Architecture
The architect was Richard Meier, designer of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain and numerous other buildings around the world. The architectural style is most influenced by that of Le Corbusier. The US382 million facility has been somewhat controversial, however the building was designed to be environmentally friendly, making use of natural light, and providing shading with a "bris soleil" on the tower.
The complex is large, with the 18 story tower totaling 550,000 sq ft (51,000 m2) . The mayor's office is located in the top floor of the tower, with the rotunda serving as an entrance and council chambers located in the third building.
The city hall tower is home to a peregrine falcon named Clara, and her current tiercel, named "Esteban Colbert" after Stephen Colbert, of whom San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is said to be a fan. The original falcons, named Jose and Clara after the city and Santa Clara County produced three offspring, named Spirit, Hiko, and Esperanza. In 2008, Clara and her then-mate Carlos had three chicks, Cielo and Meyye, both girls, and Mercury, a boy.
Read more about this topic: San Jose City Hall
Famous quotes containing the word architecture:
“No architecture is so haughty as that which is simple.”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)
“In short, the building becomes a theatrical demonstration of its functional ideal. In this romanticism, High-Tech architecture is, of course, no different in spirit—if totally different in form—from all the romantic architecture of the past.”
—Dan Cruickshank (b. 1949)
“They can do without architecture who have no olives nor wines in the cellar.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)