What Gary said

Both BCR and Endangered Durham have comments up regarding the design of the new "Judicial Center" unveiled last night. The building will replace the "new" courthouse downtown, and will be located just south of the jail. Gary nails the problem:

Back to the deck at hand, the corner of Roxboro and Dillard is a crucial intersection for continuing the urban energy of American Tobacco eastward - one that needs to be matched by efforts north of the railroad tracks. By treating Roxboro purely as the back of the property, the county will squander the energy that could be created at this intersection by the judicial complex, the Venable campus, and the future redevelopment of the Elkins Chrysler dealership across Dillard St.

The body of evidence suggests that the county just does-not-get-it when it comes to elements of urban design that are crucial to the success of downtown Durham. I'm an architecture fan, obviously, but what the roof of the building is made out of is going to have a far smaller impact on the success of Durham East than two huge walls of parking deck greeting people driving north on the primary entryway into downtown from the freeway, and greeting people coming out of the Sommerhill gallery immediately to the east.

Twenty years from now, when people aren't driving into Durham anymore, how is this going to work?