I give you some of the emails I got after writing about the issue here (scroll down), advising Chicago to not demolish part of the Mies van der Rohe campus at the Illinois Institute of Technology - namely, much of the left side of the above photograph, up to the big power plant.
Hi Edward,.... I know the building at IIT will more than likely become a memory, but your efforts don't go unnoticed.
Would you get rid of a "the" in a Hemingway sentence, to save ink ?
True Architecture is a rare occurrence - whereas, buildings are as common as pebbles, and unfortunately, not many can or will see the difference. I went to IIT some 28 years ago, and still find new things in Mies's work. On a somber evening I strolled through (I live close by ) Pearlstein Hall, had to use the washroom, and while drying my hands beheld the door details - the millwork...it had the nobility of the Ninth symphony !!~~~
Edward, Who is taking responsibility at IIT for the land sale/giveaway? Is IIT taking any heat? It is certainly ironic that SOM once again trumps the gentle giant Mies and his vision for the university.
I appreciate your writing on the Mies building at IIT, although personally I am ambivalent about tearing it down. However, I am amused at your surprise that SOM would consider tearing it down, given how much they owe Mies; that is nothing compared to the monstrous piles of the library and Hermann Hall buildings they designed.
Edward,I have been visiting IIT a lot the last week and park very close to the Mies building under arrest by the city, it is in sad shape but I just for the life of me wonder why that space it THE space for a train station???
~~~
In terms of the little Mies box, well it is very sad shape, I am sure the outer chorus of yellow bricks needs reconstruction. That being said I think a totally new structure on one of the campus corners is just bad design. Design after all is suppose to be a solution to a problem, not the generator of a problem. The fact that there is open land across the street or on the same side but on the other side of the tracks kinda makes me think something is a-miss. SOM's once again is flexing its mussels on Mies Campus. If it has to be on that corner I would integrate the Mies building into a new building. Seems pretty logical which has no place in Chicago city planning.
~~~
Edward,
The problem is similar to maintaining the great landscapes designed by Jensen and Olmstead - people don't "see" them. ... Times change, what was ground breaking at one time, is invisible decades later.
~~~
Edward, Send your piece on Mies to Barack Obama - he supports the common man.
What say you? I'll publish all reasonable opinions. The powerbrokers tell me they read this. It's not too late, yet.
Send your thoughts and opinions to EdwardLifson@gmail.com .
More on saving the Mies van der Rohe Test Cell here.
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1 comments:
Hi.
While I appreciate your passion on the issue of the test cell, the greater need for public transit prevails here.
A few facts to consider:
1. IIT is DONATING THE LAND to Metra. BUT, ONLY if Metra builds a train station. The deal dies if it's used to any other purpose.
2. The White Sox have really no say in this project, nor hav ethey contributed money or resources to it. They simply said "We're cool with it."
3. The "vacant" land across the street? Privately owned and set for development. In order for metra to change course and build on this "vacant" lot, they would need to enforce eminent domain status on the land and PAY for it. Not just for the land, but also for the legal fees incurred while seizing the land. Much easier to work with an interested party like IIT.
Sorry to burst your bubble,
Gene Kelly
www.soxandthecity.net
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