water treatment never looked so good

steven holl's new water treatment plant in new haven, ct is a standout piece of architecture. instead of being purely functional, it is also beautiful, evoking the tumbling, rushing power of water.

It was all that talk of pipes, he said, that helped him settle on a building whose form "articulates what is happening inside." Not merely a metaphor, the building is also a sculpture that recalls the work of Richard Serra and Anish Kapoor.

more disappointing though is the worry that it might be a potential terrorist target, and because of this the location is under wraps. apparently though it is nestled among some high profile houses. typically this kind of public works project is met with a "not in my backyard" response, but dressing the plant up and blinging it out apparently worked.

In Connecticut, Mr. Holl said that his interventions - as well as those of the landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh - may have added two or three million dollars to the cost of the $49 million plant. At first, the water company's Representative Policy Board, which approves major expenditures, was reluctant to allocate the money. But then Professor Plattus of Yale made a presentation to the board on the value of design.

At a crucial moment, Ms. Sweet said, Mr. Plattus projected a photo of a banal concrete overpass on Route 95 alongside an image of one of the W.P.A.-era overpasses on the Merritt Parkway. The board "saw the difference immediately," Ms. Sweet recalled.

this reminds me alot of what i've been reading in postsuburban california. it's interesting to see how the wealthy are involved in the shaping of a community's functional underbelly. will it become the new fashion to have designer utilities going up in high-class neighborhoods? keep an eye out for diamond-encrusted sewers.

[thanks new york times]