Long accustomed to basing its reputation on the grandeur of its old buildings, the city now finds it almost impossible to agree on how to build new ones.
In recent months, traditionalists have blocked efforts to introduce contemporary architecture in the historic core [...]. Modernists are rolling their eyes at new buildings that copy traditional styles, arguing that they pervert a record of architectural progress long documented in mortar and stone.
— nytimes.com
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167 Comments
EKE,
Of course. Liberty, equality and justice.
oh! ...and handjobs
Liberty, equality, justice and handjobs.
Good. I surmise that that is a partial list for you, and that there might be other values as well. How do differentiate between those values which should be constant, and not temporal, and those that should respond to "history and change"?
I don't want to set aside Aspen at all. There are many architects who could have designed a contemporary building of wood, glass, steel, and stone that would be appropriate to Aspen and it's culture. The Wildcat Ridge residence by Voorsanger Architects is a favorite building of mine. An Asian architect at Voorsanger was the lead architect for the design. I just don't think plastic weave and concrete floors in a mining town in the Rocky Mountains is appropriate. It looks like the box a Wal-Mart came in.
as far as i'm concerned, faux columns and pediments are not included in a set of values.
eke, i mentioned this before, but it's really not all of charlseton, right? this design did get pretty far along, and received approval from the various departments that do that, before it was stopped. the people who approved the building were members of the community who didn't want to stop it's development, right?
if "the people of charlseton" was a person, i think your statement would make sense. as it is, that's not the case. some opinions among a multitude of opinions have been heard, and it sounds like you're trying to make the case that those few opinions are held by everyone, which is obviously not the case.
in my opinion, what the 2 neighborhood associations are fighting for is pretty meaningless. it's not 'good design' that they want, but more like NIMBYism or just complaining for the sake of complaining. i believe there are far worse buildings in charlston that would have been more deserving of this kind of scrutiny, but of course that's only the opinion of one person; i'm not saying everyone has to agree with me.
the clemson example is in clemson, not charleston. i think i misspoke a few times in there.
maybe we, as architects, should advocate preserving charlseton as an example of historic preservation, and advocate allowing clemson to get their new building built? or the other way around. advocate preserving clemson and let variety be introduced in charleston?
as far as aspen goes, i guess volunteer should just join the planning commission so (s)he can tell architect what to do and prevent them from getting building permits if they don't do it. aspen is apparently outside of the preservationist camp, since volunteer said modernism is allowed if done right, or something like that. Shigeru Ban is of course a highly respected and well though-of architect and designer. again i find it hard to understand why some places are just not right for his designs.
volunteer's opinion is just as valid as anyone's of course, including mine. if i like the building, that isn't any more important of a statement than volunteer saying (s)he doesn't like it. what i don't understand is why i would want to try to push or, in the case of government intervention, force my opinion on others.
Volunteer,
Aspen is a mining town?
Historically, yes.
EKE,
"How do differentiate between those values which should be constant, and not temporal"
Even the values that I said should be constant have not been constant throughout history. They're not even constant today. I guess that brings us back to philosophy. We need philosophy and intellectually engaged citizens to constantly question whether we're drifting from where we should be. We've seen much debate about privacy, capitalism and war recently. If I had to project far into the future, I think that augmented reality is going to transform architecture. I think that the public will engage with physical objects completely differently.
Is Aspen a mining town right now?
at Jan 30, 15 5:50 pm?
davvid, aspen is mountain time. you're about 2 hours off. time, like values, is apparently not the same everywhere or at every time.
Then Aspen has 2 hours to revive its mining industry.
Well the history of Aspen mining is a big draw for many tourists especially in the summer. The whole town is undercut with mine shafts and remains of abandoned mines and their processing buildings and machinery are in the area.. There is currently a "maintenance mode" silver mine, the Smugglers Mountain Mine, in Aspen that still has employees, so the mining industry there is not dead. You can take a tour if you like. The Smugglers mine will likely become a "producing" mine should the price of silver increase enough. There is another silver mine in Creede, Colorado, that is also mothballed and reactivated occasionally.
Thayer-d you are either not a native English speaker or dense or on another planet, I give up for now........... EKE you on the other hand have a lot to say......but I am tired, waiting for sushi pickup and still have a deadline to meet, not to mention I missed a few others and will spend all weekend catching up......
Go Seahawks.
Really good discussion, stayed surprisingly civil too.
@curtkram just to clarify (from NYT) "In November, the Clemson Architecture Center, an outpost of the upstate university, withdrew plans for an ultramodern building in the heart of the historic district designed by the contemporary architect Brad Cloepfil" did refer to Charleston.
Also, what do we think of the IAAM building proposed for historic Arrival Square Charleston?
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