Interesting comments, considering the building was designed by Architects from here in town and the USDA, with heavy input from the vendors and other stakeholders I think maybe you're criticizing the process and not the result?
Nope, the process was adequate and necessary considering that this is a public facility. The result is a result of the architects being hamstrung from the very beginning by a grossly prohibitive budget, which itself was the result of the city administration and council not pushing harder for a better payoff during negotiations, mr. city official. Studio Intrigue -- which is an awesome, young local firm that does a lot of working nationally -- and the USDA could only work with what they were given, essentially be sacked/sandbagged from the very front-end of the process by no consequence of their own.
It's essentially asking someone to build an impressive sand-castle after you've dumped a pile of mud and some rusty tools in front of them to work with. In this case, the architects and contractors were asked to build a city market that would at least be respectful (in the skills required to build the old one) of the one we already have, but dumped a prefab kit complete with a few hundred yards of cheap, corrugated sheet metal (with the gall and offense to try and gussy it up with colored paint as if that somehow makes it more attractive) and some insulation, all directly across the river and almost in the physical shadow of one of the most impressive art deco brick buildings in the entire nation.
It's funny, because every time I think about this trying to find the good in it, I'm only more disappointed. Mr. city official, go find some grant or some stimulus money for this public, shovel-ready project so that we can at least brick this baby up, okay?
One of the things that bothers me most is the lack of a SINGLE window on the east facing wall. At least the west (river) facing wall has a decent amount of windows...they help you to kinda forget that it's a sheet-metal pole barn. But the east wall, that anyone on Cedar Street would see, doesn't have a single window...not one, really making it hard to not think of it as a pole-barn. Also, what was the point of building it so tall and then not follow through with the partial second floor? We'd have been better off making it shorter and having more floor space for vendors. How about some pressure on Gillespie here for another $400k...is he really going to want a pole barn next to his village?
Well, to not be 100% negative, the riverfront looks nice, although I haven't been up close yet, it does look like a noticeable improvement from what I could see on the Shiawasee bridge.
It's not the most architecturally stunning of buildings, but the Royal Oak farmer's market got some press today in the Freep for renovating its kitchen. It's an open floor plan building that's packed on market days - everything I think we'd love the Lansing City Market to be.
Also, here's a video from another paper about the market.
Wow. Williamston's RiverHouse Inn will open a restaurant in the new Lansing City Market, according to the LSJ.
But the market's opening is being delayed until Dec. 31. Does anybody remember when the city has to vacate the current market building under the deal with Gillespie? If I recall correctly, after a certain date the city would end up paying rent.
I think the restraunt will be a great addition to the market. It should really add an interesting element to the riverfront. If the market does well, which with these kinds of businesses it should, it ought to make improvements much more likely. I think a recladding is possible and the
mezzanine level is fairly likely to happen in the next five years or so..
Landing RiverHouse Inn will be a huge boon to the success and function of the market. One of my wishes was always that the original market would have landed a destination-type business that people would drive in from all over the metro to visit. And, they say another high-end restaurant is coming, too.
BTW, to be clear, my concern with the new market has never been a problem with the vendors; nor did I ever have a doubt that this market wouldn't at least function as well as the old one, if not better. Heck, many farmers markets operate out of surface parking lots and tents.
It surprises me that even the awnings don't seem to do anything for the building. If anything, they look like a tacted-on after-thought and don't fit the architecture. Meh.
I don't hate the front view, and am especially fond of the green. But that tiny flash of color and levity in the design ends up just underscoring how big of an epic fail the rest really is. Like others, I'm sure this will function well and bring more traffic farther into the downtown core. As far as I'm concerned, though, the design and execution will go down as huge misfires. That said, in this economy there is something to be said for this happening at all. In the scheme of things I'm just glad it all came together. There is always something that could have been done better, but downtown Lansing, in addition to the many phenomenal projects going on, has a brand new Farmer's Market.
Comments
It's essentially asking someone to build an impressive sand-castle after you've dumped a pile of mud and some rusty tools in front of them to work with. In this case, the architects and contractors were asked to build a city market that would at least be respectful (in the skills required to build the old one) of the one we already have, but dumped a prefab kit complete with a few hundred yards of cheap, corrugated sheet metal (with the gall and offense to try and gussy it up with colored paint as if that somehow makes it more attractive) and some insulation, all directly across the river and almost in the physical shadow of one of the most impressive art deco brick buildings in the entire nation.
It's funny, because every time I think about this trying to find the good in it, I'm only more disappointed. Mr. city official, go find some grant or some stimulus money for this public, shovel-ready project so that we can at least brick this baby up, okay?
Well, to not be 100% negative, the riverfront looks nice, although I haven't been up close yet, it does look like a noticeable improvement from what I could see on the Shiawasee bridge.
Also, here's a video from another paper about the market.
But the market's opening is being delayed until Dec. 31. Does anybody remember when the city has to vacate the current market building under the deal with Gillespie? If I recall correctly, after a certain date the city would end up paying rent.
mezzanine level is fairly likely to happen in the next five years or so..
BTW, to be clear, my concern with the new market has never been a problem with the vendors; nor did I ever have a doubt that this market wouldn't at least function as well as the old one, if not better. Heck, many farmers markets operate out of surface parking lots and tents.
Front entrance
Looking North
Looking South
Looking Northeast
It surprises me that even the awnings don't seem to do anything for the building. If anything, they look like a tacted-on after-thought and don't fit the architecture. Meh.