It's Gerhy alright

What have we come to expect from Frank Gehry - thought-provoking architecture? Or yet another building that requires "fixing" because of its design?

Pauline Saliga, executive director of the Society of Architectural Historians, said she doubted that the changes would drastically alter the hall's look, though she was surprised designers hadn't planned better to prevent an obvious problem such as glare in Los Angeles.

She pointed out that Gehry had to rework another landmark building, the library at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, after snow and ice slid off the curvy, stainless steel roof and crashed onto the sidewalk below.

"Even great architects make mistakes with materials and designs," she said. "I think you just have to admit it and you have to be pragmatic about it and alter that design if necessary. Architecture is a functional art form, so it really does have to function."

Read the rest of the LA Times story.

We found the same thing happening at the Chicago Millenium Park. The center lawn area is closed to use because snow falling off of the grid structure arching over it. And the ramps leading to other areas of the park were closed off because the material was too precious to plow. You can read the full article in next month's Landscape (based in the UK).

[Thanks kayx!]