Question: Why did Appleton select a firm from Chicago to design the new library? It seems to me that we would want to keep the money in northeast Wisconsin rather than send it out of state.
Answer: Appleton received proposals from 11 architects or architectural teams for the design of its $26.4 million public library, and none of them was strictly local.
Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction of Appleton was part of one proposal, partnering with Gensler of Chicago and Mead & Hunt of Wauwatosa, but the trio wasn't among the three finalists.
"Hoffman has some library experience with schools, but they don't have that high-level library experience, so they were teaming up with Gensler for the library expertise," project manager Dean Gazza said.