Modern Architecture

[Adios]

Have you seen it?

Cold, emotionless compilations of glass and exposed steel, forbidding in its sharpness. It requires no craftsmanship. The mirrored glass is blinding when the sun reflects of of it. I know there are exceptions, but they are too far and few in between. Buildings constructed in the late 1800's and early 1900's in the USA are far more durable and appealing. A great many of them are worth going to just look at. There was an obvious and generous amount of pride and imagination in the planning and construction of these buildings.

The difference sickens me.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Have you seen it?

Cold, emotionless compilations of glass and exposed steel, forbidding in its sharpness. It requires no craftsmanship. The mirrored glass is blinding when the sun reflects of of it. I know there are exceptions, but they are too far and few in between. Buildings constructed in the late 1800's and early 1900's in the USA are far more durable and appealing. A great many of them are worth going to just look at. There was an obvious and generous amount of pride and imagination in the planning and construction of these buildings.

The difference sickens me.

Actually, the steel and glass monstrosities are far stronger than the iron and stone buildings.

Just saying.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Have you seen it?

Cold, emotionless compilations of glass and exposed steel, forbidding in its sharpness. It requires no craftsmanship. The mirrored glass is blinding when the sun reflects of of it. I know there are exceptions, but they are too far and few in between. Buildings constructed in the late 1800's and early 1900's in the USA are far more durable and appealing. A great many of them are worth going to just look at. There was an obvious and generous amount of pride and imagination in the planning and construction of these buildings.

The difference sickens me.

We have two of those in Portland, from the early 80's. Then we decided they were ugly and made them illegal.

[Adios]

Have you seen it?

Cold, emotionless compilations of glass and exposed steel, forbidding in its sharpness. It requires no craftsmanship. The mirrored glass is blinding when the sun reflects of of it. I know there are exceptions, but they are too far and few in between. Buildings constructed in the late 1800's and early 1900's in the USA are far more durable and appealing. A great many of them are worth going to just look at. There was an obvious and generous amount of pride and imagination in the planning and construction of these buildings.

The difference sickens me.

Actually, the steel and glass monstrosities are far stronger than the iron and stone buildings.

Just saying.

Not in all cases. And they are so damn UGLY!

[Triple Zero]

Have you seen it?

Cold, emotionless compilations of glass and exposed steel, forbidding in its sharpness. It requires no craftsmanship. The mirrored glass is blinding when the sun reflects of of it. I know there are exceptions, but they are too far and few in between. Buildings constructed in the late 1800's and early 1900's in the USA are far more durable and appealing. A great many of them are worth going to just look at. There was an obvious and generous amount of pride and imagination in the planning and construction of these buildings.

The difference sickens me.

i love those buildings. they are so pretty and stylish.

i also love the old buildings, btw. they're also pretty.

what i don't really like is the grey concrete stuff, although, when they're in ruins, or being half-built or broken down, they acquire a certain new sort of aestethic again. kind of like the scenes in "Goodbye, Lenin" (which is a great, and very funny movie, btw).

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g213/05136/d507e1e3.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g213/05136/e36b32f0.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g213/05136/2ebf2d78.jpg

thanks to the crappy image quality you can't really make out the recently renovated (in the original classical style) old railway station, but IMO it goes seamlessly with the glass-n-steel office buildings next to it.

maybe it also helps that i don't have to deal much with the soulless corporations that inhabit them

[Cain]

Grey concrete is horrible.

St Andrews has actually managed to do a stylish grey with its older buildings.  I'll have to get some pictures before I go.

[Idem]

Is this what you're talking about?  If so I've always liked it...  Houston is one of the few big cities I've been to, anyway.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Modern architecture is so utilitarian. What little style there is, is only because if you build a plain, square building, you'll violate somebody's patent or copyright. There's really no imagination in modern <American> architecture. They do some impressive stuff in that medium in other countries though, where there' no unspoken rule that every building taller than five stories must be an ode in glass and steel to the corn cob shoved up the People's collective conservative ass.

But, to be fair, nobody spends the time anymore to learn a decent craft. You have to pay ridiculous amounts of money if you want your new building to have things like frieze or custom masonry, because there's practically no supply of that kind of talent or expertise.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Modern architecture is so utilitarian. What little style there is, is only because if you build a plain, square building, you'll violate somebody's patent or copyright. There's really no imagination in modern <American> architecture. They do some impressive stuff in that medium in other countries though, where there' no unspoken rule that every building taller than five stories must be an ode in glass and steel to the corn cob shoved up the People's collective conservative ass.

But, to be fair, nobody spends the time anymore to learn a decent craft. You have to pay ridiculous amounts of money if you want your new building to have things like frieze or custom masonry, because there's practically no supply of that kind of talent or expertise.

There never was enough.  They only got away with it before because there was MAYBE one building going up in a city at a time.

Oh, and try to build 110 stories out of stone and iron.  Let me know when it stops looking like a good idea.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Modern architecture is so utilitarian. What little style there is, is only because if you build a plain, square building, you'll violate somebody's patent or copyright. There's really no imagination in modern <American> architecture. They do some impressive stuff in that medium in other countries though, where there' no unspoken rule that every building taller than five stories must be an ode in glass and steel to the corn cob shoved up the People's collective conservative ass.

But, to be fair, nobody spends the time anymore to learn a decent craft. You have to pay ridiculous amounts of money if you want your new building to have things like frieze or custom masonry, because there's practically no supply of that kind of talent or expertise.

There never was enough.  They only got away with it before because there was MAYBE one building going up in a city at a time.

Oh, and try to build 110 stories out of stone and iron.  Let me know when it stops looking like a good idea.

Roger, don't you know that this is the Century of Fabrication? Your facts have no power here.

[Triple Zero]

also, try telling whoever designed those buildings that his job didn't involve any craftmanship.

although i do have to say that the similar buildings over here seem to have a littlebit more imagination in shape and tricks applied to them

http://www.flickr.com/photos/albertgeurts/203192527/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25397800@N00/1858338307/

they often have some sort of semi-organic curvery going on. but that's a manner of style. there's a lot of the more geometric cylinder/prism shaped stuff in amsterdam and den haag, afaik.

[Requia ☣]

Utilitarianism has a beauty of its own, and the steel and glass skyscrapers, that push budgets and engineering so far that there isn't room for anything *but* the utilitarian, are magnificent creations.  The concrete ones are ulgy as hell though.

Also keep in mind that the skyscraper is very much a minority in architecture.  Look at the smaller buildings and more unique designs show up.

http://www.starling-travel.com/wp-content/sllibrary.jpg
http://www.mindmatrix.net/knowletcontent/images/37206.jpg

[Triple Zero]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism

you probably meant something different, but the point is understood

[Cain]

I agree with Idem that the buildings can look great....but usually, they have to be balanced out with a lot of green and open space.  Something like downtown Manhatten, where its just building after building like that....not so aesthetically pleasing.  But Houston, for example, does look nice.

Also, St Andrews pics, linked, so you can see what I am talking about

http://www.python.org/files/success/st-andrews/university-print.png

http://www.students.bucknell.edu/projects/trafficcalming/Library/International/St.Andrews-Int1bbig.jpg

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

More blinding lack of craftsmanship (click the image if you can stand it).



There were probably just as many shoddy and boring building designs in ratio to well built and cleverly designed structures a 100 years ago as there are today. I don't know where you're getting your ideas about architecture...