Modernism Revisited, Not In Good Way
The new design unveiled for the Family Courthouse in Center City, Philadelphia this past week brought much vitriol on the head of Ewing Cole EwingCole architect, John Chase, from Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron: article here. Citing Mr. Chase’s apologetic presentation to the Art Commission, it appeared even he was not content with the final product- what artist is? So it begs the question: what went wrong? Was it the dogged pursuit of fiscal restraint that produced a utilitarian box over an iota of design inspiration, a dull architecture firm churning out derivative design, or an as-yet-unnamed moving part?
As lead architect in a firm that produces large institutional projects like stadiums, healthcare campuses, and university buildings, it strikes me that the powerful EwingCole aesthetic is lost in such an articulation-less design. EwingCole designers and engineers regularly contend with strict budgets, so their ability to address that concern is not unprecedented; perhaps the onus falls on the developer (who as of this writing is unknown). Furthermore, as a public building, the $200 million budget is subject to heightened public criticism as we have become paralyzed with the idea of public debt.
While not infrastructure, this building is representative of America’s impending struggle between modernizing our built systems vs. enhancing our constructed environment. Thankfully, viewing cost as the overriding criteria of public works projects is beginning to be reevaluated. The creation of un
remarkable, and arguably unattractive, structures for the sake of saving money is at the detriment to the public- these structures are going to be there for the foreseeable future and reconfiguring them later will cost more than addressing the matter at the outset. One could imagine the new high-speed rail stations, in order to not waste taxpayer money, possessing no more architectural merit than the prototypical CVS store, you know, in order to stay on budget. But at what expense? Public buildings have a duty to inspire through their design, a feat accomplishable without gold leaf and marble entryways.
Disclaimer: The above picture of the melting and menacing EwingCole logo is meant as satire. They are the most visible component of the creation of this building, and therefore receive the brunt of the opposition.
