Council Chooses Library Team

Walk right up to the sun: Illustration from Lake | Flato's presentation

City Council just awarded the design contract for the new central library Downtown, and in somewhat of a surprise, it was the team of Lake | Flato, not the staff recommended team of Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects and company. Will Wynn – a former architect – complimented all teams before naming Lake | Flato, who didn't earn the staff nod, but, as it's heard behind the scenes, was the favored team of library advocates and funders.

However, it wasn't quite a celebration. As Lake | Flato lagged behind the other two finalists in minority contractor participation, Mike Martinez and Sheryl Cole both made their concerns public. "I do share concerns that the minority representation of Lake | Flato is not on par," said Martinez, urging them to improve their numbers.

Moreover, citing their extensive work with the city and record of tight fiscal management, Laura Morrison went to the mat for staff-recommended Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects and Taniguchi with Holzman Moss, voting no on Wynn's recomendation. "I really ended up with a strong sense that the staff recomendation of Barnes etc., was the appropriate recommendation, so with all due respect, I won't be supporting this recommendation." Laura Morrison, sticking up for city staff? "It happens more often than you'd think," she tells Newsdesk.

You can read more about the teams here.