by Jill Nolin, Montgomery Advertiser
One Dexter Plaza Rendering
The architect selected for the Quest­plex project will be challenged to envi­sion a design so that the building fits sev­eral different entities and to transform the location into a fitting complement for the Alabama Capitol at the opposite end of Dexter Avenue.
But perhaps most importantly, the firm will be tasked with not creating an­other One Court Square.
"We don't want another spaceship that looks good for four years and then nobody wants to see it again," said Tim Cantey with TCU Consulting, which is handling the project for the city.
Parsons Wible Brummal Alkire Ar­chitects Inc. (PWBA), a Montgomery firm whose recent projects include the Alabama Department of Forensic Sci­ences building on Alabama State Univer­sity's campus and the replacement of the state Capitol's roof, has been chosen for that job. The firm was the winner of a design competition among Montgomery architects.
The project, which could cost as much as $24 million in its entirety, is the intended new home for the Montgomery City-County Public Library's downtown library and the Children's Museum of Alabama. There would also be leasable space for retailers and companies looking for office space.
"Dexter Avenue is probably one of the most important streets of Alabama. The building that is there currently on Dexter Avenue really needs some help in order to act as the terminus. You look there now and there's nothing to stop your eye," PWBA architect Edward Brummal said.
"And what's there to stop your eye isn't very attractive," added PWBA partner, Bill Wible.
The firm currently is working under an $80,000 contract for preliminary design work for the building's facade and interior, even though the initial design competition was for only the exterior.
To be fair to One Court Square, which the city has renamed One Dexter Plaza in an effort to reinvent its identity, the building was heralded as a marvel when it was built in 1972. A crowd gathered for the groundbreaking, and an even larger throng of people showed for the grand opening of the building's first tenant, the Alabama retailer Pizitz.
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The new store was considered a highlight of the city's urban renewal program, which emphasized new construction instead of preservation of existing structures. But the celebration was short-lived. Pizitz closed the store in 1976 after the space was deemed too large for its retail use. Pizitz turned it into an office building, according to earlier news reports.
Nearly 40 years after the building's celebrated debut, the look of the building has become so distasteful to city officials that a mock funeral procession was held in February to remove the letters comprising "One Court Square" from the exterior. The letters were laid to rest in a wooden box.
The now city-owned building serves as the temporary home for city offices and the City Council Chamber, but it is being prepared for its new purpose as an attraction for both residents and tourists.
The committee that selected the design wants a building that is striking enough to mirror the Capitol, but nothing so unusual and cutting edge that it risks becoming as awkwardly out of date as the building at the foot of Dexter Avenue today. To accomplish that, Brummal said PWBA incorporated design features for neighboring buildings in downtown, such as the old federal courthouse and the former Klein building.
Another challenge was how to address the third-story overhang, which needed to remain because of the city's square footage needs. The overhang, called a cantilever, creates an "ominous feel," according to Brummal. PWBA's answer to this was to create a kind of arcade with columns, giving the building a classical look. The design, which may be tweaked, also calls for second-floor balconies.
Another notable feature in the design is an observation tower, which serves as the focal point.
The city intends to fund the majority of the ambitious project through private fundraising, tenant income and tax credits, according to Deputy Mayor Jeff Downes.
Although the Children's Museum of Alabama already has started raising money for its role, the official fundraising campaign for the Questplex project will not start until the planning phase is finished.
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PWBA estimated that the construction work could be accomplished with about $16 million, but Cantey said that number only addresses construction costs and does not factor in programming needs.
Those programming needs are still being determined and hinge on the work of a consultant who will be hired to help the library board identify what a modern-day library should offer its patrons. The board likely will use about $50,000 of a $75,000 grant to hire a consultant to help create a plan for programming, construction and fundraising.
One thing will be certain: The new downtown library will not have a collection of books that is greater than the one currently available at the Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library.
Although weeding a collection is always an ongoing process for any library, Library Director Jaunita Owes said Friday that her staff is more aggressively thinning the collection in anticipation of the move and as employees tag books for the new system that uses radio frequency identification technology (RFID).
"Let's say you have a book published in 1950 and it's about the atom bomb. You really need to get that out of your collection. You want to make sure your collection is current," Owes said.
Owes believes 50,000 square feet of usable space is needed for the new library, which she said should have more designated space for teens. Another issue for the library is deciding how much space it should devote to its rare books collection, which could mean only retaining books that focus on the more immediate Montgomery area. The consultant will help the board address these questions.
Owes, who served on the selection committee, said she liked the selected design for One Dexter Plaza because it would not conflict with other buildings in downtown but would still "make us look new."
Downes said the selection committee considered several issues, including the "constructability of the vision," whether it could be done in an "economical fashion, how the design worked within the context of downtown, functionality and whether the design portrayed a sense of permanence.
"This (design) satisfied the greatest number of demands placed on the structure by the various collaborative entities," Downes said recently.
Although practical matters appear to have dominated the discussion on which design to choose, significant consideration was given to the aesthetics in an effort to avoid replacing a dated facade with another.
"It has to be placed into context. It can't stand out so much that it's not part of the greater fabric of downtown Montgomery," Downes said.
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