I agree. My experience with architects has been mixed too. It is rare to
find one that isn't in it for the ability to control a public environment.
Some have argued that the client wasn't clear of forceful enough to convey
their needs to the architect. But why should you have to be forceful? I'm
the client, after all! Even in situations where the client is clear about
their needs and expresses them repeatedly to the architect, they are often
ignored in the face of 'superior knowledge' or some lofty ideal. A good
example of this is the Museum buildings of Frank Gehry. I respect him as
an artist, but I think his museums are disasters. They are non-flexible
cavernous places that overwhelm any artwork that is displayed there. He
also insists on lighting paintings from the bottom (I can't imagine why,
other than that it is HIS IDEA). Flat walls have to be inserted into the
odd spaces and seem like an afterthought, stuck in front of the undulating
structure. They are expensive to heat and light as well.

**************************************************************************
Mark Nielsen
Exhibit Designer/Preparator
University of Michigan Museum of Art
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