Architect blasts city for altering her design. Are her complaints valid?
Architect blasts city for altering her design. Are her complaints valid? Back to the full article.
You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.
If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.
Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us
I love what the “swing park” has done for the area. La’s designed looked cool, but clearly more people enjoy it now.
But what about future “guerrilla” projects? Did we get lucky that this project worked out so well? Should we indeed have due process for changes to public places like this?
It may be difficult to argue that point when the city does such a poor job with public art and public spaces… but does the conversation change when these guerrilla projects pop up that are not nearly as well done?
Also, if I personally dislike one of these projects do I have that same ability to alter them as I see fit without any approval?
Just thoughts that go through my head on this slow Friday afternoon as I think about this situation…
I’m a fan of La’s work, but come on! When the project is done, changes happen. Get over it! Be glad that people are finding these swings, enjoying the bridge, and digging the beat!
Architects, especially the diva ones, get resentful when their designs are altered, particularly when the change speaks to a fault or shortcoming of the original design. These are sometimes people who live in a theoretical world rather than the real one, as a visit to any Brutalist building reminds us.
In a case like this, with such a modest change, it just wasn’t worth paying for her time. Also, let’s remember that she’s not Gehry or Pelli or Koolhaus. She’s a good architect, but it’s not like we spray painted over a piece of international value.