Scan the comments posted online about Rafael Viñoly’s design for the New Domino in Brooklyn and often the reaction is scathing – ugly, unimagined, and suggestions that a toddler could do a better job designing with building blocks. Ouch. Other commenters want something, anything to go on the former industrial site.

Renderings of the project have appeared in print and online but the large-scale architect’s model had not been readily available for the public nor had there been wall-sized renderings. So in a move to tell the design side of the story and perhaps sway residents' opinions about the ambitious project on the East River, the Center for Architecture in New York City is hosting a month-long exhibit on the New Domino. Viñoly will give sold-out talk about the design as well as the history of the master plan at the Center on 22 April.