e modernist building, with its famous
mirror box exterior, was originally
designed by architect Eero Saarinen. e
interior is divided into three pavilions
separated by a cross-shaped atrium and
linked by sky bridges and a perimeter
walkway. e building was included on
the National Register of Historic Places
in 2017. "I love the building. It's like
walking into a museum; an architectural
masterpiece that makes you think 'wow,
where am I," Paola comments.
But it was not love at first sight. Paola
says the day she first saw the building
was gloomy and the gray weather made
the place look like a ghost town, but as
she talked to the developer about his
idea to create a little metropolis tucked
into the suburbs, an idea he termed
"metroburb", she began to see how the
space could be transformed. "I like
to visit the big markets in my travels
with their bright colors, big bustling
food halls, and centers for people to
gather. I could see that in this building,"
Paola says. With that in mind, her first
design was for a café in the center of the
building that she envisioned as a place to
bring people together and begin to give
life to the space.
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