick with small windows. This is a vast improvemnt of what it had been. I also know that due to building changes made after the hurricane last year, they had to raise the foundation to compliant, that’s why it is a bit taller than the others. If you look at the house from a distance you can see the cloud design in the bricks. I think it adds somethiong to this neighborhood that has mainly tall tall ugly glass buildings being built. At least it is in scale with the bock and not a tall skinny glass highrise!!!

  2. It might help if the photo actually looked like the real house. The colors in the photo are greatly exaggerated. The photography is awful and not a truthful likeness.

    I think what is ugly here are the mean people responsible for the false likeness of this home with no purpose other than to be mean, hurtful and dishonest in distorting the photo in their effort to get attention.