The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in DC. Is Norman Foster the right architect for the NYPL conversion?

When is it appropriate to leave a revered landmark alone, and when is it appropriate to “update” it with something shiny and new?

This is one of the questions at the core of the controversy over Norman Foster’s proposed new insertion into the New York Public Library’s central building on 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, recently renamed the Schwarzman Building.

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