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Frank Gehry Is A Hack.
Sep. 14th, 2008 11:37 amNow, I admit that I know pretty much nothing about architecture, and for all I know , the new Lewis Library is an architectural masterpiece and not a giant sea monster (it totally looks like a giant sea monster though). But it seems to me that the point here would be to design a nice looking building that also manages to serve the purpose it was built for.
At the end of the day, dude was hired to design a library, and guess what?
THEY PUT BOOKS IN THOSE.
I mean, what was the point in spending millions of dollars on this architectural brouhaha if it doesn't actually fulfill its supposed purpose of housing the science collections? I mean, really, Mr. Gehry, if the book and maps don't fit your artistic vision? Tough. Shit. Use your mad architectural skillz to make them pretty-- don't bust out the Kraken of the Deep and give it minuscule amounts of shelving. Don't banish the Map Room to the basement for not having a pretty enough collection.
The Lewis Science Library we wound up with totally defeats the purpose of having a centralized Science Library at all. The majority of the Science Collections? Not actually in the Science Library. No, they're in the "Lewis Science Library Fine Hall Wing". Fine Hall is an existing building where the the Geo-sciences collection [and a couple others, I think] WERE ALREADY HOUSED. SO WE BUILT A BRAND NEW BUILDING JUST SO WE COULD LEAVE EVERYTHING WHERE IT ALREADY WAS.
Because Frank Gehry is a hack.
And of course, the University is just going along with this bullshit like it's not a non-functional mess, and I guess Mr. Lewis doesn't care what happens so long as he gets his name on a building.
At the end of the day, dude was hired to design a library, and guess what?
THEY PUT BOOKS IN THOSE.
I mean, what was the point in spending millions of dollars on this architectural brouhaha if it doesn't actually fulfill its supposed purpose of housing the science collections? I mean, really, Mr. Gehry, if the book and maps don't fit your artistic vision? Tough. Shit. Use your mad architectural skillz to make them pretty-- don't bust out the Kraken of the Deep and give it minuscule amounts of shelving. Don't banish the Map Room to the basement for not having a pretty enough collection.
The Lewis Science Library we wound up with totally defeats the purpose of having a centralized Science Library at all. The majority of the Science Collections? Not actually in the Science Library. No, they're in the "Lewis Science Library Fine Hall Wing". Fine Hall is an existing building where the the Geo-sciences collection [and a couple others, I think] WERE ALREADY HOUSED. SO WE BUILT A BRAND NEW BUILDING JUST SO WE COULD LEAVE EVERYTHING WHERE IT ALREADY WAS.
Because Frank Gehry is a hack.
And of course, the University is just going along with this bullshit like it's not a non-functional mess, and I guess Mr. Lewis doesn't care what happens so long as he gets his name on a building.
