Quote:
Originally Posted by vid
Any building can give a sense of awe and wonder. Train stations, banks, churches and seats of government power were meant to imply power, permanence and tradition. Most modern buildings don't effectively imply power or permanence, and they certainly don't imply tradition. But they can imply awe and wonder. Look at Burj Khalifa or Selfridges Birmingham.
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I agree with you here, however, most buildings that are pleasing have a scale and order to them. Architecture is not meant to be haphazard in a way many brutalist buildings or deconstructionist buildings are.
In regard to your comment on scale of larger old buildings, its still about proportion scaled up and down. Public buildings were not meant to relate as much to the individual as to the city (or God).
The other reason is that most traditional details you see were initially a solution to a problem; arch's as a structural item, window panes, thick walls, groin vaults. They were born out of necessity, but used in a way that has become revered as traditional architecture. Your other point about architects finding creative ways to account for modern infrastructure, thats true, but doesnt matter what style it is. Contemporary architecture can be great, but scale and proportion is always important. Buildings like Burj Khalif (and most highrises) give a sense of awe, but many disappoint at street level......maybe they need bigger doors
