It’s not all that uncommon for modern architectural design to clash with the local expectations of a community - especially what that community houses a college. A new building proposal at Dartmouth is straining town-gown relations between the school and some residents of Hanover. Dartmouth released plans for a new, $52 million visual arts center last week.
The design by a Boston architectural firm Machado and Silvetti Associates calls for more than 99 thousand square feet located downtown. The school says it would provide a “new gateway” for the college on the southern end of town.
But one member of the committee that acts as liason between the school and the town told the student newspaper The Dartmouth, "it’s creating an urban landscape in what used to be a traditional New England town. It’s gaudy and southwestern, and we’re not. It’s going to look funny with snow on it."
Word of Mouth’s architectural conitributor Don Kreis joins us to give us the details. His day job is with New Hampshire’s Public Utility Commission, where he’s general council.
The modern building proposal in Hanover seems downright tame, though, compared to what’s on top of a contemporary art museum in Paris right now. A pair of Swiss artists has created a single-room hotel and set it atop the Palais de Tokyo. The piece of interactive art allows one exclusive couple to spend the night in what may be the world’s first portable hotel. John Laurenson of Deutsche Welle Radio checked in to Hotel Everland to find out more.
