KSU CAED picks their winner for the new Arch Building

above image "borrowed" from S. Litt's blog. I think this proposed solution is pretty miserable as seen above.

Congratulations to Weiss/Manfredi and Bowen Architecture for being selected as the design firm for Kent State University's new College of Architecture and Environmental Design $40 million building. The "Design Loft" selection has been chosen as the strongest framework from which to tie downtown Kent to the campus and provide the University some sort of important artifice from which to announce transition to said campus.

While I admit I didn't see the proposal that was presented to school, I can only hope to imagine that it was much more diligent and open about how the building will operate than in the renderings and short talk given to the public. I personally shudder at the thought of having to take another studio cooking in the direct sunlight while battling headaches brought on by the contrast between my computer screens and windows. I also feel slightly hesitant about taking the faux hierarchy that the GSD subjects its students too and mimics it with a West facing series of studio strata (which creates a strange vertical transition if there were ever to be any large programmatic growth).

My only solace is that the usual process with a client, bidding and construction will hopefully adjust the proposal to something more functional and less false (are we still fooled by how people render glass in these crappy photofaux renderings?).

This should be a fun one to watch.

Good luck to the teams, they have a very difficult job ahead of them.

Final Four Announced

Steve Litt broke the story I thought we couldn't talk about yet.

update: Weiss/Manfredi posts their submission images

I want to say that I am impressed with Weiss/Manfredi's work and just find this proposal really undercooked, there is something lacking, perhaps it doesn't have the site sensitivity/heroic forms that I have come to expect (or hope for).