Happy Birthday, Library Square!

Vancouver's fabulous Colosseum-inspired Public Library is celebrating its 10th anniversary today.  Bravo to our brave city for such an enlightened public space.

This morning on the radio, I listened to the architectural critic from the local rag tear the building apart.  He said that Vancouver had become a laughing stock among architects for its choice of library design.  It was featured, apparently, on the front cover of a noted architectural magazine over the headline "Outrage!"    This is codswallop and simply shows how out of touch many architects are with ordinary people's thoughts and feelings.

The people chose this design in a competition that we were privileged to vote on.  Even the critic this morning had to admit that the atrium has become one of the best used and most loved of Vancouver's public spaces.  Visitors from out of town continue to extol the building.

Who cares what the ivory tower architects think!  The people love it and that's all that counts.  May the Vancouver Public Library continue to shine on our city for generations to come.