Quote:
Originally Posted by alki
We may be saying the same thing. LA architecture tends to be flashy/trendy. I remember when some people were talking about the newly renovated Pershing Square. They were very impressed with the purple monolith........how it spoke to a new kind of plaza where the plaza becomes art. I remember thinking I would have preferred a few more trees and fountains while sparing the cost of the 'famed' architect from Mexico City. LA has a 'cutting edge' reputation and seems easily seduced by the latest fashion whether it be in music, cars, clothes or architecture. Sometimes it works and makes the city more interesting.........other times, not so much.
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I'm always wary of contemporary architects for this very reason. They're so obsessed their new concept that they often throw out everything that's known to work. 2000 years of knowledge of how to architect buildings, parks, and streets that actually are functional and beautiful and they disregard it all to try things that are new and untested. I find it to be
extremely arrogant and selfish, especially considering that the public is then forced to look at/walk through their creation for the next 50 years.
I don't blame individual architects so much...this is just what the entire
field of contemporary architecture has become. Everyone hopes to be the first one to think of something new and exciting, kicking off a new trend and furthering their career. All the modern materials and software tools architects have at their disposal just seem to accelerate this trend. Can you dream it up? Then you can build it. Don't be held back by the past...you know, things that actually work
This is why I gravitated more towards urban design than architecture. As a whole, the field of urban design is less concerned with whats new and trendy, and more concerned with using the
entire body of knowledge of the past
to create spaces that function and feel good to be in. Pick up your average urban design book and you'll see everything from plazas in Rome and Florence, to streets in Paris, to pocket parks in New York City. Its all about using what already works. Which really, was what architecture was all about until the mid 20th century when they threw the book away and started over.
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