Early Forecasts Are Mixed on ‘Steel Cloud’ Sculpture

“Steel Cloud,” the $33-million, four-block-long structure that would be poised over the Hollywood Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, underwent its first test by city officialdom on Thursday.

It passed--sort of.

In what they considered a “voluntary early review,” members of the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission examined an intricate scale model of the structure, quizzed architects and generally tried to ascertain how they felt about Hani Rashid’s controversial design.

They liked it--sort of.

“This will never not be controversial. That is one of the things I like about it a lot,” said commission President Merry Norris. “I am very intrigued by it conceptually.”

“Steel Cloud” was chosen last year by an international jury commissioned by the city to select a design for a “West Coast Gateway” symbol akin to New York’s Statue of Liberty.

“In general, I am really supportive of the project,” said architect and commissioner C. F. Chan. “But the concern I have . . . is how to make it work.”

Noting that some ordinary citizens, who have compared the design to a giant metal grasshopper or the results of a bad earthquake, don’t think much of the project, commissioner Alan Sieroty ventured:

“I may accept this. I don’t know. Right now I am not ready to. It doesn’t seem to me to come together in terms of its aesthetics. . . . I want to hear more. I want to understand it. I am open. . . . “

Even the most enthusiastic commissioner, David H. Simon, had his reservations, noting that few members of the public have the artistic background necessary to appreciate the structure, which is to include a museum, a theater, an aquarium and restaurants.

“The project is very exciting and worthy of strong support by this commission,” Simon said. “The project will be attacked from all angles. . . . It may have to be built and people live with it for a while before they get comfortable with it.”