Hope For the Central Library Remains

I was pleased to read yesterday that a second proposal for a new Madison Central Library is on the table. It comes from Fiore Companies and it looks like this:



I've written previously of my dissatisfaction with T. Wall's proposal which would give the library three floors in nine-story mixed-use building. By contrast, Fiore envisions the six-story structure above which would be dedicated to the Central Library. The library is one part of a larger plan for the block which includes renovating the existing library building for retail, office space, or a hotel.

Personally I find the Fiore building to be unexciting from an aesthetic point of view. It looks like a generic apartment complex from a typical bland gentrification scheme to me. How about a cornice to make it interesting? Combine the first and second floors so you have a clerestory. When I walk into a library, I want to feel like I'm entering a temple to the knowledge and cultures of the human race, not feel like I'm walking into a suburban shopping mall. I would prefer something a bit more gothic. You know, a building a medieval monk going to work in a scriptorium would find inviting. Failing this, neo-classical would be my next choice. But beggars can't be choosers so I'm prepared to take whatever comes along for the library if it promises a stand-alone facility.

This is not to say the current library is an architectural masterpiece. However, I do like the little courtyard at the front entrance and I think it makes for a more pleasant view from the Overture Center than T. Wall's proposed building, pictured here:



I will say, though, that it doesn't look atrocious or, at least the rounded glass bit doesn't. Still, I have to wonder why modern architecture means adorning the windows of a building with more windows. Where have all the lintels and friezes gone?