Me and the Register-Guard Make Nice*
Earlier today I was interviewed by a reporter for the RG regarding my post on the new courthouse. He found me by googling information about the building and my post was on the first page of hits. The reporter said that the article will show up in either Thursday or Saturday's paper. I think only one or two quotes might end up in there, if any do at all.
Oh, I really hope I didn't sound like a rambling idiot because that's my normal mode. I'm shocked that he wanted my opinion on the matter. I didn't think that the post was all that informative; I was simply trying to explain why I thought the building was so awful. In our interview, I kept referring back to the fact that the courthouse is noticeably disconnected from the rest of the city and the architect didn't feel that it was his duty to build those connections through his design. I'm not an architect yet. I'm not even done with my planning degree. But something in that philosophy just doesn't seem right to me.
My instincts** tell me that GOOD architecture is such that it can stand alone if need be, but also that it successfully participates in an active dialog with its surroundings- both the built and natural (or perhaps unnatural) world. This building doesn't do that. Not one little bit. It is a foreign object that has fallen from the sky with no connection to Eugene whatsoever. Not all architecture has to do that all of the time. But I would think that a major civic building should at least attempt to assimilate itself into its surroundings just a bit. This building looks more like a Borg ship trying to assimilate everything else around it. I still say yuck.
* I say this because I don't like the Register-Guard for their homophobic stance in discriminating against same sex couples listing their commitment ceremonies and the births of their children. The paper won't print a birth announcement unless the mother and father are listed. HI, WELCOME TO THE 21st CENTURY YOU JACKASSES. THE DEFINITION OF A FAMILY IS MUCH BROADER THAN THE NUCLEAR IDEAL THAT YOU FIND ACCEPTABLE. I won't read the paper unless I want to do the Sudoku or I need the classifieds. I am an Oregonian reader all the way.
**Too bad the instincts can't tell me what constitutes good grammar. Eats, Shoots and Leaves-- where are you?!?
Oh, I really hope I didn't sound like a rambling idiot because that's my normal mode. I'm shocked that he wanted my opinion on the matter. I didn't think that the post was all that informative; I was simply trying to explain why I thought the building was so awful. In our interview, I kept referring back to the fact that the courthouse is noticeably disconnected from the rest of the city and the architect didn't feel that it was his duty to build those connections through his design. I'm not an architect yet. I'm not even done with my planning degree. But something in that philosophy just doesn't seem right to me.
My instincts** tell me that GOOD architecture is such that it can stand alone if need be, but also that it successfully participates in an active dialog with its surroundings- both the built and natural (or perhaps unnatural) world. This building doesn't do that. Not one little bit. It is a foreign object that has fallen from the sky with no connection to Eugene whatsoever. Not all architecture has to do that all of the time. But I would think that a major civic building should at least attempt to assimilate itself into its surroundings just a bit. This building looks more like a Borg ship trying to assimilate everything else around it. I still say yuck.
* I say this because I don't like the Register-Guard for their homophobic stance in discriminating against same sex couples listing their commitment ceremonies and the births of their children. The paper won't print a birth announcement unless the mother and father are listed. HI, WELCOME TO THE 21st CENTURY YOU JACKASSES. THE DEFINITION OF A FAMILY IS MUCH BROADER THAN THE NUCLEAR IDEAL THAT YOU FIND ACCEPTABLE. I won't read the paper unless I want to do the Sudoku or I need the classifieds. I am an Oregonian reader all the way.
**Too bad the instincts can't tell me what constitutes good grammar. Eats, Shoots and Leaves-- where are you?!?
posted by punkindunkin at 4:21 PM
1 Comments:
That's great chiquita! See, your opinion does matter...and it's about architecture. Woo-hoo!
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