Letter To The Editor: 1913: Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

To the editor:

To those who may not be able to imagine melding both our iconic 1913 library building and a new library, I point to others in the world who have done that successfully.

Do we, in New Canaan, lack the creativity, the design aesthetic, or the sophistication, to do the same? I don't think so!

So many cities and towns have successfully merged the two - old and new - not only successfully, but also while expressing a modern concept of architectural synergy. (The whole being greater than the sum of its parts, so to speak.)

Everyone always cites the Louvre and the Louvre Pyramid by I.M. Pei of course, but what about the Stealth Building in NYC? The Boston Library, originally designed by McKim, Mead and White, opened in 1858, with major renovations blending old and new just a few years ago? The Brooklyn Museum, also designed by McKim, Mead and White in 1895, blending in newer renovations beautifully in 2004?

If you've traveled, you must have come across the Kunstmuseum Moritzburg (Halle, Germany), the Museum of Military History (Dresden, Germany), the city of Fashion and Design, in Paris, the Port Authority, Antwerp, designed by Zaha Hadid, the international concert hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, in Hamburg, Germany, St. Antony's College (Oxford, England), also by Zaha Hadid, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Space Asia Hub, in Singapore, Sant Fransesc Church (Santpedor, Spain), the Jewish Museum, in Berlin, the York Theatre Royal, in York, England, The Union of Romanian Architects (Bucharest, Romania), the list goes on and on.

Why would we have to be an outlier? I certainly don't think we lack the sophistication or design aesthetic to accomplish having both buildings working together in the heart of New Canaan?

Hopefully we will be able to work together to develop a beautiful new solution that will stand the test of time for another 100 years.

Regards,

Susan Serven