Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
Yes and no. It's not boosterism talking. I'm happy when a Chicago client gives work to up-and-coming talent even if they are from a different city. I love UChicago's work with Johnston Marklee for example. Chicago is a capital of world architecture and we should have work from outsiders as well as locals.
However, there's nothing up-and-coming about Rem Koolhaas. He is easily among the top 5 or 10 architects in the world, and he has been rightly criticized for working with oppressive regimes and abusing his staff. Nor is he "unrepresented" in Chicago, since he already did the McCormick Center at IIT and is already on tap to build UIC's Center for the Arts. I'm honestly a fan of his work in the abstract, I loved reading Delirious New York but there's gotta be plenty of up-and-coming architects out there for whom this opportunity could make their career.
|
I understand what you're saying, but I honestly do not know of any 'up-and-coming architects' who would be able to fulfill the potentially daunting requirements that such a project like the DPI would require. Keep in mind, it's not just the design architect, but it will most likely be a large group of consultants that will make this project a reality. A seasoned, well-known, and more importantly, proven firm with numerous built projects may be better equipped for the task ahead, especially from a coordination perspective where there may be 10-15 sub-consultants they may need to manage.
I don't know the ins-and-outs fully of the project scope, but it's a massive, very complex and technically-involved undertaking with a lot of public and private money at stake, so I'm sure the state would be looking to avoid any unnecessary complications by hiring a primary design team lead that isn't experienced.
Btw, here is one of OMA/Koolhaas's more recently completed projects in Germany that I think is cool. Not necessarily indicative of what they may design for the DPI, because he doesn't necessarily have a particular design typology, compared to Gehry, Richard Meier, Zaha Hadid, etc:
https://cdn.sanity.io/images/5azy6oe...op&auto=format
https://oma.eu/office