After Corbu » britain

Where the phallacies have no name

Quixote — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:06:24 +0000

…except, possibly “U2 Tower.”

It’s like the gods could tell I was looking for content and sent Pax Corey, prophet that he is, along to proclaim the ~~wonder~~ attrocity that is this planned Dublin development. Of course it’s not so much phallic as cheese-grater-ish, but regardless represents a huge departure (at least in this rendering) from Foster’s normally wonderful work. I mean, yes, his London Gherkin is also an elongated protrusion:

But it has some neat features: the diagonal grid is the whole structural system (though there may be some interior columns as well) and consists of a single repeating joint and link (with slight variation to give a curved facade), which is pretty elegant. Atriums intersect every level and follow the diagonal grid up, creating these beautiful sloping green spaces, hundreds of feet in the air.

So, the “U2 Tower” (the name requires quotation marks), will possibly have some redeemable features, but these are not immediately evident. The apparent triangular grid on one side of the building doesn’t count, as this has become a Foster cliche. Not that it’s a bad thing; just no longer original. As for the suspended, egg shaped recording studio: WTF? I have no idea.

The worst part is, as always, the lack of respect for context — and I don’t mean because the building is ‘modern’ in style. That’s fine. I mean that it’s ten times taller than any other building, dominating it’s neighborhood. Randomly located skyscrapers is part of what I like to call the Los Angeles school of urban planning. And what is LA most often used for in urban planning circles? That’s right, a counterexample. So don’t do it, Dublin.

Sometimes saying no is truly the Sweetest Thing.

Alternative 9/11s

Quixote — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 10:00:42 +0000

An Absolution Revolution tells of Mel Gibson’s defeat of the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. This is similar to my approach to dealing with 9/11, which is to talk about the lesser known atrocities of the date, and try to counteract America’s 9/11 hyperbole via context. Except Jason went with a victory rather than a tragedy, which is subtle, but still flamethrower analogizing. Of course, it’s entirely possible he just wants to talk about a historically significant events of the date, but I’m skeptical.

The Jeely Piece Song

Quixote — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:59:21 +0000

To continue my skyscraper hating, here’s a humorous song quoted in A Pattern Language to allow the children of Glasgow to explain why tall buildings are less than ideal. Note that “to fling a ‘piece,’ a slice of bread and jam, from a window down to a child in the street below has been a recognised custom in Glasgow’s tenement housing…”

The Jeely Piece Song

by Adam McNaughton

I’m a skyscraper wean, I live on the nineteenth flair,
On’ I’m gaun oot tae play ony mair,
For since we moved tae oor new house I’m wastin’ away,
‘Cos I’m gettin’ wan less meal ev’ry day,

Oh ye canny fling pieces oot a twenty-story flat,
Seven hundred hungry weans will testify tae that,
If it’s butter, cheese, or jeely, if breid is plain or pan,
The odds against it reachin’ us is ninety-nine tae wan,

We’ve wrote away tae Oxfam tae try an’ get some aid,
We’ve a’ joined thegither an’ formed a “piece” brigade,
We’re gonny march tae London tae demand oor Civil Rights,
Like “Nae mair hooses ower piece flingin’ heights.”

So, next time you think about building the world’s tallest building in your city: Think of the Children!

Awesome Detail

Quixote — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:51:24 +0000

This picture of the roof-beam-column (approximate terms; it’s hard to say what is what in non-rectalinear architecture) interface at the Savill Building in Windsor, England is pretty sweet. Nice contrast of steel and wood. The (presumably) cast joint is very clean.

It’s pretty stereotypically engineer-ish of me to be find elegant structural connections the most laudable part of architecture, but what can I say. That’s me. I voted for it in the unofficial poll over at Part IV, but it’s only in third so far…

Midnight Cricket Showdown

Quixote — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 05:16:00 +0000

I don’t actually know what cricket is or why you have to play it with a fraternity’s hazing paddle, but am glad that it’s finally being used to liberate the struggling proles from their nefarious capitalist oppressors. It’s about damn time.

In the Space Hijackers 4th Midnight Cricket match, the Anarchists battled the Capitalists for sports superiority at the historic Paternoster Square pitch and emerged victorious. In fact the Capitalist team has lost all four matches thus far, though there is no word on whether they will be changing their name to the Washington Generals. A full summary of the evening’s activities is here.

The whole Space Hijackers idea — using political theater and culture jamming to radicalize people and build community — is brilliant and should be happening in every city. It changes the lived experience of politics for activist types (as organizing can be pretty boring/irritating) making it more livable for this involved and more appealing to those not. In that it subverts how our public space is intended to be used, it gives people a glimpse of a more liberated world, which is intoxicating. Hopefully, it also makes people more open to radical politics and pushes them towards reorganizing their lives along democratic lines.

The last effect is hard to show — I’ve never met anyone who said they became antiwar specifically because of political theater. Former SDS prez and movement scholar Todd Gitlin critiqued politics that was not issue-based very persuasively (though I have source amnesia), and for a long time I was convinced. However, I’m a bit older now and I have seen people’s politics evolve, and it seems there is rarely one pivotal moment. Retroactively one may identify an evil policy (the continuing disaster that it is the Iraq War for example) that led to the change, but even then there are many conversations, news reports, and articles at work. In that context, a fake subway-expansion sign becomes one more data point in a person’s internal political debate.