Re: Post Modern Skyscrapers

- - The original note follows - -

From: gregcon@xxxxxxx (GregCon)
Subject: Re: Post Modern Skyscrapers
Date: 19 Apr 1994 23:45:02 -0400

In article <st93ak5s-130494212445@DialupNewsWatcher>,
st93ak5s@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Michael Cullen) writes:

One should first look at Graves Portland building, designed as a competition in
the late 70's built in the early 80's. It is an excellent subject-not as a pice
of architecture, but as the beginining of growth thru and out of Postmodernism.

It predates the Humana building and marks the change of postmodernism from that
of a private realm (IE: residential) to that of the public realm on a grand
scale (albeit a squatty one). Designed as a Public building for city offices it
is truly still in the realm of Postmodernism-a functional box with decoration.
Partially saved by a grand public sculpture affixed to it's side it is
indicitive of earlier design process on residential postmodernism. Graves can
not be entirely faulted here. The building was given an excruciatingly tight
budget and on an urbanistic level workks quite well (functionally also).

But one might ask if a similar building stylistically different (modernist,
devoid of historical symbolism) may not have worked better. I watched the
building rise as a young architect, my view being from across the street where
the firm I worked for was creating another public building, the Multnomah
County Justice Center. My youthful enthusiasim towards it and this "famous"
architect overjoyed me, but deep inside I felt much more significance in the
project we were creating than the "wedding cake" of Graves dreams.
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