Even with everything else going on right now, the crazed excess of the newest building on Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue is guaranteed to stop you in your tracks. — San Francisco Chronicle
The Chronicle’s urban design critic, John King, reviews the now-completed and very much style-agnostic Enclave dormitory in Downtown Berkeley. "It's as if Harry Potter and Fred Flintstone decided to build a McMansion. On acid."
"The design mimics a Moorish palace and is inspired by numerous other
muses such as Tibetan forts, Italian hill towns, and the rock-cut
façades of Petra," states the project description from LCA Architects, the architect of record.
The seven-story student housing project, designed by Kirk E. Peterson & Associates, first appeared on Archinect last summer.
16 Comments
Among the recent student-housing projects "designed" to mimic buildings featured in a fantasy-themed movie or TV show, aimed at attracting young tenants to pay high rents for no other reason than vague association with a make-believe world that won't even seem interesting after a few months-- this is in the top eight or nine, definitely.
Love it.
I live a mile from there - soon, sadly, the graffiti artists will have fun with it too - The rock effect as built by a firm that does similar stuff at DisneyLand
1.7 miles.
I'm running out of alternate routes to avoid driving by these things.
wish we had this back when i was on mushrooms
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It's barely noticeable from street level when you're next to it, you guys might try relaxing. Dislike it if you will, but avoiding it on a commute? That's silly.
Nice to see a building that's visually engaging, even if a bit strange. Not that hard if you put your mind to it.
Spray-on fake rock over a basic cookie cutter housing. All those comments you post over and over again advocating what you think is real design and you praise this? This is an absolute garbage Disney project that the original Architect disowned because it’s disgusting. It’s a disaster and you’re sitting there praising. Says a lot about your constant bs on other people’s projects.
You should always remember that these are merely matters of taste. If we disagree, there's no harm done. Viva pluralism!
agree. it's a bizarre taste, but the little villas up on top are really nicely proportioned and charming. much better than about 99% of anything in this category of light-urban housing in north america.
The world needs Disney as much as it does "clean" architecture. Live and let live.
Question:
What has the airs of a Moorish palace, Tibetan forts, Italian hill towns, the rock-cut façades of Petra, and flies?
Answer:
The thumb-only responses to this are hilarious. I have opinions, but express them only through approval and disapproval of others!
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^ Ron! That hair needs a building permit. And probably a modification for the mustache.
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