Mining Calatrava

It was only a matter of time before some company incorporated images of Santiago Calatrava's World Trade Center Transit Hub into its marketing efforts. Per a stroll by Rockefeller Center yesterday evening, the winner is Cole Haan and it's "The Art of Elegant Innovation" windows.



The shop windows layer three elements: photos of the inside and outside of the Hub; photos of dancers striking graceful poses (in Cole Haan shoes, of course); and white fins that echo Calatrava's design and frame the first two elements.



At first I though the addition of the slats was off the mark – a shallow rendition of the architecture. But visually the combination of the three elements works really well, especially the way the fins create an aperture-like opening that leads the eye. And certainly the windows are much better than those Banana Republic "Architects at Work" ads at Rockefeller Center last decade.

Comments