tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7223492702090268881.post7881350204932131568..comments2024-03-27T17:52:08.329-07:00Comments on Community Architect Daily: Sparks or Inner Harbor? - Sparks!Klaus Philipsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01615851444265308506noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7223492702090268881.post-71032268029717197892015-04-14T12:56:40.926-07:002015-04-14T12:56:40.926-07:00As director of development for US Lacrosse (and a ...As director of development for US Lacrosse (and a regular reader of your writing), I can assure you that US Lacrosse did take into consideration "urban planning and architecture" in planning for its new headquarters. In fact, the organization spent seven years and a considerable amount of money trying to figure out how to make the Harbor Point site work for the organization and as a new icon for the city. During that time, the sport continued to grow, the size of the staff nearly doubled, and the national economy tanked. <br /><br />Ultimately, as you noted, the decision to move to Sparks hinged, in part, on financial considerations. As a non-profit, US Lacrosse has a fiduciary responsibility to the more than 450,000 members and donors in 69 chapters around the country who support it. The reality is, they're understandably less concerned with iconic structures than with effective, efficient service and a prudent managing of finances. It is no small matter to raise tens of millions of dollars in capital and operating costs for a building on a leased site and a field that would have been managed by someone else. (Indeed, as nice as Harbor Point will be, I can imagine future tenants and visitors will be grateful for an open 9 acre park rather than a lacrosse field with the likes of Paul Rabil firing lacrosse balls in excess of 100 mph on it.) <br /><br />Meanwhile, a closer examination of the Sparks site reveals a design that borrows elements from Camden Yards (a promenade gathering space with statuary and memorials overlooking the playing field and connecting the stands with the Hall of Fame museum and offices) and from "bank" barns found throughout northern Baltimore County (the first level of the building, which contains locker rooms and training facilities, opens directly onto the field; staff and visitors enter on the second level). Taken as a whole, the campus, with its mix of building and field, provides a good transition from the heavily developed area around Hunt Valley to the rural landscape just to the north.<br /><br />Finally, whatever else one may say about the Sydney Opera House, everyone agrees its acoustics are horrible. How does a building that fails horribly at its principle function become an example for others to follow?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13381914005881068391noreply@blogger.com