tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post6424119163272326793..comments2024-03-27T06:24:30.922-04:00Comments on A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books: Masonry "Masterpiece" or Mistake?John Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14842328320680692310noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-57590046023261695092009-07-12T19:17:52.295-04:002009-07-12T19:17:52.295-04:00I worked on this project at one point and remember...I worked on this project at one point and remember the project architect describing the building as a caricature of a bank, a pedimented false front with the eagle hanging out on a column in the foreground and an outsized, robust looking money vault tacked to the side. The building was extremely complex to plan for political and procedural reason; A fact that makes the toy-like, scaleless adornment seem all the more absurd in retrospect. As I remember much of the design of that skin represents what was fairly stock in the office at the time. The 10x scale running bond motif is repeated from the residential college MGA built at Rice as was at least the glazed-blue brick if not the whole color palette.<br /><br />I'm not sure if the question is "mistake or masterpiece?", but rather think it should be 'genuinely absurd' or 'absurdly genuine'?. I disagree with Chris who finds irony in the proximity of a toy-like bank to River Oaks. The real irony is that Houston and the Fed displaced a lot of the poor and historically black residents of the 4th ward neighborhood and in place of their homes built an enormous vault of money.eingeweidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395628827549613163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-23724235463831187242009-07-07T01:49:04.816-04:002009-07-07T01:49:04.816-04:00John:
I have would have to say this is Rossi at M...John:<br /><br />I have would have to say this is Rossi at Modena gone bad. But not having experienced the building in person I will refrain with the rest of my comments and give it the benefit of the doubt. The internal experience might be much more pleasing.<br /><br />Bradley Swarts, editor<br /><a href="http://ecoastarchreview.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">ecAr</a>Bradley Swartshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05267563218523301738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-5672604330668158772009-06-30T16:35:52.050-04:002009-06-30T16:35:52.050-04:00In this world it's no longer acceptable to ask...In this world it's no longer acceptable to ask if you like it or not, you have to ask is it good for us? Is it sustainable? Does it contribute to the world? Is this out dated architect hurting the advancement and longevity of our society? I say, no, no and no. This kind of Texas over-sized drool is exactly what has gotten us into the mess we are in.<br />Chuck<br />SCALEhouse designUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00960068593923151073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-60686313926541426182009-06-30T03:39:09.742-04:002009-06-30T03:39:09.742-04:00I agree about the massing; appears appropriate for...I agree about the massing; appears appropriate for the site and the forms in general work for me. But the pomo fashion is a drag.<br /><br />I think Houston got the shaft, though. I much prefer the federal buildings in San Francisco, Eugene and Portland. - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/San_Francisco_Federal_Building.jpg/800px-San_Francisco_Federal_Building.jpg<br /><br />http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Wayne_Lyman_Morse_United_States_Courthouse.jpg/800px-Wayne_Lyman_Morse_United_States_Courthouse.jpg<br /><br />http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/69/Hatfieldcourthouse.jpg/450px-Hatfieldcourthouse.jpggerrrghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01394645559903622618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-2166975353940167012009-06-29T19:19:14.820-04:002009-06-29T19:19:14.820-04:00Love it or hate it, (I may be blinded by the LEGO-...Love it or hate it, (I may be blinded by the LEGO-esque bricks but I happen to like this one) this is classic Graves. For Graves its about mass and order while he uses humor and kitsch for building's exterior appearance.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07001653826329034479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-38523964159171478452009-06-29T10:39:09.858-04:002009-06-29T10:39:09.858-04:00i think you have to realize the irony of the build...i think you have to realize the irony of the building. it is located in the river oaks area of the city which is the most upper crust area of a very large and wealthy city. and yet here the source of money store in the area looks like a giant brick playhouse.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01127910493345309084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-21193493531694335422009-06-29T01:47:06.112-04:002009-06-29T01:47:06.112-04:00I thought Graves was only doing this in the 80'...I thought Graves was only doing this in the 80's but here it is, the 21st century, and he's still doing this Mickey-mouse architecture.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09259754706181572060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-16680418049875592012009-06-28T21:52:16.694-04:002009-06-28T21:52:16.694-04:00How quaint. Solomon's Temple reborn as a Fed ...How quaint. Solomon's Temple reborn as a Fed branch, the revenge of the moneychangers.Lynn Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03759748613223711212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-4448503206589494992009-06-28T21:34:55.089-04:002009-06-28T21:34:55.089-04:00I agree, my first reaction was a great big "u...I agree, my first reaction was a great big "urgh shield my eyes!" But on reflection after reading your commentary I don't mind it as much.<br /><br />Though at the same time I do dislike the idea that a building is a masonry masterpiece simply because it uses a lot of masonry.Katyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196579501052471510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-43949562761017580432009-06-28T17:28:23.416-04:002009-06-28T17:28:23.416-04:00In my opinion, understanding this building in it&#...In my opinion, understanding this building in it's surrounding site context explains the "playful" mindset of the design, as a way to instill imagery in a system that is characteristic of the traditional elitism that Houstonian's relate to River Oaks.happy feethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04903711846329792567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-72381838430017815822009-06-28T14:01:28.866-04:002009-06-28T14:01:28.866-04:00The design is fitting for a Federal Reserve branch...The design is fitting for a Federal Reserve branch, in light of these remarks from <a href="http://mises.org/pdf/Manipulation/section5.pdf" rel="nofollow"><i>On The Manipulation of Money and Credit</i> by Ludwig von Mises</a> critiquing artificially low interest rates, the setting of which is performed by the Fed:<br /><br />"The whole entrepreneurial class is, as it were, in the position of a master builder whose task it is to construct a building out of a limited supply of building materials. If this man overestimates the quantity of the available supply, he drafts a plan for the execution of which the means at his disposal are not sufficient. He overbuilds the groundwork and the foundations and discovers only later, in the progress of the construction, that he lacks the material needed for the completion of the structure. This belated discovery does not create our master builder’s plight. It merely discloses errors committed in the past. It brushes away illusions and forces him to face stark reality."<br /><br />I'd like to think that this is a work of architecture that hints at formal illusions attempting to mask a debased and <i>ad hoc</i> institution.JTGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16829830974196155380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-50445072043459668622009-06-28T13:35:16.175-04:002009-06-28T13:35:16.175-04:00I can't believe I'm saying this about a Mi...I can't believe I'm saying this about a Michael Graves design: I don't really mind it.<br /><br />I think there's something to be said about a guy, who, after all these years, is still sticking to his post-mod guns.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09026596812619432477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6531343.post-78018233395698597642009-06-28T13:07:06.728-04:002009-06-28T13:07:06.728-04:00I am from Houston and I like it. Houston is a very...I am from Houston and I like it. Houston is a very temporary city--buildings of real historical and artistic value get torn down and replaced by crap all the time. So having buildings that look like they were made from legos is really appropriate. It's as if they could take it apart and build something new at any time.<br /><br />Houston's architecture is not very playful. There is a lot of self-important grandiosity. Huge aggressive monuments to some guy's money (and, unintentionally, that guy's bad taste). So I like the playfulness of the Graves Fed. Robert Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10832011160514073833noreply@blogger.com