w28th

What a cluster f this thing has become.

I don't think very good. KJP created a diagram showing how it would have to work a while back I think. Forest City screwed up the right of way into Tower City for the Courthouse, so the approach would have to be from the east into the station. Getting into Tower City would be the most advantageous entry point, but I'm not sure how realistic it is.

A combo Amtrak ORDC Station/Rapid Station/Lorain Commuter Rail Station/Convention Center would be a the most logical construction for a multi modal hub. How cool would that be.

I was also wondering where the station would be in Cleveland. I dread the thought of utilizing the existing Amtrak station north of the Mall. A combination with the E9th Street RTA station could create an interesting connection with local transport.

BP was a killer...

Man, I wish the Hippodrome was still there. I was surfing Cleveland Memory Project today, and sometimes it's just painful to see Euclid pre-1970.

It's a nice infill project that would be well received in any neighborhood. Litt got it right when he called it "mildly contemporary."

So with this thinking, the city would have torn down the entire Warehouse District in the early 70's. What sound planning...

God damnit. I'm speechless about the E57th Street buildings. Wiping away some of the last vestiges of true urbanity.

I don't get paid to spend my day calling RTA's customer service line to complain about not swiping my monthly pass. If RTA values these numbers so much they need to be countering this themselves. They know it's happening.

I'm sorry, but if RTA can't achieve ridership increases in this economy, I'm not sure when they would ever be able to. And apparently waiving people onto the buses and rapids because the machines don't work isn't helping the numbers. I know I'm waived through more than .36% of the time. Informing the drivers and rapid station workers of the importance of ridership numbers and its relationship to keeping their jobs may put a dent in that occurance. This is very disappointing news in my opinion.

Especially compared to the AMAZING natural light afforded by the glass wall on the southwest side of the current building. I can't tell from the renderings if the new building will totally block that giant window, but having been in there, I think it would be a real loss. I can't think of a less desireble thing than direct sunlight shining on me as I work on a project.

I've visited several of MVRDV's buildings over the years and personally I'd trust that the space would be a well conceived one, not the dark, cold, windswept one that some of you predict. Light is an important part of many of their previous buildings (along with their intense scenario/data based design research). To the detriment of CIA and the city, we'll probably never figure out how it would have turned out. Here's their site by the way. http://www.mvrdv.nl/_v2/index.html

The thing that's funny about this whole comparison of it being a parking facility, which I'll admit it does resemble with respect to an unadorned structure (even though I'll argue that the new scheme looks more like a dogsh!t parking garage), is that it IS responding to the context of the adjacent structure which was what? That's right, an auto factory. Guess what's behind the brick facade of the Ford plant, probably something that looks similiar t the original scheme. I haven't heard it straight from Maas' mouth, but perhaps that was part of the conception of the scheme, and then he added a sense of human scale and respect to the old structure with the hump that would be utilized as a sheltered exterior space for students, and the bump out in plan as "breathing" space between the structures.

X, I couldn't disagree with you more on your thoughts about commissioning architects/designers. CIA hired MVRDV for the specific reason of designing an iconic structure. You don't hire the top 1% of designers if you can't afford to build it, the same way you don't hire a firm like Burt Hill if you want an iconic structure that investigates new materials and design paradigms. I'm still mystified by the estimating process that occurred on this project and ultimately killed it. A person close to the situation told me that it went through 13 or 14 estimates (a ridiculous number by the way), and it was all good until the last one, probably because of material/labor costs. I'd be interested to see what those material and labor costs are now in this economic situation.

It's the contrast between the two that reveals eachothers' intricacies.

327, I like where your head is on this topic.

X, why do we send people into space, why investigate the deep oceans of the world, etc? You can't argue that these processes are absolutely necessary for the survival of the species It's done to make life worth living and explore the boundaries of the human mind and creativity. Ever think that designers are doing it to make the world a more interesting place to live, not to simply "boost their ego?"

I like this preliminary conceptual design too. But that statement does not make sense to me (forgive me, I'm getting over the flu right now). Using this scheme as a prepackaged unit to be placed where a new station is needed would be a mistake IMO. Not that RTA has said it would do that, just spouting off at the mouth I guess. In the end, I applaud RTA for the work they are doing here and at Mayfield, and hope this momentum continues.

This is the direction that RTA should be moving to with all of their infrastructure design; a forward thinking approach to the movement people throughout the city. Now I'm not saying that this type of object should be simply placed with no relation to contextual concerns, but this is the type of design that will change people's perceptions of public transit, not the off the shelf design for the W117th Street station, for example. This is a very exciting new direction for RTA, and I'm glad they took the initiative to push towards contemporary design.

You sound like the perfect person to figure it out for us.

It's not that I have a problem with the pd comparing the 2 cities persay, I am just sick and tired of the Action19 news type headline of "PITTSBURGH'S POWER OVER CLEVELAND." What the hell does that even mean? At least try to be somewhat objective. Who wants to see a headline like that on their way to an enjoyable brunch. They go out of their way to demeen this city at any opportunity and apparently I'm not the only one that is sick of it. And if selling papers is the goal, the last 15% of the forumers that have commented since yesterday DIDN'T buy a paper for that specific reason. They are unprofessional, purposely vindictive, and I won't buy into it.

Coming Soon! Empty dirt lot at prime Eastside intersection. What an improvement...

It's funny, people from Pittsburgh think the situation is the complete opposite. Grass is always greener I suppose. Or is it less brown?

"This city is so beautiful," said Walter Casas, who hopes to import the family's Café Volio through Cleveland. "What a wonderful time to be here." An excellent quote to hear after seeing the front page this morning and refusing to purchase it.