The original downtown library in Chicago closed in the late 1970s and moved to temporary space; they spent a full decade arguing about a permanent replacement b

The original downtown library in Chicago closed in the late 1970s and moved to temporary space; they spent a full decade arguing about a permanent replacement before finally agreeing to issue a bond and to hold a design competition. This design was a collaboration among many groups, and had a long list of "as a homage to XXXX, we've included this design element." It almost certainly wasn't a serious entry, but that list of design elements apparently kept getting it enough votes to stay in the competition as they did each round of elimination. At the end of the competition, they looked at the remaining entries and realized that this was the only one that could be built for the amount of money in the bond issue. So it won. It's pretty strange as the "cheap" option, because everything you touch is made of marble, brass or solid wood, the doors are huge and very heavy, every light fixture looks custom made, it's filled with artwork and sculptures, etc.