| On
the Mark
The editorial
"A 9/11 Memorial Without Public Input Will Have No Soul"
must be engraved in the minds of all Americans, as well as
the granite of the new World Trade Center structures, creating
a continuous memory of what the process should have been (ENR
12/1 p. 68). But yet, what has been achieved in good faith
resulted in architectural excellence, and the site planning
works.
The editorial was to the point
of what should have happened. Anyone who felt the loss will
agree and mourn. Still, some direction has already been made,
and for the sake of going on, let’s hold hands and proceed.
But this editorial must be engraved in the new structures
in the event the question is asked of those who will remember
the twin towers as one of the wonders of the world, as well
as the towers that torched their lives forever.
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Clarifying Costs
Engineering News-Record
ran an interesting article, "Seattle’s Eccentric
‘Book Behemoth’ Shatters Stereotypes," about
the Seattle "Book Bag" library currently under construction
(ENR 11/3 p. 20). The usual computer game design, the usual
$8.5-million delay dispute and the pictures were well done,
but the dollars and quotes were either deliberately skewed
to hide the eventual real cost to the taxpayer (a norm in
public work), or the copywriter didn’t have sufficient
time to check the supposed information.
The opening line indicated that
the building is 412,000 sq ft and it continues to mention
the $154-million price tag, which is just a shade under $374
per sq ft and probably includes all the books.
On the next page, the general contractor
relates a dispute for added delay compensation to his $121.4-million
contract, or just a shade under $295 per sq ft.
All reasonable assumptions so far,
but then we skip to the last page about a tight budget and
the library’s reported cost is under $275 per sq ft.
In the editorial, the owner is
quoted as saying the building is "well funded per sq
ft" and that the construction was contracted for "a
relatively ordinary price." Maybe in Seattle, with the
luxury of dot-com fortunes, $374 per sq ft is relatively normal
for this exceptionally high-maintenance signature building,
but is that the price?
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