ben thompson, the legacy of TAC, etc.....

Here is a rather unexceptional picture of a rather unexceptional building by Ben Thompson. Perhaps it is an unfair introduction to his work, but his mundane achievements are just as important as his headline efforts at Quincy Market and other places. I was told by a former employee of BTA that the food court was invented by Ben. I suppose someone had to come up with that idea, and I think it took genius to combine the very old concept of the bazaar with the mass production techniques of modern service.

Ben Thompson designed for people, even though I find some of his work oppressive, as it draws so heavily on the formal vocabulary established by Gropius and his followers at TAC (The Architect's Collaborative).
I am concerned that the preservationist movement will seek to classify Thompson's buildings as pure architecture, rather than respecting the philosophy that motivated their design. He designed tents for temporary activities--the material of the tents happened to be fairly durable, but that was less important than their subordinate role to the activity of the people who occupied them. If they are deteriorated or dysfunctional then they should be replaced or strategically and aggressively renovated. That is what Thompson would have done.