Defend your design!

Design students find juries to be a tough situation, after weeks (or at least a night or two) of pouring yourself into your work you have to get up and defend it. But, as evidenced in today's news, it is important training for the real world of design.

The architects of Xanadu have been called into public meeting to defend the appearance of the newest eyesore on the Turnpike. It has changed some since the early concept drawings were presented. But seriously, how ugly can be? They haven't even started the ferris wheel yet...

To get permission to build this on an area where wetlands had to filled, the Meadowlands had to create or restore some other wetlands. It is part of an idea sometimes called mitigation banking. But to build something that ugly, should they have to create or restore something that looks good somewhere else?