Yesterday, the city awarded the job of renovating the central MLK Memorial Library to the team of D.C. based architecture firm Martinez & Johnson and Dutch firm Mecanoo. Although no decision has yet been made as to whether the library will remain a standalone structure or add a residential component, the internet has exploded with its opinions on the decision. Some people tweeted their thoughts and others demonstrated their opinions in the context of longer articles. Nonetheless, here's what the online community had to say about the city's decision.
· "DC library opts for flash and picks Dutch firm Mecanoo. Silly name, silly design. Poor old Mies." - Author Witold Rybczynski, Twitter
· "What DCPL really picked was Martinez+Johnson, the only firm with experience w/ the Mayor's Agent for historic pres." - Kriston Capps of Architect Magazine, Twitter
· "Ordinarily, one would cheer heartily for the decision that was announced Tuesday morning at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library: The architectural team of Mecanoo and Martinez + Johnson has been chosen to renovate and perhaps enlarge the historic but troubled main branch of the city's library...But the MLK library is no ordinary building, and this will be no ordinary project." - Philip Kennicott, The Washington Post
· "Mecanoo, along with the team of Studios Architecture and the Freelon Group, presented much bolder solutions to the building's problems, including the possible addition of residential units on the roof in an oblique addition crossing the library's floor plan on a diagonal." - Philip Kennicott; The Washington Post
· "The MLK Library is not a masterpiece, but it deserves better than the shabby treatment is receives from Studios and Mecanoo, who place fashionably skewed boxes above (and overlapping) the existing building in feeble attempts to bring excitement to the work of an architect who intentionally avoided excitement." - Author Witold Rybczynski, Personal Blog
· - "My problem with the proposed redesign of MLK Library is that in the renderings the patrons have no heads: http://wamu.fm/1kS5sks " Martin Austermuhle of WAMU, Twitter
· - "I approve of choice of Dutch firm for renovation of MLK Library. Has nothing to do with my being half-Dutch, I swear. http://wamu.fm/1cmeEc5 " Martin Austermuhle of WAMU, Twitter
· ".@mecanoo_ is a good firm." - Navy Yard Neighborhood Commissioner David Garber, Twitter
· "The winning scheme for the MLK project is expected to be a tasteful renovation that works within the building's landmark status on the National Register of Historic Places. This restriction, along with the purity of Mies' work in general, unsurprisingly makes the new design relatively nondescript." - Matt Shaw, Architizer
· "Alas! The winning team to renovate the historic Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library has been selected. That team would be Mecanoo and Martinez + Johnson, who won over notable finalists Patkau + Ayers Saint Gross and STUDIOS + Freelon." - Bustler
· All MLK Library Coverage [CDC]