John King, archiscribe for the SF Chronicle, finds a few nice things to say about Richard Meier's newish civic center in San Jose. These aren't them:

If you want to see what happens when politicians decide how something should look, visit San Jose's new City Hall—where one of the world's best architects has laid a gigantic egg in the middle of what is otherwise an impressive civic home.

It's a juicy story: the mayor said "You don't have to be an architect to have ideas," Meier said "harumph." King piles on:

As for the notion that a glassy dome symbolizes open government, you could just as easily say the rotunda shows the emptiness of political rhetoric. Or the void of modern life.

Ah, that pesky void...

· Mayor's Insistence on Rotunda Detracts from New San Jose City Hall [SFC via ANN]

Posted in The Provinces