This just popped up in my email. Olaf Henny took the picture a few years ago in Karlovi Vari, Czech Republic.
I cannot help but admire the airiness and friendliness of this setting despite the obviously high density in a classic setting. [The narrowness of the street, the slight curve and even the rising elevation all add something too – Price Tags].
This concept is of course not applicable to Canada (even though the most prominent flag on this picture is our Maple Leaf and the trees in the street are mostly maples).
Oh, I’m not too sure that the basic lessons are not applicable to Canada and modern architecture. In fact, this scene reminds me of the curve on University Crescent at SFU’s UniverCity.
Ya think?
Pretty sound comparison I’d say!
The general urban form might be similiar but the vancouver version is missing a few elements that I think make the first image so warm and comfortable: one is windows set in walls, another is ornament and detail. We used to ornament our buildings, I miss ornament. By comparison, I feel modern architecture is still very cold and sterile. The third difference? COLOUR. Not a splash of colour on one ‘feature’ wall but a building that is actually a colour – imagine that! (yellow happens to be my favorite)
I totally agree LB.
In addition I think the modern architecture, that’s so prevalent throughout Vancouver and captured by that photo has an almost prison like feel to it compared to the Czech picture. What I’m referring to in particular is the glass that has the strong multiple lines on it. It seems almost like the windows have bars on them, which in addition to the starkness of the architecture, takes away from the inviting or ‘airy’ urban design.
I find, that the most beautiful and interesting building facades of that era can be found in the mid-sized cities in Europe, rather than in the large metropolitan areas. I have also taken 4 or 5 shots of beautiful, individual structures in Erfurt Germany, which I would like to send/post somewhere, where they might be appreciated
Best,
Olaf
Have a look at a couple of Hayao Miyazaki’s films: Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle. Much of their action takes place in vaguely middle-European cities. The streets are busy and noisy, but not dangerous, and the sociability of crowded pedestrian neighbourhoods really stands out. They’re a very good antidote to the regrettable North American idea that beauty lies only in nature, and everything human is ugly—mostly true of late 20th century architecture, but false overall. These are fantasies, but not utopias—there’s no compelling reason why real cities couldn’t actually look like Miyazaki’s.
I agree, there’s just something different with the image from Karlovi Vari: it’s in the details, it’s in the colour, it’s in the continuous streetwall and the way it interacts with the street and the variety in spite of the common architectural elements.
Not that the Vancouver image is bad, however. It just feels soulless in comparison. I agree that colour would be nice, flourishes would be nice, and so would less concrete, really!
Tough thing is with modern architecture is how the aging patina of another 100-500 years will add or not add to the present aesthetic feel. For anyone who has been to Prague, it is mind-boggling since one is seeing layers of different architectural eras over 900 yrs. within a few blocks.
I agree with Jean, Prague still has that intimate feeling, which you get in mid-sized European cities, but not in London, Rome, Paris or Berlin.
Consider how much lighter in weight (and smaller in dimension) the cornices and other classical features are in the Czech example compared to the heavy, almost leaden equivalents on the SFU buildings. Where one is light and graceful, the other is deadly and plodding. Now imagine the scene in a typical November Burnaby Mountain downpour.
I think part of the lightness is in the classical architecture, the top floor is set back slightly, while in modern architecture the top floor is flush or even overhangs slightly. Then the mechanical rooms or elevator chute is a huge box on top of the modern buildings, just a weighty lump, missing of course from classical architecture. I believe this really contributes to the heavy feeling of the modern scene. Nice eye Olaf!