Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizzo
It’s an irreplaceable spectacle with its impressive atrium. But it’s aged terribly, difficult to upgrade, difficult to adapt.
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All buildings require ongoing investment, whether they are painted in pastel colors or steel and black granite. The neglect that the State has subjected this building to is not a justification for tearing it down.
As for "difficult to upgrade" - I find it hard to imagine that in almost 40 years, building technology has not advanced sufficiently to solve the issues with the Thompson Center... the biggest issue by far IIRC is the HVAC situation. But computers nowadays can do incredibly advanced energy modeling to determine the most cost-effective ways to retrofit the building. I imagine the solution would be a combination of upgrades to the building envelope - films, frits, tinted glass, etc - and re-balancing of the HVAC system to provide the right amounts of heating/cooling to the right areas.
Once you get past the HVAC issue, the other gripes about the building fall flat. Some state employees were complaining about the frayed carpet and dingy furniture! No shit, a bargain-basement carpet and Chinese-made cubicles from the 80s will require replacement after 40 years of heavy use. Those same employees also complained about noise, but acoustic issues are also an easy fix, and also an area where computer modeling can help suggest the right locations to install sound-dampening materials.
Regardless of how you feel about the aesthetics of the building, the Thompson Center is at an age in its life-cycle where
all large buildings require major re-investment. Illinois taxpayers would be facing a big bill to rehabilitate this building even if the building had a perfect design with no major issues from the outset... so you can't use "expensive to upgrade" as an argument against this design. The best-case scenario would still have required a 9-figure investment after 40 years for a building of this size.