I was researching Roman colosseums and their architecture and stumbled upon the Amphitheatre of Nîmes which is right next door to the Museum Romanité, a very cool building in it's own right.
Doing one of my favorite pastimes of exploring in Google street view to see architecture I was overwelmed with the beauty of the juxtaposition for these two graceful buildings, one ancient and one modern having no doubt that the ancient and modern architect could learn from each other over a cup of coffee.
Thanks for posting, gdi. Since I'm in work-avoidance mode, I went right over to check it out.
I'm not a fan of that particular stretched-bedsheet facade style, but I greatly appreciate the scale and juxtaposition of modern to classical.
The urban design approach is equally good-- allowing the monument to sit freestanding, and placing the new building (rectangle w/ round hole) within the town fabric pattern-- but clearly visible and accessible.
i've always liked the way the much bigger modern building follows the same spatial logic of a colonnaded portico looking out to the public square, but in a subdued modern language.
Indeed - radically different expressions of the same language, the two buildings talk to each other and both benefit from the contrast. The Romanite on the other hand is a turd indiscriminately dropped out of a tall cow’s ass, it just stinks everything up.
Citizen - I agree that the Romanite facade isn't the greatest but still graceful to me in a way. The modern and ancient play is what I felt. the main atrium is impressive though.
Midlander - your example is a perfect representation of my initialreaction and as you said more elegent.
Foster's thin columns spaced farther apart visually reminds us of the Roman colonnade
Air has weight therefore space has weight and the Carre d'Art has replaced the visual weight of the Roman pediment and stylobate with an implied weight of the open air facade and height.
Brilliant and elegant indeed. As midlander said subdued.
midlander's peek behind the facade is really eye-opening. I'm not sure how to feel now, but I guess it can be both: yay in detail, boo from a distance.
Air has weight therefore space has weight and the Carre d'Art has replaced the actual weight of the Roman pediment and stylobate with an implied weight of the open air facade and height.
looking into it more I'm fascinated to learn the architect of the Romanite museum is the wife of one of the pritzker prize's more obscure winners, and she designed this through her own office (ie not with her husband).
I don't feel it's an appropriate building for this location, but the facade is trendy and similar to some projects i'm working on, so I admit I like this idea in abstract. the detailing is actually really neat too, not what it first looks like.
Remember a lot of people thought that Louvre re-do was folly also so maybe the Romanite will grow in popularity like a song you hear but don't like at first but later like.
new/old
I was researching Roman colosseums and their architecture and stumbled upon the Amphitheatre of Nîmes which is right next door to the Museum Romanité, a very cool building in it's own right.
Doing one of my favorite pastimes of exploring in Google street view to see architecture I was overwelmed with the beauty of the juxtaposition for these two graceful buildings, one ancient and one modern having no doubt that the ancient and modern architect could learn from each other over a cup of coffee.
That would be a great pod cast!
Thanks for posting, gdi. Since I'm in work-avoidance mode, I went right over to check it out.
I'm not a fan of that particular stretched-bedsheet facade style, but I greatly appreciate the scale and juxtaposition of modern to classical.
Masterful!
Okay, back to work....
since we're in nimes let's talk about the precedent- a more famous and more elegant approach to the same idea - Foster's Carre d'Art。
i've always liked the way the much bigger modern building follows the same spatial logic of a colonnaded portico looking out to the public square, but in a subdued modern language.
Indeed - radically different expressions of the same language, the two buildings talk to each other and both benefit from the contrast. The Romanite on the other hand is a turd indiscriminately dropped out of a tall cow’s ass, it just stinks everything up.
Citizen - I agree that the Romanite facade isn't the greatest but still graceful to me in a way. The modern and ancient play is what I felt. the main atrium is impressive though.
Midlander - your example is a perfect representation of my initialreaction and as you said more elegent.
Foster's thin columns spaced farther apart visually reminds us of the Roman colonnade
Air has weight therefore space has weight and the Carre d'Art has replaced the visual weight of the Roman pediment and stylobate with an implied weight of the open air facade and height.
Brilliant and elegant indeed. As midlander said subdued.
midlander's peek behind the facade is really eye-opening. I'm not sure how to feel now, but I guess it can be both: yay in detail, boo from a distance.
edit:
Air has weight therefore space has weight and the Carre d'Art has replaced the actual weight of the Roman pediment and stylobate with an implied weight of the open air facade and height.
looking into it more I'm fascinated to learn the architect of the Romanite museum is the wife of one of the pritzker prize's more obscure winners, and she designed this through her own office (ie not with her husband).
https://www.elizabethdeportzam...
I don't feel it's an appropriate building for this location, but the facade is trendy and similar to some projects i'm working on, so I admit I like this idea in abstract. the detailing is actually really neat too, not what it first looks like.
Wow. This view is really interesting and rich. Amazing what different views and scales can do to the same facade.
Remember the Louvre
I like this view
Is that like Remember the Alamo? ;o]
Yeah, Pei's Louvre project is one of my favorites.
Ha kinda like the Alamo!
Remember a lot of people thought that Louvre re-do was folly also so maybe the Romanite will grow in popularity like a song you hear but don't like at first but later like.
Again, Foster's Carre d'Art is more better
Whig Hall renovation.
Madrid
I love Madrid. Such a fun city
^^ When you have two buildings, but only one site.
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