Pass/Fail Indeed.

interior view of the cone-shaped library.

I have been watching the progress of this site from afar on drives to Downtown, L.A. The only building I could see from the bridge over the 101 was the awkwardly-shaped tower with the swirling -- what I thought to be a ramp -- around it. While under construction, especially when the steel skeleton was completed, I thought it was fascinating. I could imagine a waterfall pouring from the very tip of the swirl. As for the building as an entirety, I thought maybe it was a museum or performing arts theatre of some sort (it seems I wasn't very far off with the theme). But as construction continued and the whole skeleton was steel-plated, and I realized there would be no waterfall, I was not pleased. The finished product -- Central Los Angeles Area High School No. 9 -- I find to be a big fail, an epic fail. IT'S A HIGH SCHOOL!? Granted it's a high school for the arts so perhaps, as the article suggests, LAUSD wanted to make the campus "artsy" but I feel that the buildings (except for the library, that has its merits in the glass ceiling and dramatic, swirling interior) do not in any way evoke the arts. They're so cubic and stiff and lifeless -- I mean, even Cubist art has movement to it from the layers and transparency. I think my biggest qualm is with the shape of the tower, how it ruins the skyline and is in no way aesthetically pleasing... otherwise, I kind of like the porthole windows on the other buildings and the cool interiors. For a high school of the arts, though, it's pretty concrete (on the exterior). Perhaps the interior (which I've only seen in a few photos) may be inspiring but the exterior definitely does not evoke the muses.

Click here for the Los Angeles Times article.