Quite Possibly the Worst Layout for a Hospital, Ever

Peter: 8th Jan 2006 - 04:14 GMT

i wonder how in the world a design like this would ever pass the approvals process! damn!

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 8th Jan 2006 - 04:17 GMT

It's pretty crazy. Imagine how it must look from the sky as passenger planes come in low to land at JFK...

Peter: 8th Jan 2006 - 05:10 GMT

*makes mental note to find out exactly where this place is, and to aerial-google-map it*

jeeff: 8th Jan 2006 - 16:36 GMT

it probably passed the approvals process with a resounding "jawohl mein fuhrer!"

jeeff: 8th Jan 2006 - 16:37 GMT

and note that since it goes clockwise it is indeed a nazi swastika. the buddhist swastika is counter-clockwise

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 9th Jan 2006 - 14:35 GMT

I should go and check the maternity ward for babies with hooves and 6's on their heads. And you know that Staten Island is really Satan Island, with an extra 'T' to throw people off the scent. Plus, my mother-in-law lives there. Coincidence?

jack: 9th Jan 2006 - 14:51 GMT

catherine its all fine. the insignia that everyone is worried about is not the insignia for the nazi party. that insignia is at a tilt. the hospital plan has a resemblence to it but is is squared off. look at the history books and notice the nazi sign is at a tilt. the sign is actually used in printing which i believe means, 'continuity' or a continuation or to be continued, something like that.

Mitch Waxman: 9th Jan 2006 - 16:00 GMT

These are the actual logos of the hospital. hmmm

Mitch Waxman: 9th Jan 2006 - 16:00 GMT

Peter: 9th Jan 2006 - 16:08 GMT

am i the only one that sees the "ss" emblem in that? sheesh... the plot thickens...

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 9th Jan 2006 - 16:22 GMT

Exactly! SS insignia, swastika, Satan Island, mother-in-law....

elaine: 9th Jan 2006 - 17:45 GMT

this is so extreme, i am actually speechless - i am kind of shaking my head and frowning
the mother in law thing clinches it tho!

Mitch Waxman: 9th Jan 2006 - 18:55 GMT

Other Staten Island sights to see include Wolf's Head Park and Killmeyer's Old Bavarian Inn.

elaine: 10th Jan 2006 - 10:09 GMT

i think in this particular context jamie saying jesus is the least of the evils.
the unconscious freudian slip of an individual is one thing, but between the SS logo and the swastika plan, all the designers and committees and whatnot, this is some collective unconscious weirdness here.

jack: 10th Jan 2006 - 16:26 GMT

its lucid thinking, we daydream things. there is no ss there is no swastika we place meaning on coincidences or near look-a-likes. people still see elvis, and i admit i think i saw him working in a deli in downtown brooklyn, but yes we do use the Lords name in vain, i was one of the biggest sinners around until someone brought it to my attention, so i'm merely bringing it to your attention. forgive me please, forgive me (screeming).

Charlene: 10th Jan 2006 - 21:07 GMT

the design is simply trying to allow for maximum window exposure to rooms.

And the swatstika was a very popular symbol in history before the nazi's stole it.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 10th Jan 2006 - 23:13 GMT

Considering the bad connotations post-Nazi regime, I would have thought that it is a poor choice of shape, however excellent the exposure.

elaine: 11th Jan 2006 - 01:07 GMT

i saw hitler working on the buses in edinburgh in 1978, jack

jack: 12th Jan 2006 - 05:01 GMT

i thought i saw him in a deli on kings highway in brooklyn. he made great matzoh balls

Kon: 12th Jan 2006 - 23:01 GMT

...that is seriously messed up. i understand it offers maximum window exposure to patients, but still...the architects that designed that could have made it going counter-clockwise, at the least.
Anyways, awesome find.

jeeff: 14th Jan 2006 - 07:31 GMT

reminds me of this:

heathenworld.com/swastika/trees.html

GGP: 14th Jan 2006 - 17:58 GMT

whoa, Jeeff! that's pretty amazing!
reminds me of
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4679760

jeeff: 14th Jan 2006 - 18:36 GMT

very interesting, i'd never heard of that before. so sad that it was cut down. not so sad that some of the swastika trees were cut down however.

jeeff: 14th Jan 2006 - 18:53 GMT

i got curious and guessed that there had probably been other examples of swastika-shaped buildings. sure enough, there seems to be one fairly famous example:

naval barracks, coronado island, san diego
maps.google.com/maps?q=eniwetok%2Brd.%2Bsan%2Bdiego&ll=32.676183,-117.157602&spn=0.006095,0.008827&t=k&hl=en

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=naval+barracks+swastika+shape&btnG=Search

Kon: 16th Jan 2006 - 21:49 GMT

Oh, and I just remembered. You know those vents in the ceilings on a lot of places? Like, pretty much every store or restuarant has em. They are the white or gray grates with a bunch of holes, you know? Ever see em after they haven't been cleaned in like, a month or so? They always make a swastica shape of dust and dirt and shit. I guess that they circulate air in a spiral or something? I dunno what it is, but whatever. I just thought that was kinda relevent.

barry: 17th Jan 2006 - 02:18 GMT

Sine I don't think you got the place but Jeeff you are on the button. How do you's do this ?.

