Good building design is independent of time and style. The NJ library he linked to is garbage not because it's aping classicism but because it's poorly-designed flippant junk. People want to see care and craft no matter the style.
Are old libraries best-suited for modern programmatic requirements? No. Does New York's Public Library's reading room make you feel better...
Seattle's Public Library is really clever with daylighting and its book spiral, but it will simply never be the civic statement that NY's library is.
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Frank Gehry's Bilbao was an anomaly, but that hasn't stopped architects and developers from trying to get their name in the public's conscious. Individualism when it comes to buildings is so overrated. People don't visit Paris, London, Barcelona, Venice, etc. because they have signature buildings, they visit because there's a communal form language to form a strong identity. Buildings are a supporting role, but people don't want to admit that.
Thew new project seems like it has more in common with an OMA (Rem Koolhaas) competition entry than the waterfront. Why the over-scaled cross-bracing for a two story structure? Why does everything have to be triangular? How much more did this cost than just making a building similar to what existed? Is it really so innovative to create an expensive, over-wrought building with an "architecture" stank on it that looks more contextual on Architizier than the physical site?
Marc seems to be encouraging flashiness for the sake of instagram likes rather than what makes sense long term for the locals.
Are old libraries best-suited for modern programmatic requirements? No. Does New York's Public Library's reading room make you feel better...
http://m7.i.pbase.com/o3/89/198089/1/108166607.2tKeYd60.libr...
...than Seattle's?
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/washington/seattle/librar...
Of course.
Seattle's Public Library is really clever with daylighting and its book spiral, but it will simply never be the civic statement that NY's library is.
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Frank Gehry's Bilbao was an anomaly, but that hasn't stopped architects and developers from trying to get their name in the public's conscious. Individualism when it comes to buildings is so overrated. People don't visit Paris, London, Barcelona, Venice, etc. because they have signature buildings, they visit because there's a communal form language to form a strong identity. Buildings are a supporting role, but people don't want to admit that.
So here's the original pavilion that burnt down:
http://markatlarge.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Fire-Islan...
http://queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com/wp/docs/2012/01/Pict...
And here's the author's replacement:
http://www.architectmagazine.com/community-projects/fire-isl...
Thew new project seems like it has more in common with an OMA (Rem Koolhaas) competition entry than the waterfront. Why the over-scaled cross-bracing for a two story structure? Why does everything have to be triangular? How much more did this cost than just making a building similar to what existed? Is it really so innovative to create an expensive, over-wrought building with an "architecture" stank on it that looks more contextual on Architizier than the physical site?
Marc seems to be encouraging flashiness for the sake of instagram likes rather than what makes sense long term for the locals.