Nothing Happens At Ten 2009

Architecture Gewgaws

I work in Cambridge Massachusetts, and buildings are going up all the time there. Even during this recession they are building on every square foot of land. We have the MIT Sloan School of Management being built and the Koch Cancer Research Center being built along with lots of other things. The architecture is all the same... ugly glass boxes with gewgaws on them.

Back in the old days, buildings were made of natural materials and designed to stand up. Construction details revolved around the load-bearing members and keystones which kept the whole building together. Decorations were added to make the necessary props and beams presentable. For example, the flying buttress on the French cathedral is a structural member that keeps the walls from tumbling down. Arches and gargoyles were added to dress up the prop, and after a few hundred years the buttress became a fashion statement.

In these modern times, the invention of new building materials has allowed the architects to construct just about any kind of building they want to in any shape they want to. The decorations on these buildings are stainless rails and bars and overhangs that are just overhangs with no function. There are cantilevered windows and walkways with no way to access them.

There is one building I walk past that has a tiny little fire escape that starts four stories up and follows twists and turns down the side of the building until it ends at a tiny ladder above the main entry, too high to grip. The thing is painted bright purple, and it is useless unless you happen to be six inches tall. Even then, that last step would kill you. It looks ridiculous.

I think I like the old way better.