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."

Sunday, April 3, 2011 in The New York Times

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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