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Carol Ross Barney's campus (2002; above) includes a park that provides
both a public space and a security buffer.
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The restoration of the Ariel Rios Federal Building (above) was typical
of 1990s GSA successes.
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Cannon-Dworsky's courthouse (2000; above) aims to be a truly civic space
by welcoming the public onto the plaza.
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Feiner is not a client in the typical sense: he's also a representative.
His most important constituents may be the judges who work in the buildings--and
whose conservative tastes often clash with those of cutting-edge architects.
"The whole judiciary is based on precedent--and in buildings, precedent
has been Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian," Feiner says. How does he convince
the judges to embrace designs by Thom Mayne and Arquitectonica? "It
takes a certain amount of sincerity that you really are interested in them
accomplishing their mission and their tasks," he says, "and that
our idea is not just to do good-looking buildings but to make it easier
for their employees to perform their jobs." But Feiner insists that
he welcomes the dissent. "If the client is a vacuum, you're not going
to get great architecture, you're just going to get whatever you want to
do," he says. "Great architecture requires debate and challenge.
Think about Michelangelo and Pope Julius--they didn't get along all that
well!" In the end, Feiner says, the judges come to appreciate their
buildings: "They see that these are buildings that represent not Greek
or Roman ideals but American ideals. That is truly the breakthrough--we
are using American statements and iconography for the first time."
To reach such goals, designers can't rest on their avant-garde cred. "I
like to tell architects that they get one opportunity to make their lasting
presence on the landscape of this country," Feiner says. "They
have to put in place something that will be of enduring quality and value
to the American people. It's a much tougher job than commercial architecture."
One of Feiner's greatest honors was when the Sandra Day O'Connor Courthouse,
in Phoenix, Arizona, won an award from Progressive Architecture magazine
in 1996. "They said Richard Meier was able to depart from his predictable
architecture and experiment with new approaches," Feiner recalls proudly.
So the architects are not only influencing the GSA, but the agency
is pushing already notable architects to even greater heights. How? "We
give real guilt trips--and I'm an expert," Feiner laughs. "When
you tell someone, 'You know, this building is not going to represent you,
this building is going to represent the American system--the American culture--for
generations to come,' that's asking a lot."
The work also asks a lot of the GSA. "I often envy Michael Eisner and
other world-renowned clients," he says. "They have flexibility.
Every decision we make is looked upon as precedent-setting." It's a
responsibility the agency takes seriously. For example, Feiner says all
GSA projects after 2002 will rate at least silver on the U.S. Green Building
Council's LEED scale of sustainability. Sustainable projects by Mayne and
Moshe Safdie will include features such as grass roofing, operable
windows, and natural ventilation.
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Richard Meier's federal building (2000; above) in Central Islip, New York,
conveys the importance of what goes on inside.
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His courthouse (2000; above), in Phoenix, Arizona, features a grand
modern civic hall: the main atrium, which is 350 feet long by 150 feet
wide, is cooled by evaporation and convection. Both won GSA design
awards in 2000.
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This degree of responsibility is another of the GSA's good-client qualities.
The agency's First Impressions program tries to correct problems with many
existing midcentury federal buildings. Its latest challenge is immense:
humanizing the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, in New York, and making
it a "good neighbor." Meanwhile the GSA also attempts to contextualize
new buildings and make sure they serve their communities well. At a new
federal building in Miami, Arquitectonica is working with the Miami Botanical
Garden to create an arboretum that will be both a security setback and an
amenity for the neighborhood. And Ross Barney's design for a new federal
complex in Oklahoma City shows support for a community devastated by the
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. "If anything demonstrates
that we're going to survive, this does," Feiner says. "It is truly
a commitment building. It would have been much easier just to lease space.
But a federal building was destroyed, and a federal building will be rebuilt."
Ross Barney feels the importance of the project is the message that design
can solve problems. To pursue such ideals, she says, architects have two
choices: "You work for some independent person who's got a lot of money--you're
really playing with someone else's toys--or you find a client who is
equally dedicated to making the world better. That's Ed. He really believes
good buildings and good environments can make things better. When you have
a client like that, you can accomplish almost anything."
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