July 2024 | Eyesore

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.

Another humdinger from Architecture central. . . behold: the new Deschutes Library at Steven’s Ranch, Oregon, designed by Miller Hull Architects, a giant corporate practice ruled by DEI with dual headquarters in Seattle and San Diego. What you see (and get) are the fad tropes of the moment: alt energy to “reduce greenhouse gases” (cuz “climate change’); a “holistic framework of sustainability goals and performance features designed to achieve LEED Silver” certification; and an exterior design based on “[r]eflecting the nature of its surroundings. . . the library’s base is made of regional stone and dry-toned metal, while its staggered roof line mimics the mountains in the distance with its undulating roof plane – human-made peaks and valleys.”

This last part, the actual look of the building, follows a popular grad-school metaphysic that has become a tiresome and pointless cliche. The actual reason for it is that most people not mentally-ill do not like contemporary architecture, so the trick is to pretend that the building actually springs out of the landscape, the local ecology — it’s nature you see!  You can’t hate it. . . plus it’s totally original, one-of-a-kind, never been thought of, conceived, seen before! 

The interior, below, just suggests a fantastic waste of space that could have been devoted to galleries, reading rooms, lecture halls — and still have afforded a grand ceiling height of up to 20 feet.  By the way, heat rises. It will require elaborate duct-work and fans to push the heat around that atrium in the cold Oregon winter (January temperatures average high 35, average low 19).

Shout out to Everett Dial for the nomination !!!