Quote:
Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G
Unfortunately. 
Yale has an amazing architectural tradition, but the most recent residential colleges, Morse and Ezra Stiles, both designed by Eero Saarinen in a then ostensibly "progressive" style, weren't (and continue to not be) very well-received by students. The university has been much more conservative with many of its newer buildings (as opposed to, say, the University of Chicago, a peer institution which continues to push for truly progressive design). These new residential colleges unfortunately continue that vein. Even with Bob Stern at the helm of their design, I have a hard time envisioning them as anything more than simulacra of American collegiate gothic, which is already something of a simulacrum itself. |
Every building is a simulacrum of some previous precedent, at least in some way. There's no shame in that, as styles and construction can't be fundamentally reinvented every single time a building goes up. What matters is whether the design is well done, with attention to detail and overall workability. If that is accomplished, why would emulating an old style be a problem?