Peter: 17th Jan 2006 - 02:24 GMT

yeah barry, sine got the place exactly, actually. this page is helpful: maps.google.com

barry: 18th Jan 2006 - 01:20 GMT

Your right Peter.I was not looking at it right.Thanks for you tip on google.

anon (host81-156-19-52.range81-156.btcentralplus.com): 12th Apr 2006 - 22:02 GMT

have a look at the british hospital germany is also in shape of a swatstika

Bayer: 13th Jul 2006 - 15:18 GMT

Staten Island also had a large german presence. After the World War, many of staten Island's german neighborhoods were renamed anglican names; including streets such as victory Boulevard. Also, two skinheads pulled up to our car at a red light at an intersection in New Springsville and saluted us with "white power"

pennohara: 1st Jul 2007 - 22:04 GMT

One would have to be stupid to not notice this. I'm thinking the architect, for starters. If this is a joke on the part of the architect, it's in very bad taste. But for it to get forward approval...

MAR: 14th Jul 2007 - 16:04 GMT

Here's another one to ponder on, Todt Hill - (means Dead Hill) the housing projects there were built on Indian burial grounds.... Things that make you go hmmmmmmm.

Sam: 26th Sep 2007 - 21:53 GMT

It would be very interesting to find out who the designers and project managers were since it is hard to imagine them not seeing a swastika when they looked over the drawings. Arn't they from above???

James: 27th Sep 2007 - 11:22 GMT

When was this building built? It may have been designed before WWII as was the Navy barracks in california. No evil connotations at that time related to the symbol, just the best exposure to sun and air as the buildings probably were not air conditioned.

Catherine Penfold-Waxman: 27th Sep 2007 - 15:47 GMT

It's a newer building, definitely way after WW2.

Mischa: 29th Sep 2007 - 01:07 GMT

Prior to WWII, the swastika was used in Buddism and various other religions for thousands of years. It meant something like good health and prosperity. Not that I would go and paint one on my body, but when I live in Korea flags with this symbol were flown everywhere. Perhaps it's just a nother piece of history Hitler tarneshed and seems to now imortilize him, and make us remember all the horrific things he did.

Natasha Totin: 16th Jul 2008 - 20:17 GMT

wow, people really know how to judge things. Did anyone ever stop and think that they didn't even look at it like that. My dad has worked for Staten Island Hospital for over 30 years, and they have helped every different kind of person who has ever walked into that hospital. Instead, don't you think you should be happy that there is a hospital that actually takes care of the sick and injuried. Oh, yeah, I forgot, people today are so quck to throw stones but forget to look into the mirro first.

Franny Wentzel: 20th Apr 2009 - 22:56 GMT

I am NOT using the showers in that place...

Franny Wentzel: 20th Apr 2009 - 22:57 GMT

Ivo: 21st Apr 2009 - 08:44 GMT

Honestly, some of the comments are... ugh... whatever, here are some facts to consider:

— the swastika is an ancient symbol that can be found on pretty much all continents and in various cultures.

— there is no such a thing as a ‘good’ swastika (卍) — ‘bad’ swastika (卐) opposition (other than in the minds of some illiterate folks).

— there are way more people on this planet who are not offended by it than those who are.

And seriously, “OMG, *shock and horror*” reactions to swastikas (other than Nazi ones) are totally retarded.

Graz: 21st Apr 2009 - 17:07 GMT

I think that many people realize that the swastika didn't always have such a stigma attached to it. Unfortunately, Hitler and the Nazi party so effectively commandeered the symbol, staining it with so much hate and associating it with so many horrors that it's natural for many to have a visceral reaction to it. It WAS the standard of Hitler and his hate movement, so the Nazi connotations it holds cause it to be used to this day by white supremacist groups. It would be great if everyone could just dis-associate this ancient symbol from it's recent history, but I think it's going to be generations before that can happen, if at all. The crimes of the Nazi state aren't something that should ever be forgotten.

St. Seurs: 21st Apr 2009 - 17:13 GMT

I agree with Graz. Despite the symbol's history and despite whatever random commenters on the internet have to say about what it means or doesn't mean to them, the fact remains that it was *still* co-opted by the Nazis, and it is therefore permanently typecast as an *evil* symbol by 99% of the world, whether you want to play devil's advocate about it being a good-luck symbol in antiquity or not. Meanings change, times change, and public opinions change to reflect these changes. I dare any of you devil's advocates to get a swastika tattooed on yourself and see what I mean when 99% of the people you encounter greet you with disdain despite your explanation that it's really just a "good luck symbol from back in the day", ha ha ha.... I mean, Seriously.

john law: 5th May 2009 - 01:13 GMT

It's in your face, the swastika may have been a symbol mystery religion in the past but this building wasn't built in the past. In the 60s when this base was built the swastika which would have been drawn up on architects plans was the symbol of the Nazis. Google operation paper clip and Prescot Bush funds Hitler.

The joke is on you if you're too dumb to see it.

Robert: 19th Oct 2009 - 16:16 GMT

Graz, I agree 100% with your comment. You managed to expose your opinion so clearly with just a few words.