Ann Arbor's city hall should have been demolished years ago
R. Bruce Laidlaw
When I started with the city, I was assigned to a little office that had a strange assortment of holes in the ceiling tiles. I learned that the attorney who previously occupied the office had made the holes using his umbrella to try to improve the incoming air circulation.
There were no incoming air ducts or vents. The clever Alden Dow had designed an air circulation system whereby air was pumped into the space between the ceiling tiles and the floor above. It then was to get into the office area via tiny holes drilled in every other ceiling tile. Of course it didn’t take long for the holes to get clogged with dust.
Many years later, an attempt was made to correct the air circulation problem with ducts leading to vents in the ceiling. That is when we learned that the air had previously been pumped into space that was coated with asbestos.
Unfortunately, adding ducts and vents added little to the comfort level. The design of four of the floors included a core of little offices in the middle with a circle of open workspace all around those offices. The design prevented separate ventilation areas. On sunny days, persons working on the south side would be sweating while space heaters were needed on the north side.
The open circle design meant that none of the enclosed offices had windows. There was no privacy for those working in the open space. In the attorney area, people walking by had the irresistible urge to talk to the secretaries. We had no law library. Books were shelved in the hallway and were frequently “borrowed.” Confidential files were also kept in the hallway where they were accessible to anyone after hours.
The upside down pyramid design of the building may have been interesting to look at, but it was a huge waste of space. A second floor patio surrounds the building although the space could have been an office area. It was usually too uncomfortable as a place for people to gather. The tall building effect made it windy most of the time. There was no shade. Although trees had been placed in the middle of benches, they soon died. The principal role of the patio was to gather water that no amount of repair could keep from dripping onto the offices below.
The appearance of the upside down pyramid was to be enhanced by shrubbery at the third floor level. Planters were attached all along the north and south sides. But there was no good way to maintain shrubs that were 20 feet above the patio. They all died.
Although the building was not Alden Dow’s finest hour, there was one nice feature when I started working there. The sixth floor had two very nice courtrooms with great views of the city. One of the two judges’ chambers actually had an outside window. But then a third judgeship was approved despite the lack of a courtroom or any evidence of need. So the quest for a place to house all the judges began. ..And here we are with the new building tied into an old wreck. Can any say with a straight face that they add to the appearance of downtown Ann Arbor?
R. Bruce Laidlaw is a former Ann Arbor city attorney and retired private practice attorney.
Comments
15crown00
Sat, May 14, 2011 : 9:27 p.m.
so who r the morons that approved of the buildings design?
a2roots
Mon, May 9, 2011 : 1:33 p.m.
Bruce I think you are being a bit too nice. That building was junk from the start and needed to be replaced years ago. I spent 8 years in their in the late 70's and early 80's. It was discussed back then. Finally 30 years later....
joe baublis
Mon, May 9, 2011 : 4:26 a.m.
The botched architectural hodge-podge that Mr. Laidlaw refers to is not merely an eyesore for what was once a small town. The financial and structural monstrosity demonstrates that Ann Arbor's single-party in-bred government is incompetent. They are incompetent to develop office buildings, and they are incompetent to govern. We need new ideas from people outside of the established local party ruling class. This government has wasted millions on building and development when numerous serviceable and much more affordable buildings have been available all over town for decades. And now that the government is broke, they have to lay off police and firefighters, shut down street lights, slow down street repairs, and withdraw numerous services to the People like leaf pick-up and composting. In other words, the government is providing benefits to itself, but withdrawing services to the People. There is another political party. We believe that we can save jobs in the long run by being much more efficient with the tax-payer's revenue in the first place. Please open your minds before it's too late. Joe Baublis Washtenaw County Republican Party Publice Relations Committee
Joslyn at the U
Mon, May 9, 2011 : 1:59 p.m.
AMEN!
belboz
Sun, May 8, 2011 : 7:34 p.m.
Funny how it is fully capable of being fixed up for other city service employees that are soon to move in..... The NEW building should have never been built. Make no mistake about it. Ann Arbor and the rest of Michigan has an abundance of empty buildings. Perhaps City Hall could have moved into the Georgetown Mall, or the Ann Arbor News building, or the 777 building, or some other already existing building instead of the new City Hall.... But hey - it isn't their money they are wasting, so what does the City Council or Administrator care??? Oh - but I forgot, they had to move out of the court buildings.... Yea, there was no place else for them to go. Total waste of money. But, they did such a good job seamlessly integrating it architecturally into the old building that I shouldn't complain. I can't tell at all where the old city hall ends and the new one begins. What an architectural treasure! Not really.... .....it looks like a patrol tank from the latest Tron movie....
johnnya2
Sun, May 8, 2011 : 9:43 p.m.
Interesting you are advocating paying a LEASE to other companies which will cost more int he long run, or having multiple locations for city hall. Imagine that scenario. I got o city hall for an issue, but sorry, that department is down at the 777 Building, and my other issue is at the AA News Building, but wait, on another day I have to go to Georgetown to get what I need. Stupid solution
Joslyn at the U
Sun, May 8, 2011 : 2:52 p.m.
while it is sad that the building has its flaws I am quite sure it would have cost much less to clean it up rather than build a new one for 50million plus. But then the city of Ann Arbor Powers that be never really seem to care what they do with our tax money............do they?
pseudo
Sun, May 8, 2011 : 1:33 p.m.
right - the robocop statue might go better with the current look than that artificial 'water feature'
EyeHeartA2
Sun, May 8, 2011 : 1:17 p.m.
How did everyone get by all those years without a million dollar piece of imported art?
jcj
Sun, May 8, 2011 : 12:59 p.m.
And I bet at the time it was built the designers and those that approved it thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. But it now looks like it was designed by incompetents. Kind of makes you think that in lets say another 50 years people will be thinking that the designers and those that approved the current design were incompetent. Oh wait there are those that already think that!
Craig Lounsbury
Sun, May 8, 2011 : 12:36 p.m.
what your describing seem to be design flaws in which case the building should never have been built to begin with.