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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Architecture Less Is a Bore: A Lesson in Postmodern Architecture

Posted by Charles Mudede on Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 7:49 AM

The information in this lesson is not deep, postmodern architecture was a mistake, and the sketches by Dr. Azizi don't exactly inspire the imagination. But the rest of this video's content is indeed stimulating...

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Cool. But can you repost the actual video? It looks like you posted a playlist, because another video began when this one finished.

Posted by Matt from Denver on March 7, 2013 at 8:10 AM

That was your shittiest post/link ever. Maybe you should have just said what you wanted to say with your own example photos. I never did get the point. Plus, I was distracted by the speaker's obvious elongating of her height on top of her high heals. It was weird. Was that the point?

And why no T and A these days?

Posted by cracked on March 7, 2013 at 8:29 AM

modern, postmodern the lego block form of so called architecture is just crap. so is the fish cannery shed motif and the faux industrial faux structural motif used for things like athletic clubs -- really, does OAC need to look like a Ballard ship building building circa 1905? does the tukwila REI need to look like it's in a industrial warehouse and not a suburban southcenter mall, with its faux timber structural elements? nearly every photo of a modern building being built today shows something that's hostile to the street, lacks symmetry, lacks human scale and tries to scream "i am not a building" or at best "I am truly authentic as a building because I use corrugated metal, faux iron, faux timbers, or I look like boulders and trees as if i am nature!" instead of saying "I am a building. I house humans. I live in a community of of other buildings."

Yes, I like traditional styles. they make sense to me and look warm and beautiful. what we're building today just looks like the newest version of the ballard apts. built in the 70's...blocky...stilts....functional....ugly....drab.....crap.

Posted by even kincaid better on March 7, 2013 at 9:03 AM

Looking at the youtube comments, the architecture buffs seem satisfied, so I guess I just don't get sketches of humongous Southern California upscale shopping malls.

Posted by cracked on March 7, 2013 at 10:33 AM

Post modernism is a mistake because buildings are obsolete.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on March 7, 2013 at 11:13 AM

I agree with @2. That video was terrible. You say the sketches don't inspire the imagination, and yet most of the video is watching him do the same sketches over and over. They keep showing the same photos over and over, and the narration doesn't even relate to what's being shown. Where is this alleged "stimulating" content?

Posted by beef rallard on March 7, 2013 at 11:27 AM

That horrendous lesson is wonderful in a way, because it shows perfectly why postmodern architecture is so misguided. I'm sorry, Charles, that you didn't quite get your finger on the point.

Where, in the illustrations, are the people? The people? Exactly. Postmodernism reduces architecture to a solitary, visual experience between an (elite) observer and an object building. As if buildings were just very, very big paintings.

Thankfully, these days, grownup architects think more of buildings as spaces where people come together to do stuff. They can be designed to help you zoom through them, or slow down, or find a comfortable spot to chat, or hear yourself think, or discover others engaged in creative activity.

Posted by Arsfrisco on March 8, 2013 at 12:24 AM

Is there a way I can block Charles Mudede posts from my SLOG feed?

Posted by Hoyt Clagwell on March 11, 2013 at 4:28 AM