tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post6177392551797439269..comments2024-03-26T09:42:38.709-05:00Comments on ArchitectureChicago PLUS: Reilly wins 60 day delay on move to demolish Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice HospitalLynn Beckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759748613223711212noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-27027274347489353072011-04-04T13:39:10.564-05:002011-04-04T13:39:10.564-05:00I've said it before, I am willing to chain mys...I've said it before, I am willing to chain myself to this building to block the wrecking ball. This building is one of only a handful of buildings in Chicago designed by Goldberg who was one of the most influential architects of the past 100 years.<br /><br />Love or hate the aesthetics, that is not the choice we face here. The choice we face is one of throwing away our history, architectural legacy, and an irreplaceable engineering feat versus preserving all of that for future generations to judge. <br /><br />Remember, most people in the 1970's thought the Chicago Stock Exchange was dated, anti-urban, ugly, poorly aging, and had outlived its function. Now look at our perspective of that building today once not so many buildings like it survive...Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08806306122666494133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-71706672486476002562011-04-04T12:12:23.870-05:002011-04-04T12:12:23.870-05:00got the memo, did you Anonymous?
all Goldberg&#...got the memo, did you Anonymous? <br /><br />all Goldberg's buildings "eyesores"? Thank's so much for your imperial dictate, so perfectly Northwestern. Over 1,000 people live in Marina City, and it's one of the key attractions in the city and worldwide. So kind of you to point out that everyone else is wrong and you're right. <br /><br />And the trash your institution keep putting up are not eyesores? <br /><br />In the land of the blind, the no-eyed man with all the expensive lawyers is king.Lynn Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03759748613223711212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-43062030799751519552011-04-04T11:53:28.980-05:002011-04-04T11:53:28.980-05:00I believe a student perspective is a bit different...I believe a student perspective is a bit different from an employee perspective. I know several other students who feel Abbott Hall is not ideally located. "Down the block" seems a lot further when it's cold, snowy, and the wind is blowing off the lake. We currently have a small space for student use there now... you can chalk this one up to laziness but the reality is most students aren't willing to take the time to go all the way over there just to eat lunch or socialize. At any rate the bigger issue is that Abbott Hall is a terribly laid out building and there is no space there to sufficiently expand student amenities.<br /><br />It's a shame you feel the building is an eyesore, especially since the Northwestern campus is gradually becoming visually sterile and uninteresting. Love it or hate it, you will remember Prentice. The same cannot be said for its replacement or any of the other buildings NU and NMH have constructed in the past 30 years.<br /><br />Even if I didn't appreciate the architecture, another vacant lot on this campus would be even more of an eyesore to me, especially when the building could have been recycled, but to each his/her own.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03039439342423497370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-74605360902385706712011-04-04T10:54:13.926-05:002011-04-04T10:54:13.926-05:00I'm sorry Nick, but the "furthest and mos...I'm sorry Nick, but the "furthest and most inconvenient" Abbott Hall is at the end of the block.<br /><br />I work for Northwestern and I'd like to see it torn down. Like all Goldberg buildings, it's an eyesore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-84049122872995864002011-04-02T21:12:37.674-05:002011-04-02T21:12:37.674-05:00Not aging gracefully and anti-urban is in the eye ...Not aging gracefully and anti-urban is in the eye of the beholder, particularly since Goldberg's other hospitals built at the same time are still functioning fine and Rush is building a new hospital which is basically one of his designs without concrete and on steroids. Just because something has lost its original purpose doesn't mean you throw it away.<br /><br />I'm a current Northwestern student and can think of several different potential reuses for Prentice, particularly when it comes to student services. The current building containing those offices and the bookstore, Abbott Hall, is in the furthest, most inconvenient part of campus. The design of the building also makes it incredibly difficult to find where you need to go. Prentice is situated right in the middle of the medical, business, and law schools (directly connected via tunnel or bridge to the medical campus) and would be an ideal location. We also desperately need a student union and community space to promote interaction, which is currently non-existent within and between programs. I would be very surprised if Prentice would require extensive work to convert into a welcoming, functional student center, which would have the added bonus of keeping with Goldberg's original spirit and vision.<br /><br />A point many also seem to be missing is that Northwestern doesn't seem to have the funds to build something new at this time. A rush to demolition would only serve to create another vacant lot in the middle of Streeterville.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03039439342423497370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-35359980537623731682011-04-02T16:49:37.493-05:002011-04-02T16:49:37.493-05:00Hilarious that you would say it is anti-urban. Hav...Hilarious that you would say it is anti-urban. Have you paid any attention at all to NMH's developments in Streeterville? They're all banal beige monstrosities with enormous parking structures. Furthermore, the idea that NU has free reign to tear down anything and put up whatever they please is a joke. It's not THEIR medical campus; it's a medical campus squeezed in between the Mag Mile and a neighborhood full of citizens, tourists, and businesses. If they don't recognize that then they should relocate all of their facilities to the IMD.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-81374932237846600782011-04-02T15:24:50.639-05:002011-04-02T15:24:50.639-05:00I dissagree that Prenitce is "absolutely esse...I dissagree that Prenitce is "absolutely essential piece of Chicago architectural history" It is an obscure building that most Chicagoans don't even know about. <br /><br />It has not aged gracefully; has outlived it's function; and is anti-urban.<br /><br />It may be a marvel of engineering, which is appealing to architects (like me) however I do not think it is a beloved iconic structure.<br /><br />Northwestern should be able to do as it pleases with it's medical campus as they are ina very competative marketplace.<br /><br />I say this is not a battle worth fighting for.Edward Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10460847118960003937noreply@blogger.com