In a message dated 10/3/02 9:21:36 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< Traditionally libraries and museums were meant for the privileged class. We want the library to be for everyone. The new library should invite people in--we want to invite people to use the books, use the resources, use the Internet connections. Things in a library are meant to be used, not locked away (except for a good historic collection that is a very small percentage of the library). There are research libraries and museums that are there to protect historically significant resources. >> Sheldon and others - I'm a huge supporter of communication and access to information of all kinds, for all people! And of course we all want the Central Library to be inviting and useful to everybody. The Central Library is being promoted as housing one of the largest book and media collections in the Midwest, as well as being a center of activities and resources for the metro area. That makes it a little grander than your average neighborhood library. "Architecture 101" says a building's design should reflect, in some way, its purpose. Dignity and security don't have to be uninviting. "Accessible" doesn't have to mean "McArchitecture." Appreciation of aesthetics and respect for knowledge should not be assumed to be restricted to the "privileged class". And, psychologically, the "fortress" look can be reassuring when a nation's political climate lacks confidence. That said, I think my first impressions of the rendering may have been inaccurate - it looks "light and airy" in the drawing, but according to accounts, there is more stone on the building face than is represented there (and I like the native stone a lot, too - the WCCO building is one of my favorites). And let it not be said that I am opposed to windows, or light - the fall days are getting short enough, as it is. -- Holle Brian Bancroft _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
