"Passion, invention and joy are actually possible in public buildings" ...

if they were built a long time ago. Not today, usually, when the buildings are value engineered, satisficed, "over programmed," and not focused enough on thinking about how people use the spaces and how buildings contribute to urban form beyond the confines of the lot on which the building sits.

It's always fun to read coverage of DC issues in other places. The Boston Globe architecture writer has a piece on the new Capitol Visitors Center, "Architecture highs and lows in D.C.."

The review starts with this:

If you're an architect who doesn't have a single bright idea, here's what you do. Impress everyone by spending $621 million. Make every room twice as big as it needs to be. Finally, slather every available surface with a thick, gooey coat of warm-toned marble.