Dana10/23 08:16 PM
Just to tidy some stuff up here:
“I do think the Residences listed don’t deserve the badge of ‘hideous scars’- they are quite modest and secluded when compared to the mass of newer homes.“
Your comment triggered an interesting thought to me. Many of the critics of redeveloped properties (ie. “McMansions”) hate the way these developments don’t “fit in” with the neighborhood. Yet these award winners hardly fit into their neighborhoods when they were built. Just some interesting irony about which I don’t particularly feel any emotion.
“Oh god, please don’t let this turn into Raleighing 2.0. Some people really carry a lot of drama around with them. Middlebrow* drama, at that.“
Just for the record, I made 83% of the posts at raleighing and rarely participated in comment threads.
“If you are not a fan of the modernist movement, which I’m guessing you’re not based on your comments, one is going to be hard-pressed to find architecturally groundbreaking structures in the past 80-100 years s/he likes, especially in smaller cities like Raleigh, where landmark buildings aren’t exactly churned out.“
Stark boxes, I do not like. They are as becoming as polka music: fine for a whimsical day at an amusement park, but annoying on a daily basis. There are plenty of buildings from the last 20 years at UNC and Duke which I like very much. Burroughs-Wellcome and BCBS a far superior to those I mentioned above.
“How’d we get fixated on the Marriott?“
Dorton Arena, a public building, was mentioned in the top buildings. The Marriott was a chance to do something great and turns out to be a very mundane, budget-oriented rectangle. The Convention Center is not that ground-breaking, but has excellent elements to it. It, AT LEAST has an obtuse angle or two!
“And don’t dis the Catalano House until you understand the structural and spatial landmark that it was.“
I fully “understand” it, thank you. It was a very daring, unique structure. The key word in your remark, though, is the last one. I will never stop “dis"ing (is that a word?) a structure that can’t last more than 20 or so years. Roof failure and horrific water control doomed this thing. I suppose we could all pitch a tent and win an award. Give me buildings that will last longer than I, for goodness sake!
“Ummm wait a minute isn’t all colonial faux(in Raleigh at least)“
Actually, no. There are some excellent colonial revival houses between Glenwood and North Hills. Most cities DID NOT GET THIS MOVEMENT. Richmond has a few, but Atlanta, Charlotte, and Greensboro did not. Some of these have already been demolished and another, on Drummond, is soon to be lost.
I was referring earlier to the nauseating plethora of of 5-over-4 houses with Palladian windows above the front door. People were so turned off by this version of modernism that it drove them back onto the most mind-numbing, lemming like designs possible. Nirvana broke pulled people away from Michael Jackson and Madonna, but ultimately bad wannabe grunge sent the masses to Britney Spears. Kamphoefner was no Wright and the Raleigh products of this movement did nothing for selling the movement to the masses.
If you question my assertion that these boxes were so hideous and rejected by the public, look at what the people with money in the last 40 years have built. Why didn’t they want to go Kamphoefner 2.0? Why doesn’t someone want to buy the Paschal’s house? Why wasn’t the Poole house expanded 16-times over. It could have been really cool if the seed were actually worthy.
Don’t get me wrong. I really like architectural variety. I can’t stand these cookie cutter neighborhoods yet I don’t want to tear down the hideous old First Federal bank building downtown. However not all varieties are appealing to all people. That doesn’t make the people dumb, and some of you haven’t gotten this point.
I love the slope and soaring curves of Dorton Arena, but let’s face it, the building serves no function well. Even cattle shows must have adequate acoustics. Restrooms are remote and difficult to access, concession areas are too small for the crowd size, performer dressing areas are awful, climate control is poor, equipment loading and unloading areas are inconvenient, seating rise is too flat for good sightlines, and concourses are discrete instead of continuous. It was meant to serve the public, but is brutal to its very visitors. So aside from sexy form, its execution is a disaster. But, hey, we were learning back then.
The RBC Center is a gorgeous example of function over form. It is Odell to the max. Form will always win these awards, though. It’s no different than the inexplicable success of the iPhone.
I would have put the Legislature on there, probably Bob Winston’s house, and probably the Farm Bureau buildings before Matsumoto, Small, or Kampheofner. The problem is that Raleigh hasn’t aspired to do works that make us forget about these three. Charlotte, Chapel Hill, and Durham have.
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