Can Elk Grove Handle A Zaha Hadid?

A previous Elk Grove, CA city council hired architect Zaha Hadid to design their city center, but the new council hates her "squid-like" design.

1 minute read

April 4, 2011, 7:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Back in 2006, Elk Grove had visions of being the next Bilbao and held an international design competition to find their Gehry. Hadid designed what they were seeking, an eye-catching Civic center complex.

"It was a chapter, though, that ended with a recession." writes Rob Hunter. "And the idea gathered dust until last summer, when the city resumed its relationship with Ms. Hadid's firm to fashion the center's master plan, the process in which the scale and proximity of the structures is determined, though the actual design of individual buildings will be decided later."

The new city council have compared the design to an octopus, a starfish and an "animal from another planet."

FULL STORY: Star Architect's Civic Center Design Divides California City

Sunday, April 3, 2011 in The New York Times

Architecture United States Zaha Hadid Elk Grove

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