The Denver International Airport has scrapped its plans to build a rail bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava. After the architect/engineer publicly demanded, ”Don’t tell me what to cut. Tell me your budget,” a number of $20 million was announced, one-third of the bridge’s $60m estimate at the time.
Calatrava’s company redesigned to meet this goal, but meanwhile Rapid Transit Denver slashed the amount they were publicly willing to chip in for the project. RTD presented new estimates for a typical bridge of only $1.4m, instead of the $7.5m they initially projected, creating a $6m shortfall.
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| A rendering from Calatrava’s office, with that lush Colorado landscape |
It is frankly irresponsible for an architect to design a project that approaches twelve times the cost of a typical structure.
However, I can’t blame Calatrava's office for this particular soap opera for several reasons. The lack of a clear budget (using public funds) led to horrific press, first of all, but the DIA was never simply looking for an architect or engineer.
They wanted a Calatrava.
It would have been irresponsible for his company NOT to provide one of his signature designs, and the DIA simply couldn’t afford one. Working with a quality lesser-known designer on an innovative bridge that met budget expectations may have led to the dramatic gateway they wanted, but celebrity designers are exciting, and hard to resist.
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