[The second email I posted at design-l was on 11 September 1998:]
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 10:06:30 EDT
From: "Stephen H. Lauf"
Subject: big sign now gone
with all the recent discussion near regarding venturi, signage, semiotics,
etc., i thought it worthwhile mentioning that the Venturi Rauch & Scott
Brown's big BASCO building sign (in Northeast Philadelphia) is now gone. the
demolition (which is what i assume happened) occurred fairly recently.
the building was bought by BEST soon after BASCO "built" the sign in the
early
eighties. Since BEST went out of business in the early nineties, the
building
and its big alphabet sign have been derelict.
it is indeed sad to see such a perfect example of "theory into practice"
architecture relegated to the virtual existence of photographs.
perhaps one lesson to learn here is that whenever architectural design is so
closely tied to commercialism and consumerism, then its fate as something
fleeting is almost guaranteed.
q/sl
[On 13 September 1998 Brian Carroll replied:]
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 00:17:17 -0800
From: human being
Subject: Re: big sign now gone
q/sl:
>with all the recent discussion near regarding venturi, signage, semiotics,
>etc., i thought it worthwhile mentioning that the Venturi Rauch & Scott
>Brown's big BASCO building sign (in Northeast Philadelphia) is now gone.
the
>demolition (which is what i assume happened) occurred fairly recently.
>
>the building was bought by BEST soon after BASCO "built" the sign in the
early
>eighties. Since BEST went out of business in the early nineties, the
building
>and its big alphabet sign have been derelict.
interesting story.
>it is indeed sad to see such a perfect example of "theory into practice"
>architecture relegated to the virtual existence of photographs.
[can photographed architecture be considered a virtual architecture?]
[what is the role of photography in architecture, such as the teaching
of architecture and the presentation of buildings and their photogenic
aspects, is Gehry's a hollywood star? a building reflecting all light
projected on it, in turn, projecting this reflection, natural and
artificial, icon, god|dess-es, etc.]
>perhaps one lesson to learn here is that whenever architectural design is
so
>closely tied to commercialism and consumerism, then its fate as something
>fleeting is almost guaranteed.
to me this is an axiomatic statement for analyzing the built environment.
bc
[There are many other very interesting posts from 11 September 1998 within
the design-l archive, re: Big Box architecture and virtual architecture,
etc. Even Howard sent a long post re: virtual architecture that is now well
worth deconstructing.
Yeah, ruins are cool, but now-a-days you gotta quickly take pictures of
ruins because they don't last long anymore.
On 13 September 1998 I had to look up 'axiomatic' in the dictionary.
Although not by myself, 'axiomatic' was nonetheless a much used word at
design-l throughout the rest of 1998.]
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 10:06:30 EDT
From: "Stephen H. Lauf"
Subject: big sign now gone
with all the recent discussion near regarding venturi, signage, semiotics,
etc., i thought it worthwhile mentioning that the Venturi Rauch & Scott
Brown's big BASCO building sign (in Northeast Philadelphia) is now gone. the
demolition (which is what i assume happened) occurred fairly recently.
the building was bought by BEST soon after BASCO "built" the sign in the
early
eighties. Since BEST went out of business in the early nineties, the
building
and its big alphabet sign have been derelict.
it is indeed sad to see such a perfect example of "theory into practice"
architecture relegated to the virtual existence of photographs.
perhaps one lesson to learn here is that whenever architectural design is so
closely tied to commercialism and consumerism, then its fate as something
fleeting is almost guaranteed.
q/sl
[On 13 September 1998 Brian Carroll replied:]
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 00:17:17 -0800
From: human being
Subject: Re: big sign now gone
q/sl:
>with all the recent discussion near regarding venturi, signage, semiotics,
>etc., i thought it worthwhile mentioning that the Venturi Rauch & Scott
>Brown's big BASCO building sign (in Northeast Philadelphia) is now gone.
the
>demolition (which is what i assume happened) occurred fairly recently.
>
>the building was bought by BEST soon after BASCO "built" the sign in the
early
>eighties. Since BEST went out of business in the early nineties, the
building
>and its big alphabet sign have been derelict.
interesting story.
>it is indeed sad to see such a perfect example of "theory into practice"
>architecture relegated to the virtual existence of photographs.
[can photographed architecture be considered a virtual architecture?]
[what is the role of photography in architecture, such as the teaching
of architecture and the presentation of buildings and their photogenic
aspects, is Gehry's a hollywood star? a building reflecting all light
projected on it, in turn, projecting this reflection, natural and
artificial, icon, god|dess-es, etc.]
>perhaps one lesson to learn here is that whenever architectural design is
so
>closely tied to commercialism and consumerism, then its fate as something
>fleeting is almost guaranteed.
to me this is an axiomatic statement for analyzing the built environment.
bc
[There are many other very interesting posts from 11 September 1998 within
the design-l archive, re: Big Box architecture and virtual architecture,
etc. Even Howard sent a long post re: virtual architecture that is now well
worth deconstructing.
Yeah, ruins are cool, but now-a-days you gotta quickly take pictures of
ruins because they don't last long anymore.
On 13 September 1998 I had to look up 'axiomatic' in the dictionary.
Although not by myself, 'axiomatic' was nonetheless a much used word at
design-l throughout the rest of 1998.]