From a design standpoint, I have nothing but praise for Le Corbusier's Capitol Complex. All three structures sit in a sea of green trees and fields, more rural than urban on any account. The High Court possesses a close relationship with the outdoors, is easily navigable, and from what I have witnessed, mitigates the climate successfully. The Assembly is a clear and well-executed duality between the two main halls. The positive and negative relationships elicit a clear hierarchy, as the tertiary circulation space becomes the most intricate and enduring of all. The Secretariat is more economical than the other two, and possesses a certain regularity, which is broken apart at the facade of the building. The building's most engaging moments are on the roof and within the rooftop canteen.

My concern lies in the state at which the buildings are maintained. More often than not preventative maintenance is nonessential, and maintenance is only necessary when the inconvenience becomes too large to ignore. The focus is instead placed on security. Papers must be submitted, checked, double checked, phone calls made, bags searched, and back pockets squeezed before one is allowed to enter. An armed escort is required for a stroll through the Secretariat. Naturally, no interior photos are allowed, although I was able to convince a worker that I was an architecture student traveling alone, to which out of sympathy, I believe, he kindly allowed me to document the state of disarray which exist upon the once occupiable High Court roof.

Sadly, for security purposes, this is a rarely experienced rear façade

The Assembly from the Secretariat

The Secretariat in its bed of green

The accumulation of old furniture on the once occupied High Court roof