Post-Modern Design is NOT for the Birds
June 15, 2008 | 10:25 amI gotta tell ya 1 West Courthouse Square building. You’ve become “that guy”. Your the unattractive, noisy neighbor that everyone tolerates, but no one likes.
Not only is your uninspired glass box design a complete eyesore sitting next to our well-loved courthouse, not only is your layout ridiculously annoying with your pointless side entrance and giant parking deck, now you just won’t shut up.
Carl writes in…
For the last month or so, I’ve been confused by the sudden influx of tropical birds to downtown Decatur. It seemed that they were somehow nesting on the 1 W Court Sq building; and, while the toucans were invisible, they could be heard for half a mile away. I originally expressed concern about this bizarre situation but was told by someone who knows birds far more than I that this nonsense was “baby finches.”
I didn’t really understand how the “finches” were invisible, so VERY loud, and seemingly never slept. Perhaps they were adjusting to their new home atop an office building. As the weeks passed, though, I recognized that this noise simply never stopped. I began reaching out via various forms of social networking wondering if anyone knew the deal. Was this a bizarre public art project, somehow organized by AIA/D or a prank? I encountered lots of people along the way (many of whom I didn’t even know) that appreciated my question but had no answers. It seemed that either others had the same question or simply thought I had dreamt the whole thing up. I’d wondered if I could ever gain access to the roof of the building to see what was causing this noise. It became a combined source of frustration and curiosity.
Well, finally, courtesy of a conversation with Mayor Floyd, it seems that we have an answer. “It” is unfortunately neither designed for the public good (in my opinion) nor is it a wonderful new colony of endangered birds. Instead, it’s a device designed to protect the owner of the mirrored building against broken windows. All of the ruckus will theoretically frighten normal birds away from the building so that they do not crash into the glass. Perhaps that IS good for the birds, but I wonder whether all of this noise is good for anyone. If it keeps birds away from the building, doesn’t it also keep them from flying normally in the area? It’s no wonder that I didn’t ever see any nesting in nearby trees, since they’re likely frightened by what seems to be a nearby zoo.
What sort of permit did they secure for this noisemaker? I can hear it two to three blocks away in every direction. What once was amusing is now something that interferes with my morning walks. I can’t hear the normal birds, but I can sure here the artificial ones. I sat outside on the patio at Pastries A Go Go today once again feeling like I was dining at the Rainforest Café.
(I love that last line!)
The city has put a lot of lipstick on this pig over the years. Without Cooks/Sherlock’s and Crescent Moon, its parking deck would be the scourge of downtown. And don’t get me started on those crumbling stone tables/benches. But now, specifically because of its post-modern design, it also must emit noise. (My wife and I had a debate one late evening regarding this very noise. I was in the “bat” camp and she thought they were nocturnal finches. Obviously Carl proved us both wrong.)
Glass skyscrapers the world over MUST exist without this sort of device. Otherwise, from midtown Manhattan to Midtown Atlanta we’d hear only the din of traffic over the cacophony of prerecorded bird chirps. What do the big boys use to avoid bird collisions? My grandmother cut bird shapes out of black construction paper and put them on her windows. Perhaps that could be building-wide art project for its tenents?
Apparently they’ve finally discovered how to disable the birds at night! I don’t know what time they stopped, but it was definitely before 10 PM tonight. They were still off when I walked back after midnight. I’ll admit it feels a little strange to actually walk down a quiet street again. Apparently this new schedule started this weekend.
The mystery is finally solved. I figured someone’s parrot got loose.
If you want to consider the other end of the spectrum, talk to anyone who lived in Athens back in the 1980s when the downtown area was overtaken by swarms of birds to the extend that there was no where that was immune to piles of bird droppings. I knew of one person who even died of cryptococcus which apparently is a fairly rare disease that is contracted from such an exposure.
I addressed the City Commission on this issue tonight and learned that in fact no permit has been issued and no decibel tests have been conducted. Commissioner Kemp questioned how the building has been operating for over 40 years without this noisemaker. Ms. Merriss agreed to have the noise levels measured and see what can be done to address this situation.
The mirrored building isn’t so bad…adds a bit of modernization to the central core. I wasn’t aware of the implication to the birds which makes me kind of sad. At least the building is a low rise (generally human scale). Maybe the benches, etc and the front will spruce up when Devry arrives? That school is pretty big on image. I can’t imagine it will let the entrance suffer. You are right, the parking deck for that building stinks…but like you said, with restaurants down below you don’t notice the deck as much. I can’t believe something like that parking deck was allowed to be built. I was walking by an old obsure office building across the street from the library and thought “who in the world architected such a monstrosity.” But alas, we seem to be much more aware about these things than we used to be.
The one thing that I think everyone should be awake to is having a parking lot in the middle of the Square. Hello!?!? The Square seriousl lacks greenspace and is supposed to be a serious community gathering place. We talk big on community but our meeting place is mediocre. Honestly how many cars drive around and around in that lot. It can’t be generating much tax money and it doesn’t say much about our progessive city, “Welcome to the Square family and friends! Here is the bandstand, here is the Courthouse, and oh yeah..here is the parking lot.” I just don’t get it. Without trees and greenspace Atlanta and Decatur are nothing. Homes, schools, and churches are “Anywhere, USA”. Its the charachter brough to these places by natural beauty, community, art, etc. There is enough parking in this town without that Decatur Square parking lot. Keep a well groomed strip of pavement or brick for restaurant, store, special event deliveries..but get rid of the lot. I wonder if there would be any way to get this done?
I agree with Rick…lose that parking lot NOW! It won’t hurt those businesses whatsoever….and could we realign the Band stand opening so it faces the plaza…where the actual crowd sits vs. its’ current designation facing the side of old Courthouse? As it is, it just doesn’t make much sense and isn’t user friendly to have 75% of a concert crowd sitting at a 90 degree angle to the performing artists! Sometimes our city, wonderful as it is, misses some very obvious flaws that if corrected, would take our downtown to the next level. BTW, please see this for the constructive crticism that it is meant to be…I love Decatur.
Jim…while we’d all sometimes like to replace buildings or parking lots like we were playing SimCity, we must remember that these are privately-owned pieces of property. The “city” obviously can’t just go in and rip down that parking deck without flat-out buying it (which is simply a waste of money).
I think Jim’s talking about the East Court Sq and West Court Sq, the turn-arounds with parking in front of the Brick Store and in front of Eddie’s. That parking was originally on-street parking before MARTA destroyed the Square by not going fully underground (as originally planned) and eliminating that block of Sycamore. Though they may seem like parking lots, they’re really just severed streets.
Ah yes…whoops! Seeing double this morning. Sorry Jim!
It’s an interesting proposition…while they are remnants of streets (as Scott points out), I can’t disagree that we could do with a little more greenspace around the square.
I wonder what the city thinks…
As one who frequents the E Court Sq businesses (and enjoys sitting outside there), I definitely see the pros and cons of the lot. While it is a convenience, it also is frequently backed up with exhaust-pouring idling vehicles trying to return to Ponce after discovering the lot is (surprise!) full. My question to the City at the time of the installation of the new meter monitoring system is whether it could be configured so that a “LOT FULL” sign would direct would-be parkers to stay away. Lyn seemed to indicate that this is a future possibility. I hope that they will give this option more serious consideration (in both this lot and the one on N McDonough).
Can someone please pass along this article to whomever is responsible for the bird ruckus?
Thanks.
Ottawa boy’s invisible invention warns birds about deadly windows
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/01/21/ot-090121-bird-decals.html