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Originally Posted by ardecila
It's not about whether the library is good or bad.
The ends don't always justify the means, and this library has had some pretty messed-up means thus far.
Will you be so supportive if Obama decides to hire RAMSA to design his library? (They already did the Bush one, after all.) That's the problem - by sacrificing the civic debate over the location on public parkland, we're signalling to the Obama Foundation that they have carte blanche and they don't need to listen to the public. They don't need to pay attention to decent urban planning principles, because they're more important than the park's thousands of daily users. They don't need to pay attention to architectural critics, because they're more important than Olmsted or the city's architectural legacy.
Will you be so supportive if the library is built in Jackson Park, but the requirement to supply replacement parkland is ignored and forgotten? That stuff happens all the time.
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It hasn't gotten that far yet. Let's have the official announcement before we get onto design. I think you know by know where my standards are when it comes to design and seeing as this time it's actually my neighborhood, I'll have no problem being more vocal than usual. There was no debate over the parkland. It was either going there or Chicago wasn't going to get the chance to land the project. Case closed... I was quite vocal on that issue at both public meetings, but I'd rather have the library than not. I understand your passion as it's my passion too, but as I said, I'd rather have this than not.