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The selection of Mayne and team's
design has brought its fair share of controversy, even soliciting
a counter-proposal
based on 19th-century Russian civic buildings. What seems
to be at stake is the appropriate expression for this civic
structure, something both parties believe should be uniquely
Alaskan that is also tied to the other 49 states and their
capitols. We've seen how the latter is accomplished via the
dome; the design boards also illustrate
the derivation of the office bars from the state's distinctive
glacier formations and striated geology. But is this something
the public will understand (without explanation)? And is this
an appropriate expression for a state capitol? Given the fact
the state pursued an architectural competition, Alaska must
be looking for a progressive image that - in the selection
of Morphosis - relates to its fellow states but also separates
it from what came before. |
