Posted by Paul Malo on June 05, 2002 at 09:04:40:In Reply to: ArchWeek - Reevaluating Postmodernism posted by Kevin Matthews on June 05, 2002 at 01:09:18:
Here we have a specimen of architectural journalism. Were I to succumb to the same logic of the author, I might paraphrase her assertion:
"And now that postmodernism seems to have largely died out, the building illustrates the movement's inadequacies all the more eloquently."
I might suggest that this piece represents general failings of architectural journalism--which is to say, of architectural criticism penned by non-architects.
In short, the critical flaw here is arguing from the particular to the general, supposing that whatever flaws may be evident in the example may be assigned to a larger category--in this instance, to "postmodernism," whatever thay may be.
There is a place, surely, for performance evaluation, and we architects ought to hear what users have to say. But the faults of one work ought not (as Kevin has said, as I recall) "to tar everyone with the same brush."
As observed previously, there needs to be more investigative reporting in architectural journalism--which means digging into the substantial facts involved. While I was remote from this project, which happened twenty years ago, my recollection was that Graves was largely a costumer, dressing up a highly efficient box of useable space. Even at the time there was criticism that this was mere "styling," superficial packagaing.
Yet the retrospective account does recognize this fact, but rather suggests that the genesis of the design was merely some sort of Postmodern agenda. This was a cheap building, recognized as such when built, and Portland can't blame that entirely on the architect who tried to dress it up, making someting visually tolerable of a dumb chunk of minimally enclosed space.
Criticism ought to go beyond opinions and dig into the historical facts of the project. Why was this such a cheap building? What was the scenario of its design and construction? I suspect there's much more to this story.
|
ArchitectureWeek
Search
Buildings
Architects
Types
Places
Pix
Free 3D Models
Store
Library
|